April Lopinot is a 2024 Titan 100 Winner!

Keeley Companies is proud to announce that April Lopinot, Chief People Officer, has been named a 2024 Titan 100 Winner. The Titan 100 program recognizes St. Louis’ most accomplished business leaders using criteria that includes demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision, and passion. April has changed the trajectory of our company with her passion for people, growth, and achieving results on purpose.

Since joining Keeley Companies eight years ago as Keeley Construction’s first-ever HR Manager, April has grown a non-existent HR department into a fifteen-member People Operations Team responsible for HR, Recruiting, Performance Management, Benefits & Compliance, Culture, Learning & Development, Health & Wellness, DEI, and numerous other people-related functions for Keeley Companies, Keeley Construction Group, Keeley Properties, and Keeley Restoration Services. April has also been instrumental in providing strategic HR and Talent Acquisition support to multiple other partners in Keeley’s capital investment portfolio. Today, April proudly serves as Keeley Companies’ first-ever Chief People Officer.

Since 2015, when April joined Keeley, we have added six new regional offices in Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio, and North Dakota – each with significant hiring and onboarding needs. Our teams have also extended their line of services, entering the national Heavy Industries sector, expanding our Building & Industrial groups regionally into the West market based out of Phoenix, and bringing Paving & Civil services to Texas. April’s team spearheaded all onboarding, recruiting, and structuring of each of these new business lines and regional markets.

April also led Keeley’s move to self-funded health insurance in 2020. This transition has helped Keeley take healthcare costs into our own hands by encouraging a proactive approach to healthcare for all Keeley’ns. The move to self-funded healthcare has produced incredible results, all while involving no significant changes to team members current costs and coverage. Based on 2020 data, this program, driven by April and her Compliance & Benefits team, resulted in savings for Keeley Companies of over $800,000 annually with goals of being at over $1M in annual savings. Keeley continues to pay 100% of Class 1 team members’ health insurance premiums and we have a robust reimbursement process for team member claims. Other improvements, all driven by the People Operations Team, included additions to the already world-class benefit package including improved maternity and paternity leave, an increase to 6% in 401K matching, a lucrative anniversary program, and a significantly improved paid time-off plan for all team members.

The rapid growth and expansion of Keeley Companies has brought in over 1,000 new hires to Keeley Companies during April’s tenure. While April has accomplished incredible things across every aspect of HR & Recruiting, she also followed her passion and founded KeeleyLife, a robust health and wellness program to serve all Keeley Companies team members and their families. KeeleyLife offers numerous benefits including wellness challenges that encourage team members to compete against one another to better themselves, and education opportunities that further team members’ knowledge on mental health, physical fitness, nutritional health, and financial education. April leads every aspect of this world-class cultural pillar including nearly 20 classes, over 15 challenges and competitions, 20 podcasts episodes featuring subject matter experts in various health and wellness related topics, and countless other opportunities annually. On top of her involvement with KeeleyLife, April’s team also leads Keeley’s Learning & Development efforts, KeeleyU, which includes hundreds of unique learning opportunities annually as well as a robust learning management system (LMS) and scholarship programs through Dale Carnegie of St. Louis and Maryville University. April also leads Keeley’s DEI efforts through KeeleyOne, strategically shaping Keeley’s approach toward ensuring a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for every Keeley’n to thrive.

“Since joining Keeley and growing my career, my greatest accomplishment has truly been building an incredible team that lives out our mission and values every single day as we strive to better serve our Keeley’ns nationwide.”

April’s dedication and passion for helping people become the best versions of themselves has resulted in April being featured in numerous speaking events for the Construction Forum, LEAP TA, Red Shoe Society STL, Maryville University, STL CAPS, and more. April is proud to be one of St. Louis’ top Human Resources Leaders helping other companies and leaders in any way she can. She received the HR Award from the St. Louis Business Journal in 2020 and was named the 2021 Keeley Companies Person of the Year. In 2021, April and her team also won the Healthiest Employers Award for their work in building KeeleyLife into the robust cultural pillar it is today.

Outside of her passion for developing people and creating a work environment team members can enjoy, April is a proud member of TALK STL’s board, the Strategic Committee Leader for Girls in the Know, Benefit Task Force Committee Member for the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Ronald McDonald House Board Member, Southside Early Childhood Board Member, and NAWIC Board Member.

April, congratulations on this incredible accomplishment! Thank you for all you do for Keeley Companies and our people. We would not be where we are today without your guidance, leadership, and vision.