Forty Under 40: Jeff Gattis

Graduating with a business management degree from Arkansas Tech in 2002, Jeff Gattis had no intention of going into the construction field. But with three preceding generations of his family in Ozark working in the business and a timely job offer from EWI Construction, it may have been inevitable.

Gattis’ career started with EWI in Fayetteville. He later worked as a construction manager for Walmart before joining Nabholz in 2006 as project manager. In that role, and then as a senior project manager, he managed $200 million in school projects, including Phase II of Fayetteville High School’s renovation, The New School in Fayetteville and two major millage campaigns in Harrison and Ozark school districts. Numerous awards include the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Excellence in Construction and the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce’s Construction and Developers 2017 Appreciation Award for The New School.

Promoted last year to project executive, Gattis leads the team that built the new 600,000-square-foot parking garage at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

Gattis’ objective is to foster a stress-free customer experience through “transparency of financials, a safe, clean job site and by exceeding expectations on speed of construction and the quality of the end product.”

Humbled by his latest promotion, Gattis said “being a boss of people instead of being a boss of projects is a whole different world.” His No. 1 goal is to “continue to develop and make future great leaders and managers of our company.”

Married with one son, Gattis said family is his first priority. Because Benton County is his home now, he invests in the community through serving on the Ronald McDonald Family Room steering committee and Kiwanis of Downtown Rogers.