Tom Schleifer
Tom Schleifer joined the construction industry at age 16 and brings more than 45 years of contracting and consulting experience to his presentation. He has Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in construction management from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D., also in construction management, from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Schleifer’s experience includes serving as foreman, field superintendent, project manager, and vice president of a construction company which he owned with his brother. From 1976 to 1986 he was the Founder and President of the largest international consultancy firm serving the contract surety industry. During this period, he assisted in the resolution or salvage of hundreds of distressed or failed construction firms and projects.
This combination of practical, hands-on experience as a contractor and assisting financially distressed companies has given Dr. Schleifer a unique perspective on the causes of business failure and how to avoid them. He wrote the book Construction Contractors’ Survival Guide which has been acclaimed by thousands of contractors and used as a text in numerous university graduate and undergraduate courses and for many years published Schleifer’s Construction Forecast newsletter. Dr. Schleifer, sometimes referred to as a “turn around” expert because of the number of companies that he has rescued from financial distress, advises contractors on organization, structure, and strategic planning while he also writes, lectures, and teaches.
The importance of education in the construction industry is one of Tom Schleifer’s favorite themes. He is a former chairman of the continuing education committee of the Associated General Contractors of America and has lectured extensively at universities, professional and trade associations, and authored numerous articles and publications on construction and business management. Dr. Schleifer has been listed in “Who’s Who in Finance and Industry” , “Who’s Who in America and “Who’s Who in the World.” He was the first Eminent Scholar of the Del E. Webb School of Construction, Arizona State University in 1993 and currently serves part time as Visiting Eminent Scholar
Books by Dr. Schleifer include: Construction Contractors’ Survival Guide, John Wiley and Sons; Glossary of Suretyship and Related Terms, CMA Press; Schleifer’s Construction Profit Series, video and audio tapes; Schleifer’s Construction Forcast newsletter.
