Commercial general contractor Swinerton Builders announced the promotion of Jay Quackenbush to vice president and division manager of its Northeast Division. This movement follows a year of strategic hires, including Nicholas Schifferle as director of client relations and Robert Murphy as project executive. Together, these industry experts bring nearly 70 years of combined industry knowledge, enhancing Swinerton’s capabilities across New York City and the broader Northeast construction market.
A New York native, Quackenbush has spent nearly three decades overseeing complex, logistically demanding construction projects.
“With extensive industry relationships, deep understanding of New York City’s unique building conditions and strong leadership of the growing team, he is well-equipped to advance the division’s strategic goals,” said Ray Haj, Swinerton’s chief operational officer and East Coast regional manager.
Quackenbush serves on the boards of Rebuilding Together New York and the Building Congress Foundation, is a member of the New York City Regional Leadership Committee for Associated Builders and Contractors, and leads the division’s community engagement efforts, including partnerships with Project Hope, St. Dominic’s Food Pantry and Play Rugby USA.
Schifferle, who joined Swinerton in 2025, brings more than 20 years of business development experience. Originally from Australia, he has designed master plans across Asia and Australia, managed projects for JLL in Thailand, overseen design and construction in Singapore, founded a design-build firm in San Francisco and built key client relationships across New York. His expertise in mixed-use development, portfolio strategy and contract management has supported high-design workplace projects for multinational brands. He has been a member of CoreNet Global for over 20 years.
Industry veteran Murphy has overseen more than $650 million in commercial interiors construction. As project executive, Murphy leads multiple project teams and ensures each project meets or exceeds client expectations. He directs the efforts and morale of the construction team through forward-thinking, goal-oriented decisions.
Launched in 2021, Swinerton’s Northeast Division has delivered projects across all five boroughs, ranging from commercial interiors to ground-up construction.
