Company History
In 2012, HCBG celebrated 15 years of service, innovation, and social responsibility. Founded in 1997 by husband and wife team, Stephen and Susan Howell, their vision was to utilize their professional backgrounds in engineering, project management, residential construction, and marketing to create a consistently great new home construction and home remodeling experience for homeowners on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
Stephen is the company President, overseeing all operations. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering at Cornell University. While a high school and college student, he worked on framing and finish carpentry crews building custom new homes around New England. In the years after college, Steve honed his management skills as a software engineer/Project Manager at Hewlett-Packard, a company well known for its excellence in project management while inspiring individual innovation. During these years, Steve kept his interest in construction fresh by building a custom timber frame home for his family, and working on an antique home restoration on Cape Cod. Steve’s exceptional eye for detail is reflected in the systems he’s developed throughout the company to ensure an unprecedented level of quality, creativity and accuracy.
Susan is the company’s Marketing Director. She earned a B.S. in Psychology at Cornell University, then worked as a Marketing Manager in educational and interactive publishing for ten years. Susan is the clients’ first contact with the company, discussing their vision, and introducing them to Howell Custom Building Group’s services and process. Both Susan and Steve are actively involved in the local community as members of the Board of Directors for the Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity, and Susan is President of the Board for Parents of Students of Phillips Academy. Howell Custom Building Group was originally known as Howell Design & Build. In 2009 the company renovated its corporate identity to better reflect its emphasis on the firm’s collaboration with outside design partners (in addition to in-house design and build), experience in building custom luxury homes, and sustainable building design. Click here to learn more about why HCBG is the premier builder in North Shore, MA.
