Josh Corna
CEO and Owner
Brent Baker, AIA
Executive Vice President
Matt Curtis, LEEP AP
Vice President
Michele L Bugh
Vice President
Ed Meurer, LEED AP
Vice President
Michael Back
Chief Estimator
Bill Hilderhoff
Project Executive
Jeremy Ayres
Project Executive
John Hoover
Project Executive
Primus Suffren
Project Executive
Rob Modany
Project Executive
Michael Schmitt
Project Executive
Josh is CEO and Owner of Continental Building Company, a Columbus, OH based commercial contractor that has been consistently ranked among the Top 400 Contractors in the U.S. with $275 Million in annual revenues.
A 25-year veteran of the construction industry, Josh first learned the business from his father and grandfather. He worked in all positions, from laborer, foreman, superintendent, project engineer, project manager, and Senior VP of Operations, prior to becoming president of a 250-person regional construction company in 2015. After several years of leading strategic growth with that firm, in 2019 Josh left that company to become Owner and CEO of Continental Building Company.
Foundational to Josh’s beliefs and success has been his commitment to not only the greater construction industry, but also to the local community. He has served on industry boards such as the Associated General Contractors of Central Ohio, the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio, and the Ohio State Apprenticeship Council; and boards of local organizations such as the Mount Carmel Foundation Board and the COSI Community Board. He currently sits on the boards of Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), Young President’s Organization (YPO), the Associated General Contractors of Ohio and Columbus Next Generation Corporation.
Josh was a member of the 2002 graduating class of Leadership Columbus and was inducted into the Leadership Columbus Hall of Fame in 2017. He was named to Columbus Business First’s ‘Forty Under 40’ class of 2010. Josh is also a member of YPO.
Josh is a graduate of Ohio University and lives in Upper Arlington with his wife, Amy, and their three children.
Brent is a Registered Architect with a B.S. in Architecture from The Ohio State University. He has 30 years of architecture and construction experience in both the public and private sector, including practicing architecture for seven years.
Brent leads CBC’s Preconstruction/Predevelopment Services across all regional offices. Under his direction, our preconstruction teams ensure that owners make the most informed decisions regarding schedule, cost, subcontractor selection, and value analysis so that they have confidence in their proformas before starting construction.
In recent years, Brent and his preconstruction team have estimated more than $10 billion worth of construction projects ranging in scope and size from small retail tenant improvements, to phased school additions and renovations, to complex, multi-tiered student housing projects, to large-scale, urban mixed-use developments, corporate centers, and hotels.
Matt began his career in commercial construction in 1978. Over his career, he worked in various field supervision and project management capacities and eventually owned his own large commercial subcontracting company. He joined CBC in 1995 and now serves as Vice President of CBC’s Pittsburgh office. He is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and oversight of all projects managed from the Pittsburgh office.
Matt has led our regional office and teams to successfully complete many notable and complex projects, including the $300 million Waterfront development in Homestead, PA; a LEED-gold new corporate headquarters for CONSOL Energy in Canonsburg, the North Shore developments in Pittsburgh, UBER’s Advanced Technology Center, The Distrikt Hotel, and three phases of student housing at Penn State, to name a few.
Serving as the principal liaison between CBC and its clients, Michele leads CBC’s business development, marketing, communications, and professional development/mentoring initiatives. At the onset of CBC’s projects, she facilitates Client/CBC/Architect Expectation Sessions in order to clearly define the owner’s goals, needs, and success criteria, while also ensuring alignment of expectations so that areas of potential conflict can be resolved quickly. Michele developed and leads CBC’s Client Performance Evaluation process and formal Best Practices & Lesson Learned Sessions.
With a B.S. in Communications from The Ohio State University, Michele is a 28-year veteran of the architecture/engineering/construction industry. She is past president of the Society of Marketing Professional Services, Columbus Chapter, a former Advisory Board member of The Ohio State University’s Construction Systems Management program, and is active in several industry, civic and not-for-profit causes.
