B/ACE BOSS Nosa Ehimwenman President & CEO, Bowa Construction
Barack Obama inspired millions of people with his campaign message of hope. But for Nosa Ehimwenman, President and CEO of Bowa Construction, the former president’s words helped inspire him to build a successful construction management and general contracting firm.
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orn in Nigeria, Ehimwenman immigrated to the United States at age six. His parents instilled the values of hard work and dedication in him since he was a child. He applied those principles both to his studies and to track and field, where he was a top-ranked athlete. Ehimwenman earned a full scholarship to Ohio State University, where he majored in Construction Management and Engineering. At Ohio State, Ehimwenman excelled both in the classroom and on the track, where he was a Big Ten Champion and All-American. Ehimwenman’s work ethic helped propel 12 / www.bacemagazine.com
his career in the construction industry. After nearly ten years at Gilbane, a large national construction management company, he took the helm of Bowa Construction. And in less than ten years, he grew the firm from three employees to over 60. Bowa’s portfolio includes several high-profile projects at O’Hare Airport and the University of Chicago Medical Center, as well as the renovation of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.’s world headquarters in Chicago. We caught up with Ehimwenman to talk about how President Obama’s words and the lessons his parents taught him as a child have helped him succeed in the construction industry.