Our 2022 Top 10 Under 40

The future of the heavy lifting industry looks bright. Armed with a strong work ethic, initiative, curiosity, and a commitment to training and safety, the 2022 winners of our Top 10 Under 40 contest are setting the bar for young professionals across the industry.

And it wasn’t easy paring down all of your entries to just 10 – there are so many excellent people out there under the age of 40 in our industry.

Whether they work in leadership, operations, maintenance, sales or support, these crane and hoist employees are highly regarded by their colleagues, clients and peers.

Congratulations to our 2022 winners! In the days to come, we will be featuring each winner in no particular order, beginning with Nicole Connolly:

NICOLE CONNOLLY

Director, Operations – Oxford Builders Supplies

Mississauga, Ont.

Nicole Connolly started in the equipment division, Oxford Builders Supplies, in London, Ont., shortly after she graduated from university in 2008.

“She started out working in an administrative and purchasing role before quickly taking on all the rental coordination responsibilities for the division. In 2010, Oxford sold off most of its rental equipment to Stephenson’s Rental Services, and Nicole took the opportunity to move to Toronto to work as a ProDesk Account Manager,” says Alex Davoli, a coworker of Nicole’s for 10 years. “In this role with Stephenson’s Rental Services, Nicole acted as the direct EllisDon liaison. She continued to build the strong relationship and partnership that was created upon the acquisition of Oxford’s assets while simultaneously supporting the company’s biggest clients.”
In 2014, when the Hoist Division was created, and a branch was opened in Toronto, an Operations Manager specifically sought out Nicole to have her return to the Oxford Builders Supplies team in a leadership capacity.

“She started as the Service Manager within a staff of eight people, which has since grown to over 30 and counting. She has been an integral part of the growth of the division, managing what started as just a handful of customers and job sites to more than 40 active sites and a fleet of over 70 man and material hoists currently on rent in the Greater Toronto Area and Southwestern Ontario,” says Davoli.

In addition, when Oxford’s scaffolding division opened in 2017, Connolly took on the responsibility of overseeing the transition until a permanent staff member was put in place. She has also been responsible for training new hoist staff in Vancouver and helped with crane service/administrative duties out of London.
After moving into the Director of Operations role this year, Nicole is responsible for all hoist operations in Toronto, including booking hoist installations, extensions and dismantles. She currently manages a staff that includes an office administrator, purchaser, hoist labourers, and a boom truck driver and simultaneously facilitates all logistics and trucking both internally and externally while overseeing operations in the field, shop, and office.

She has retained Oxford’s 24-hour hoist service line and acts as the first point of contact for any potential on-site issues, providing exceptional customer service by dispatching service technicians immediately; continuing to foster the sense of trust and dependability.

“Nicole is also responsible for dispatching and communicating workforce daily, working with engineering and Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), communicating all progress with Oxford’s clients and for ensuring that all of Oxford’s equipment is safely serviced and maintained both in the shop and on-site,” says Davoli.
“As a Joint Health & Safety Committee (JHSA) member, Nicole puts safety as a top priority both in the field and in Oxford’s shop. She always ensures that safe practices are in place and that safety certificates and documentation are up to date. As a fleet manager, Nicole also extends this to Oxford’s company vehicles,” says Davoli. “As an avid sports fan, you can catch Nicole cheering on the Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC in her spare time, and she is looking forward to cheering on Team Canada in the World Cup this winter.”

You can see all 10 of our Top 10 in the November/December issue of Crane & Hoist magazine, including a profile on Jimmy Laroche, who made the cover of the magazine.

Jimmy Laroche

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