’62 Industrial Management
“I wouldn’t be in business if I hadn’t gone to San Jose State.”
Chances are, if you live in the Bay Area, you live, work, dine or gaze at a building built by Swenson. He’s built structures for high-tech companies (Google, Apple, Hewlett-Packard) as well nonprofits. Schools and restaurants, too. As chairman of the board of Barry Swenson Builder, he continues the construction business legacy his grandfather started in 1912. “I’m one of those guys who can make a bar of soap last a year,” he says. “I don’t waste anything.” The man who’s done so much to shape the region’s skyline also calls ’em as he sees ’em. The construction business is “a tough business,” he declares. “You’re always waiting for the next job.”
College: Lucas College and Graduate School of Business
Photo: Courtesy of Barry Swenson
