Thomas C. Schleifer PhD

Thomas C. Schleifer, PhD, joined the construction industry at age 16 and brings more than 50 years of contracting and consulting experience to his presentation. He has a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in construction management from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D., in construction management, from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Schleifer’s experience includes serving as foreman, field superintendent, project manager, and vice president of a construction company that he owned with his brother. From 1976 to 1986 he was the Founder and President of the largest international consultancy firm serving the contract surety industry. During this period, he assisted in the resolution or salvage of hundreds of distressed or failed construction firms. This combination of practical, hands-on experience as a contractor and assisting financially distressed companies has given Dr. Schleifer a unique perspective on the causes of business failure and how to avoid them. He wrote the book Construction Contractors’ Survival Guide which has been acclaimed by thousands of contractors and used as a text in numerous university graduate and undergraduate courses and publishes Schleifer’s Construction Forecast newsletter.