Business Development Executive, Messer Construction Co.
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Photo by Mick Jeffries
Like many women, Mary Beth Wright is challenged to balance the demands of her career with the needs of her family, which includes her husband, Jason; her 7-year-old daughter, Hannah; and 4-year-old son, Gabriel.
“The early years were the hardest,” she said. “We were starting a family and I was starting my career at the same time, and I wanted both with a passion.”
She credits four amazing, supportive grandparents, who are retired and live nearby, with making it possible to manage it all –– that, and learning to say no.
“It’s better to do that than agree to do something and not be there 100 percent,” she said.
This strong work ethic carries over to her community and volunteer experiences. She serves on several boards –– the Downtown Lexington Corp., Rotary, and High Street YMCA –– as well as teaching business classes for Junior Achievement and Sunday school at St. Luke United Methodist Church. Wright enjoys being a troop leader for her daughter’s girl scout troop and playing an active role in the PTA at Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School.
While completing an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and a master’s in business administration at the University of Kentucky, Wright worked as an intern at Gray Construction. It was there she met Ken Rehfuss, who became her mentor and introduced her to the world of commercial construction.
“He not only taught me about the industry, he taught me how to carry myself in this primarily male world and coached me on what to expect from myself and others,” she said.
After graduation, she was hired as business development specialist at Messer Construction. It was an attractive offer, Wright said, since her fiancé at the time –– now husband –– worked at Messer and many of the friends she’d made in engineering school were also starting to work there.
“It was a good opportunity to utilize both my business and engineering skills,” she said.
Wright said she especially enjoys the people she works with and meets as she tours various construction sites both inside and outside the commonwealth. Over the past 10 years, she’s progressively taken on more responsibility, developing a leadership role within Messer’s business development department.
Wright sees the biggest challenge for the commercial construction industry as one of increasing material costs.
“Firms have been absorbing these cost increases in order to stay competitive, but over the long term, they cannot sustain this position,” she said. “Kentucky must take off the blinders of the past and become more innovative in the global economy.”