Joe Gilbert

LEED AP BD+C

Project Executive

Joe joined Riley in 2008 as a Project Engineer, working his way up to his current role of Project Executive in 2022. Joe works in Riley’s Waukegan, IL office, focusing on serving the firm’s biopharmaceutical clients. Joe holds a B.S. in Construction Management from Illinois State University.

Joe grew up in the Chicago suburbs in a very active family, playing sports and helping with his father’s side job, a landscaping service. Construction was also a constant presence “Growing up, we always had a large remodel or addition project going on inside our home, and my family and I did all the work ourselves,” said Joe. “Over time, I became interested in construction as a career and got a job with a custom home builder in high school. This all led me to study construction management in college.”

Joe met his wife Alicia at a wedding, where they learned that despite having multiple mutual connections spanning decades, they had somehow never met. The two were married four years later and now have two boys. Joe is a lifelong winter sports enthusiast, including hockey and snowmobiling. He lives on the Chain of Lakes in northern Illinois, where he and his family enjoy boating to restaurants and swimming at the sandbars.

Back to leadership

WHY I LOVE WHAT I DO

“I love helping people. During the baby formula shortage, Abbott came to us and asked if we could help get a plant in Ohio back up and running. Their contractor told them there was a 4–5-week lead time on a key material. We were able to source it locally within a week. It brought me joy that the customer thought of us in their time of need to help solve their problem. At the time, I was also a father of a baby on formula.”

Fun Fact

“I have designed and built two custom homes, a snowmobile cabin in Wisconsin, and our family home in Illinois. My family and I built both homes on nights and weekends.”