3 Things I Learned About the Most Powerful Woman in Philly Construction

Emily Bittenbender (right) with Kate Wilhelm Chimicles, principal at KWC Strategies.

Is there anyone in the Philadelphia business world more badass than Emily Bittenbender?

In the male-dominated world of construction, she’s a rousing success. Bittenbender is not only the founder and managing partner of Bittenbender Construction, but she’s also the first woman to lead the 125-year-old General Building Contractors Association of Philadelphia.

Bittenbender was just profiled in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Here are three things I learned:

1. She’s tough: 

“I have a very masculine mind. I don’t cry. I don’t bitch. I don’t gossip. I don’t complain. I take the bullets just like everybody else. Construction is high risk, tons of conflict. I think I perform very similarly to men in that regard.

2. She Hires Mostly Women For Top Exec Positions:

“I don’t hire emotional women, but I do hire women that can handle themselves appropriately. My intuition is very good. I tell people I can smell it on them.”

3. She Can Separate Business And Emotions:

She “made her ex-fiancee her business partner right after they broke up.”

Read the entire profile here.