April 2024 Behind the Scenes: Unveiling Our Team’s Passions
April 1, 2024
Discover the heartbeat of our company with an exclusive glimpse into the diverse talents and personalities that drive our successes. Get to know the faces behind the innovation in our “Meet Our Team” feature.
Nathan Asay, Project Executive
Meet Project Executive Nathan Asay, one of our team members who has been with The Hardy Group since he was an intern in college!
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I was born in Utah, but have also lived in California, Argentina, and Georgia.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
A: I enjoy playing guitar, playing sports with my kids and spending time outdoors.
Q: Has there been a mentor in your life who significantly influenced your career journey?
A: When I was a Project Director, all of the Senior Project Directors I worked with at The Hardy Group were mentors to me, I feel like I learned something different from each one of them. My most notable mentors were John Hardy, Rocky Marzzarella, and Tom Gaffney. Having the opportunity to work under them for several years and observe how they work, operate, and communicate impacted how I run projects and helped me excel in my career.
Q: Could you recount one of the most meaningful moments you’ve experienced with your team members during your tenure at The Hardy Group?
A: Every time we are able to complete a project and hand it over to the client is a great sense of achievement and the sense of accomplishment is something that is shared with everyone on the team.
Q: How did you find your way into the hospitality/construction industry?
A: I helped some families build their houses in Argentina and developed a passion for construction. When I was in college and looking for an internship I came across The Hardy Group and I have been with the company ever since.
Q: How do your personal passions aligns with the work we do at The Hardy Group?
A: I enjoy the process of building things and seeing the transformation first hand. Working with The Hardy Group allows me to be a part of this process over and over again.
Read more about Nathan, here.
Liana Cassel, Senior Project Director
Meet Senior Project Director Liana Cassel, a former literary agent/publisher and a licensed Architect with over 15 years of industry experience.
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I was born in North Carolina, but I grew up outside of Detroit, MI, three blocks from the Detroit Zoo.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
A: I enjoy Yoga, cross-word puzzles, and a lot of dancing
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
A: In my previous career I was a literary agent/publisher. When I worked in that industry, I was also the ghost writer for multiple teen romance novels including Sweet Valley High.
Q: Has there been a mentor in your life who significantly influenced your career journey?
A: Through 20 years of architecture design, I thought often about moving to owner side and a Project Manager from The Hardy Group finally helped me make that decision.
Q: What is a personal or professional achievement that profoundly shaped your life or career path?
A: I went to Architecture School because I wanted to get out of the publishing industry and was interested in Architecture. During my thesis year, life circumstances forced me to quickly find a job and through that I realized my Creative, type A, and Managerial personality was suited for a career in architecture. One year into my new job, 9/11 happened and my former boss offered me the incredible opportunity to co-found a company which fast tracked my career.
Q: Could you recount one of the most meaningful moments you’ve experienced with your team members during your tenure at The Hardy Group?
A: I enjoy all the New York office cultural enhancement events; it gives us a chance to spend time together outside of working hour and do fun activities around the city. Additionally, I really appreciate how supportive and understanding The Hardy Group is when life happens, they are extremely family oriented and truly care about their team.
Q: How did you find your way into the hospitality/construction industry?
A: I was running a small architecture firm and after 7 years I went to work with a friend of mine who was running a hospitality interior design firm for a change of pace. I soon found out Interior design hospitality is extremely exciting due to the large-scale design components that get executed.
Read more about Liana, here.
Bob Tassone, Senior Project Manager
Meet Senior Project Manager Bob Tassone, a licensed Architect and Interior designer with over 40 years of industry experience. Bob was inspired by his father, a Chicago fireman who did renovations and HVAC projects on the side and he was his junior assistant.
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
A: Going to art museums and galleries, traveling, reading, art films, and Chicago White Sox baseball.
Q:What is a fun fact about yourself?
A: My dad was a Chicago fireman who did renovations and HVAC projects on the side. From an early age, I was his junior assistant. My great-grandfather was a master carpenter who built wooden water tanks in major cities across the U.S.
Q: Has there been a mentor in your life who significantly influenced your career journey?
A: A pre-eminent restoration architect hired me straight out of college. Among the projects we worked on were restorations of Louis Sullivan buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright homes. I was also honored to work with a pre-eminent architect on the Farnsworth House. I experienced firsthand the beauty of design, materials and craftmanship, leaving me with a profound appreciation for both architecture and the architects who came before me.
Q: What is a personal or professional achievement that profoundly shaped your life or career path?
A: I’ve been fortunate to have worked on some of the most historically significant and beautiful Chicago buildings, under the tutelage of some of Chicago’s foremost architects.
Q: Could you recount one of the most meaningful moments you’ve experienced with your team members during your tenure at The Hardy Group?
A: I continue to be impressed by the teams I’ve worked with on our projects. The wealth of experience, enthusiasm, and desire to deliver a first-rate project make it a pleasure to show up to work every day.
Q: How did you find your way into the hospitality/construction industry?
A: In addition to my previous statements on the construction industry, I began working in hospitality because of the effect hurricanes have on the industry. Extensive damage to different hotel properties created a need for an architect with experience in construction management. I was “blown away” to get the jobs!
Q: How do your personal passions aligns with the work we do at The Hardy Group?
A: The Hardy Group and I share a similar passion to get the job done in the best possible way for the benefit of all. Resolving daily challenges on the job site, sharing knowledge and experience with my teammates, and an appreciation for a job well done all make for a great work experience.
Read more about Bob, here.
Matthew Watters, Project Director
Meet Project Director Matthew Watters, a licensed professional engineer that enjoys cooking in his free time!
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I was born and raised in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, a small town that goes by the motto “a great place to call home”.
Q: What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
A: In my free time I enjoy exercising, reading non-fiction books, and cooking.
Q: Could you share a brief and interesting fact about yourself?
A: When I was in college I was featured as a model in a construction training workbook.
Q: Has there been a mentor in your life who significantly influenced your career journey?
A: My boss from my part time job in college was an incredible mentor and had a profound impact on my professional development. She taught me the importance of being concise, proofreading everything, retaining key knowledge, sticking to the facts, and reading through emails three times before sending. From day one, it was obvious that she excelled at her job and I continue to look up to her to this day.
Q: What is a personal or professional achievement that profoundly shaped your life or career path?
A: My greatest professional achievement so far is obtaining my professional engineer license. It is a goal of most engineers and is really a paramount moment in one’s career.
Q: Could you recount one of the most meaningful moments you’ve experienced with your team members during your tenure at The Hardy Group?
A: A meaningful memory is when I made homemade banana pudding for the entire New York City office and everyone loved it. I really had the opportunity to have my hobbies shine through in the workplace.
Q: How did you find your way into the hospitality/construction industry?
A: I have known that I wanted to be an engineer for as long as I can remember and because you can’t have construction without engineers, I knew that’s where I wanted to be. I decided to move into the hospitality industry because I appreciate the scale and complexity of the projects. The projects are luxury, high-end assets and are also a product I can use. When working on a residential or commercial space, you may never get to experience it firsthand in the same way you would get to experience a hotel.
Q: How do your personal passions aligns with the work we do at The Hardy Group?
A: I firmly believe there is always a learning opportunity and stand by the saying that “you don’t know what you don’t know”. I am passionate about learning and professional development and feel like those values align with what The Hardy Group provides to their employees. I enjoy the opportunity to learn daily from HARDY U’s Training sessions, and meetings with fellow team members and consultants.
Read more about Matthew, here.
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