Ed has a B.S. in Business Management from Capital University. He joined Continental Building Company in 1994 after years working for a large, international Construction Manager.
With 29 years of experience in the construction industry, Ed has worked in all facets, starting as a Field Engineer to Cost Engineer and as Field Superintendent, Project Manager, Project Executive. He has successfully managed large scale public and private projects in the commercial, industrial, institutional, retail and health care sectors, including Bridge Park Dublin; University Edge Akron; University Edge Greenville, NC; University Crossings, Philadelphia; NRI Office Building, Columbus; University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore; and the Ohio Stadium Renovations, Columbus, to name a few.
Michael has been CBC’s Chief Estimator since 2014 after eight years as a Senior Estimator. He has a 25‐year career in the commercial construction industry that includes roles as a carpenter, field superintendent, and estimator. Michael’s background in the field has made him exceptional at problem solving and achieving stringent budget solutions. He provides value to owners and architects/engineers alike by offering suggestions to enhance project functionality and quality while saving costs.
Bill is a Pittsburgh native with just over 40 years in the construction industry. He started his career as a residential certified remodeler and soon realized his interest was in commercial construction because he enjoys seeing the results of complex projects and the affects they have on how people work and enjoy life.
Some of Bill’s recent projects include Apple Blossom Senior Living, UBER’s Advanced Technology Center, SAP’s Corporate Office at the North Shore, and the Distrikt Hotel renovation in downtown Pittsburgh.
Jeremy holds an Associate degree in Construction Management and a B.S. in Business Management and has worked his way up from laborer to Project Executive during his 34 years in the construction industry.
Jeremy’s experience has been on large‐scale, intricate projects, including the $120 M renovation to the Ohio Statehouse, numerous Ohio k‐12 and higher education projects, and several high-end-design hotels. His most recent projects include the Westar Renaissance by Marriott, the Toledo dual-brand Hilton, Battelle Hyatt House, and Marriott AC Hotel in downtown Columbus.
John has a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and has spent 25 years in the construction industry. His acute attention to detail, strategic buyout skills, and rigor on meeting project schedules, have allowed him to achieve success on small and large projects alike.
John’s most recent projects include Red Cedar Student Housing and Senior Living development in Lansing, MI; Latitude student housing in Kent, OH; and The Waters of Wexford, senior living complex.
Primus is originally from St. Lucia West Indies, and lived on St. Croix Virgin Islands before attending The Ohio State University where he received a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who has worked in commercial construction for 20 years in roles from Project Engineer to Project Executive.
Since joining CBC’s Columbus office in 2018, Primus has proven to be an authentic leader who drives accountability to achieve results, while genuinely caring about his entire project team and building successful projects. A few of his notable projects include Gravity (large mixed-use), Norton Crossing Multifamily, Marina Lofts Multifamily, The Ohio State University’s North Residential District Transformation, Kent State University’s hotel and conference center, and Ohio Dominican University’s LEED Gold science building.
Rob has a degree in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, is a LEED Accredited Professional, a registered Professional Engineer and has 30 years of experience in the construction industry.
Rob has been with our Pittsburgh office for 16 years. During this time, he has lead our teams on notable projects such as CONSOL Energy’s LEED Gold headquarters, extensive renovations of the K & L Gates building, the Fairfield Inn & Suites, Equitable’s headquarters at the North Shore, and Red Cedar, a mixed-use development in Lansing, MI.
Mike has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from The Ohio State University, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and has 16 years of CM, GC and Design/Build experience. Mike is a high-level communicator with extensive construction contract knowledge and is trained in LEAN Construction/continuous improvement methods.
Mike has been involved with a variety of project types, including the Columbus School for Girls expansion and theatre renovation, The Columbus Museum of Art expansion, multiple K-12 schools, higher education classroom buildings, warehouse/distribution centers, and senior living projects.
