Tom Kerker is the operations manager and account executive with Wilhelm Construction, working with Eli Lilly and Company and other life sciences clients. His 1984 bachelor’s degree in building construction management gave him the education needed to grow within the construction industry. Classes like estimating, scheduling and construction layout allowed him to easily apply classroom instruction to day-to-day work activities. This foundation, coupled with his experience, has allowed him to manage a large pharmaceutical client account assigned to improve project schedule, cash flow, receipts and quality assurance.
Kerker has been involved with many building projects with Wilhelm, most notably the Indiana Government Center renovation and Circle Center Mall parking structures. In addition to his Wilhelm responsibilities, he serves on several boards and earned the 2002 Buyer/Decision maker of the Year from the Indiana Minority Supplier Development Council.
Kerker received the 2014 Outstanding Technology Alumni Award from the College of Technology. Award winners were asked to how their degree benefited their career. He answered:
- My BCM degree gave me the technical, practical, and managerial education and background to grow from a construction project engineer through project management to an executive position with Wilhelm Construction. It helped develop me to lead and be responsible for our company’s largest single client over the past 13 years.