HELIOS CONSTRUCTION SERVICES - Key Persons
Aash Desai founded Helios Construction Services in 2008 with the vision to transform the inefficient construction process.
Aash has over 15 years of experience in the real estate and construction industry, having worked as a Project Manager and Preconstruction Manager for a large global construction management firm and the Vice President of Development for a national real estate development firm.
Aash actively manages the overall business strategy and project direction for Helios. His experience with a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, private developers, start-up businesses, and institutions, allows him to serve as both a construction manager and adviser for our clients.
Aash earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction at Bradley University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
In addition, Aash has served as a Mentor and on the Associate Board of Directors for the ACE Mentoring Program of Illinois, which promotes careers in architecture, construction, and engineering to inner-city high school students. He was honored with its inaugural Educational Leader award. Aash's involvement in the local community, coupled with his professional achievements, has been recognized by Engineering News Record's Top 20 Professionals Under 40.
"Whenever I've needed a question answered, Aash has been there. He has been a valuable partner to our real estate success."
Job Titles:
- Project Coordinator
- Alexis Kraft / Project Coordinator
Alexis Kraft joined Helios in 2023. As a project coordinator, she supports her teammates and project teams on various office administration and project assignments.
Anna has been interested in designing and building things from a young age. Having studied both architecture and construction engineering and management in university, she loves to see projects come together.
Anna Delseith joined Helios as a Project Intern in the summer of 2022, interned for us for nearly a year, and we were thrilled to hire her as a Project Engineer in 2023. She recently graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master in Construction Engineering and Management. Originally an architecture student, her interests shifted more towards construction and design projects as she wanted to learn more about the construction industry and understand how it was tied to the work she completed as an architecture student.
As a Project Engineer, Anna works with project teams to ensure effective bidding, scheduling, and project management of Helios' projects and document and submittal management. She also coordinates with subcontractors to plan work in the office and the field.
Arnaud joined Helios Construction Services in 2023 after obtaining his Construction Management degree from Bradley University.
During his undergraduate studies, Arnaud gained valuable industry knowledge through internships at various commercial construction companies in Chicago, IL; Kigali, Rwanda; and Ontario, Canada. His project experience includes mixed-use, residential, commercial, and retail, projects.
Connor Recker is a Project Manager with over four years of experience managing construction projects, including cost estimating, material procurement, project scheduling, and liaison between the field and owner/contractor sides.
Connor joined Helios Construction Services in 2023 after having spent four years working as a Project Manager for a large general contractor, where he primarily managed medical office building and healthcare construction projects in the Chicago area and around the United States.
Connor holds a B.S. in Construction Engineering from Iowa State University.
Ed began his career in the construction industry over twenty years ago when he served as a carpenter foreman at a nationally ranked commercial construction company.
His experience includes a wide variety of construction trades. In his superintendent role at Helios, Ed is responsible for scheduling subcontractors and ensuring that work is done correctly and efficiently.
"Ed brought a high degree of professionalism, was courteous, and literally covered all the bases once he took over. His extensive background experience made me feel a lot more comfortable when he was on site, and things started getting hectic."
Eric Rowe has over 15 years of experience working as a laborer, carpenter, foreman and superintendent on various sized jobs for subcontractors.
His experience in the field gives him a first-hand understanding of the mechanics, requirements and demands to complete a project on time and under budget. In addition, Eric's 17 years of service in the United States Army have cultivated his leadership skills and his attention to detail.
Job Titles:
- Principal and Co - Founder - Space Architecture Planning
Job Titles:
- Project Superintendent
- Senior Superintendent
Joe Koleczek is a Senior Superintendent at Helios and has over 20 years of construction experience.
Before joining us, he worked in various positions, including carpenter, foreman, and superintendent, giving Joe a well-rounded view of the construction field. Joe is OSHA-30 certified and holds a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers construction quality management certificate.
Joe's day-to-day responsibilities include supervision on job sites to ensure safe and efficient work is completed. His experience in the field allows him to create accurate schedules for subcontractor work to guarantee the timely completion of a job.
"Joe has been a project superintendent on two of our projects managing renovations that affected the heart of our properties. He is talented, diligent, and thoughtful in his approach throughout the project and takes on and successfully resolves all challenges that come up during the project."
Kris Vander Meer joined Helios as a Project Executive in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in construction.
He oversees multiple projects and teams to ensure client expectations are met on Helios projects, all while delegating and managing deliverables with team members and stakeholders. His experience includes multi-family, mixed-use, design-build, industrial, tenant improvement, residential remodel, and public housing projects. Before joining Helios, he managed construction projects for several other mid-sized general contractors in the Chicagoland area.
Kris enjoys working on complex projects with unique challenges that allow him to think outside the box to achieve the customer's design intent. His experience in renovation work has presented him with many challenges and taught him how to adapt to and develop ways to work with existing conditions while meeting challenging design goals. He especially enjoys working with superintendents to problem solve and turn drawings into reality.
Laura handles all office operations, including accounting, human resources, contract management, and communications.
She continuously contributes to the company's standards of excellence. With her patience and diligence, she promotes a positive work environment.
As one of Helios' first employees, Laura has been an integral part of establishing a solid foundation for the company's ongoing growth and success. Laura's impressive attention to detail and knowledge of the industry enables Helios Construction Services to operate efficiently and gracefully.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri. Prior to joining Helios, Laura worked for several large real estate companies in Chicago in marketing, operations, and administrative roles.
Leah Gearhart leads overall marketing strategy and execution at Helios Construction Services. She partners with internal and external teams to develop content and drive awareness of Helios' great team and high-quality work.
Leah has worked in professional services marketing for over nine years and has managed marketing and communications initiatives for multiple firms in the Chicago area.
Marty joined Helios in 2016 to help establish our service division.
He is responsible for managing many construction and maintenance projects, ensuring that our clients' needs are met for projects large and small, as well as providing maintenance services to ensure they look as good down the road as the day they are completed.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder - Half Acre Brewing
Job Titles:
- Executive Director - Waukegan Public Library
Job Titles:
- Design Group Office Expansion
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Development - Habitat Company
Since joining the organization in 2010, Tom has been instrumental in taking on some of our most complex projects while helping to convert many first-time clients into repeat clients.
As a General Superintendent, Tom is involved in every project, serving as a mentor and a resource to all our Superintendents and project team members. Tom's extensive background in construction enables him to provide outstanding direction to subcontractors by coordinating plans, specifications, and schedules to ensure quality and on-time completion of work.
Before Helios, Tom had been an integral part of one of the largest construction companies in Chicago, where he served as a carpenter apprentice, journeyman, carpenter foreman, and superintendent. Throughout his thirty-five-year career in the construction industry, Tom has overseen and consistently delivered several projects of different sizes, scopes, and budgets.
"Tom's construction business acumen runs very deep. As such, he can foresee possible issues, provide creative solutions, and generally alleviate a lot of the stress of completing a project within budget and on time. Whether it's a small detail or a pivotal point in the entire project, Tom gave it his utmost attention."
Zach Bencur graduated from Purdue University Northwest with a degree in Construction Management & Engineering Technologies.
Prior to Helios, Zach worked as a carpenter for a custom home builder and as a Project Engineer for a general contractor.
At Helios, Zach works with project managers, clients, and subcontractors onsite and in the office to ensure the seamless delivery of high-quality work.
"Zach was organized, always ready with a solution, and approached the project as a team player, with a focus on the client, the budget, and the timeline. We look forward to working with him again."