3 Minutes with Employee Owner/CEO, Ciro Giammona

I enjoy making and fixing things. Ok, breaking things can be fun too. My interest and passion for remodeling started at age 4 as I followed my Grandfather (a carpenter) around, watching him work on his own home.

In high school my favorite classes were physics, electronics, and auto shop. I learned to develop black and white photographs. I rebuilt the engine in my ’62 Impala. Then I fell in love for the first time: with a guitar.

Who knew you could play any Credence Clearwater song with 3 chords? I co-founded a rock and roll band and played professionally for a few years. I studied recording arts in New York, and landed in a recording studio in San Francisco. Meanwhile, I met the wonderful woman who would become my wife, and we put down roots.

I became an electronics tech, and we bought our first home, a fixer-upper. We remodeled the kitchen, the bathrooms, refinished floors, installed trim, wallpaper and paint. The remodeling bug bit me.

We sold that house, quit our jobs and bought a second fixer-upper and did it all over again. Then a third, until our two wonderful kids came along. I became a production manager for another Bay Area remodeler, and eventually earned my General Contractor’s License and started my own business, doing marketing, estimating, sales, production and business management. Wearing so many hats took its toll, but fortunately, I found Harrell Design + Build where I could lend my talents without burning out.

With the generosity of our company founders Iris Harrell and Ann Benson, I was thrilled to be part of the team that brought Harrell Design + Build to 100% Employee Ownership. I am pleased to serve as a Director of the California Center for Employee Ownership.

I’m a NARI Certified Remodeler, blessed to be a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, and I serve on the Board of TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley’s own world-class regional theatre. I still play guitar and sing (as I have for over 30 years) with the E-Ticket Band.