BUILDING FUTURE LEADERS


AGC Emerging Leaders Reborn from CLC W


By Carol Eaton


hat’s in a name? Plenty, when it comes to AGC of California’s newly


rebranded Emerging Leaders (EL) program. Formerly known as the


Construction Leadership Council, the AGC EL officially rolled out in August with a new, more easily identifiable name, a new logo and brand identity and a renewed commitment to educate, engage and connect entry to mid-level construction professionals throughout California. Te strategic rebranding initiative


Branden Laptalo


was more than a year in the making according to Branden Laptalo, Chair, EL Statewide Steering Committee and an area superintendent with Hensel Phelps. Laptalo, who has been active in the group for over eight years and formerly served as AGC Student Chapter President at SJSU, said the process got underway when the former CLC Board (now EL Statewide Steering Committee) came to the realization that their name did not


“The CLC name didn’t roll off the tongue. We wanted to rebrand to make the name fit with our purpose. We wanted to make it easier to pitch and for people to understand.” - Branden Laptalo, Hensel Phelps


14 September/October 2021


develop powerful networks, and build our communities.” Te group also adopted the tagline


clearly convey who belonged or what they represented. “Te CLC name didn’t roll off the


tongue, and a lot of input we received was the name wasn’t very clear,” he noted. “Tat sparked what we already knew: we wanted to rebrand to make the name fit with our purpose. We wanted to make it easier to pitch and for people to understand.” Te Steering Committee knew they


needed to make some changes that would reinvigorate the group following a year and a half of strictly virtual events and engagement.


Redefining the Mission and Pillars


Megan Calm, Director of


Marketing at Twining, Inc. and 2021 Chair, SoCal Region Emerging Leaders and EL Statewide Steering Committee Member, worked closely with Laptalo and others on the rebranding initiative and also directly helped develop brand identity material as part of the Marketing Subcommittee. “A lot of our discussion hinged


on our mission statement, and we solidified our three pillars,” she commented. “Our mission is to educate, connect, and engage entry to mid-level construction professionals so that together, we learn the industry,


“Simply put, we build leaders.” Calm noted, “Tere is a need for leaders in our industry to backfill this next generation as the Boomers start retiring, and it’s millennials coming into positions of power.” She added, “I think we are capitalizing on a really important time in our history. We’ve all been confined to our zoom screens for the last year and a half, so I’m really excited to start planning for in-person events again!” Like others who


have found a home at EL / former CLC, Calm said the group has been an important place for her to connect with others who are at similar stages in their careers and lives. “From the first (EL/


Megan Calm


““From the first (EL/CLC) event I went to, it was really nice to walk into a room of other mid-level professional like myself and feel like I belonged.” - Megan Calm


CLC) event I went to, it was really nice to walk into a room of other mid-level professional like myself and feel like I belonged.” Laptalo added, “Troughout my


career, with EL and formerly CLC, I always met people at events that I would never meet normally on a day-to-day basis on my jobsite. Getting people from different companies into


California Constructor


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