{"id":30145,"date":"2025-04-25T16:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T23:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/bill-oneil-former-w-e-oneil-ceo-dies-at-83\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T16:01:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T23:01:14","slug":"bill-oneil-former-w-e-oneil-ceo-dies-at-83","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/bill-oneil-former-w-e-oneil-ceo-dies-at-83\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill O\u2019Neil, former W.E. O\u2019Neil CEO, dies at 83"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\">\n    <button class=\"text-to-speech__button button\"><\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"text-to-speech__button__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/static\/images\/audio_icon.svg?482016190122\" alt=\"-\"><\/p>\n<p>        Listen to the article<br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-to-speech__button__audio-length\">3 min<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls\">\n        <audio controls=\"\" class=\"js-text-to-speech\" preload=\"none\"><source src=\"https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmgi9movl\/video\/upload\/q_1\/v1745589809\/news\/text_to_speech\/bill-oneil-former-we-oneil-ceo-dies_ljywrk.wav\" type=\"audio\/mp3\"><\/source><\/audio><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-to-speech__controls__text\">\n            This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">feedback<\/a>.\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>William \u201cBill\u201d O\u2019Neil II, former CEO and board chairman of Chicago-based W.E. O\u2019Neil, who worked at the company for nearly 50 years, died on April 10, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weoneil.com\/company\/news\/honoring-bill-oneil-1942-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>according to the firm<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>. O\u2019Neil was 83.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"image-right inside_story\">\n<div class=\"figure_content\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A headshot of Bill O'Neil.\" data-imagemodel=\"178159\" src=\"https:\/\/imgproxy.divecdn.com\/MmWch5wL-HQosu5GU01Z6WbQWTJ894wCxOhuf4SHZjw\/g:nowe:49:10\/c:629:786\/rs:fit:0:860\/Z3M6Ly9kaXZlc2l0ZS1zdG9yYWdlL2RpdmVpbWFnZS9iaWxsX29uZWlsLmpwZw==.webp\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"inside_story_caption\">\n<p>Bill O\u2019Neil<\/p>\n<p>Courtesy of W.E. O&#8217;Neil<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The grandson of the company\u2019s founder, William Edward O\u2019Neil, Bill O\u2019Neil joined the firm\u2019s ranks in 1967. From there, he worked his way through positions including layout engineer, superintendent, project manager and estimator, according to the builder.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>O\u2019Neil became CEO of the firm in 1985. He left the role in 2003, and transitioned to chairman of the board until 2020. During his tenure, the company expanded across the country \u2014 it opened its first offices in Los Angeles in 1985; Denver in 1999; and Nashville in 2014, per the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weoneil.com\/history\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>firm\u2019s history page<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>In 1994, the O\u2019Neil family and company leadership collaborated to establish the beginnings of W.E. O\u2019Neil\u2019s employee stock ownership plan, according to its history page.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>ESOPs have<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/willmeng-construction-employee-owned-phoenix\/735220\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> since gained prominence in the industry<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> both as a sustainable path for owners to exit their businesses while simultaneously continuing the legacy of the operation via employee ownership. Major ESOP firms in the construction industry include Omaha, Nebraska-based HDR, Kansas City, Phoenix-based Willmeng Construction and San Jose, California-based Rosendin Electric.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cPutting them right up front is the right thing to do,\u201d O\u2019Neil said at the time.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The firm became fully employee-owned under former CEO Brian Ramsay in 2020, who himself <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/we-oneil-names-new-ceo-john-finn\/743350\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>retired earlier this year<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cAs I worked at W.E. O\u2019Neil over the course of several decades, the one thing that became more and more apparent about Bill O\u2019Neil was that he had two great loves in his life: the love he demonstrated for his family and the love and support that he showed for the employees of O\u2019Neil,\u201d Ramsay said in the news release.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>W.E. O\u2019Neil was founded in 1925 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. Some of the company\u2019s recent milestones include the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/after-acquisition-mid-size-contractor-gains-lot-of-opportunities-exec\/653618\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>acquisition of Austin, Texas-based DCA Construction<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> and the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/lax-midfield-satellite-concourse-south-offsite-construction\/689402\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>$1.4 billion Midfield Satellite Concourse South<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> project at Los Angeles International Airport. The contractor announced in October that initial construction of the nine segments of the Midfield Satellite Concourse South <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weoneil.com\/company\/news\/state-of-the-art-msc-south-terminal-relocation-underway-at-lax-projects\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>have been completed offsite<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cHe believed every employee should share in what we build together,\u201d said John Finn, the firm\u2019s current CEO, of O\u2019Neil. \u201cBill\u2019s legacy lives on in the culture he helped shape and the lives he touched.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/bill-oneil-former-we-oneil-ceo-dies\/746366\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Listen to the article 3 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. William &#8230; <a title=\"Bill O\u2019Neil, former W.E. O\u2019Neil CEO, dies at 83\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/bill-oneil-former-w-e-oneil-ceo-dies-at-83\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Bill O\u2019Neil, former W.E. O\u2019Neil CEO, dies at 83\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}