Gary ChapmanVirtual Design and Construction ManagerTurner Construction, Tennessee Region
With 13 years in the AEC industry providing Virtual Design in Construction (VDC) services to large construction companies, the demand to leverage technology to improve safety, efficiency, quality, scale, facility management, and overall project delivery continues to be a critical factor for companies large and small to maintain a successful and competitive edge. From my experience as a VDC Manager, integrating and scaling new technologies including UAV’s (drones), Augmented/Virtual Reality, Rendered Visualizations, Advanced Robotics, Reality Capture Tools, Collaborative Data Management Tools, BIM Services, and the like all contribute to lean workflows drastically improving overall project delivery.
Mr. Fortinberry brings 25+ years of management in growing and leading companies integrated between the construction, real estate and technology industries. His first construction job, as a teenager, was working for his electrician father, roughing homes in central Florida. After 10 years in the US Army, he founded his first technology company, serving satellite and cable TV installers.
He later served as an executive with Aimco, one of the nation’s largest real estate owners, and then as President over two divisions at RealPage, the nation’s largest real estate technology platform. In NYC, he was part of the management team on the largest real estate deal in history, the sale of Stuyvesant Town to Blackstone. He has worked on technology initiatives for PPG, been on the executive team for two large, technology forward, contracting companies and is on the advisory boards for two other construction technology companies.
During his whole career, Mr. Fortinberry has focused on the application of technology to these two traditional industries. He is a veteran investor and advisor for early-stage tech companies, where he brings a creative, talent-driven, customer-centric approach. His latest venture is Protiv, a paradigm shifting technology that connects productivity to compensation, in a way never possible.
An avid sailor, he has raced on traditional America’s Cup yachts, holds a USCG Master rating and teaches advanced sailing courses in NYC. He has a BS in Chemistry from Florida State University.
With over a decade of experience, Nick's background as an engineer, paint contractor and current role as CEO of a construction robotics company, he's had a first-hand account of how technology has evolved to aid today's job site. Recent developments and cost reductions in advanced robotics have finally brought real automation to construction. As labor markets continue to tighten, it is imperative we know not only what technology is available, but how best to implement it into our businesses. From drones, to self-driving excavators, to assistive block laying, to wearable technologies and even robotic painting, the construction landscape is going to change more in the next 5 years than it has in the past 50.
