News
J.S. Held’s Inaugural Global Risk Report Examines Potential Business Risks & Opportunities in 2024
Read More
What truly differentiates J.S. Held is our people — world-class talent driven by a common set of core values. Together, these shared values inspire a culture of integrity, excellence, teamwork, and service.
Doug McCabe has been with J.S. Held since 2012, when he joined the team to help provide support in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. He is based out of our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office and is a Senior Consultant for our Property Damage Consulting Business Practice. Doug is known for doing whatever it takes to make sure the job is done right, a mindset he acquired from a young age while helping his father work on projects around the house.
"Doug takes a can-do approach to solving complex problems," said Jake Mello, Senior Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager. "He has a wealth of experience and helps provide valuable insight that ensures a successful and thoughtful approach to projects. Not to mention, he does this all while thinking about the next fishing hole he will encounter."
Whether he is performing property damage inspections, developing repair scopes, generating detailed repair estimates, or preparing replacement cost valuation estimates; Doug is committed to upholding the standards passed down to him from his father to ensure he is doing right by those entrusting him on each project he is assigned.
Doug is a graduate of Rutgers University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. Upon graduation, Doug joined the General Electric Manufacturing Problem Analysis Program, a two-year program created to help develop leadership skills so that participants could join the GE management team. His success in the program landed him a job as a Systems Analyst in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was responsible for being the interface between the national warehouse department and computer programmers to help automate order fulfillment processes. After a few years of service, he opted to pursue a new opportunity in California working for a defense contractor. His new role remained as a Systems Analyst and shared many of the same job functions he had at GE.
During his tenure in defense work, Doug made the decision to obtain a Master’s degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University. As a result of his furthered education, Doug was promoted to Program Manager, which meant he was now responsible for the supervision of several multi-million-dollar defense contracts. Doug recalls his time in the defense contracting world as, “very rewarding and highly educational,” with his greatest lessons learned coming in the form of managing contracts and building relationships with clients.
In the late 1990’s, when the defense work started to dry up, Doug jumped onto a new career path and joined Equity Appraisal Company, a commercial real estate appraisal company, where he served as a Staff Appraiser for more than a decade. His time as an appraiser taught him how to prepare building valuations, strengthened his writing skills, and developed his knowledge of commercial and industrial buildings.
It was in 2012 when Doug received a call from his brother, Peter McCabe - VP & Area Manager for J.S. Held, asking him to come help out with all of the work that was coming in as a result of Hurricane Sandy. “It was an easy decision to make the move to join J.S. Held and work with my brother and life-long friend Doug MacKinney,” said Doug McCabe. “The role was a great fit for my skill set and has truly been a blessing in my life.”
Doug is renowned for his expertise in property valuations. He has worked on some of the most complex valuations nationwide and is often called upon on multi-million-dollar projects involving commercial, industrial, secular, and government buildings. Doug averages more than a hundred valuations per year with a total square footage in excess of five million square feet.
The opportunity to see new places and have back-stage access is one of the aspects of Doug’s job that he enjoys most. He has been able to get up close and personal with structures such as the United Nations Building, National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Judd Foundation, and Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge. However, at the end of the day it is his passion for helping people that inspires him on a daily basis.
Away from work, Doug enjoys spending time with his wife, Phyllis, son, JD, oldest daughter, Amanda, and youngest daughter, Carly. One of his fondest memories is when he and JD built a wooden drift boat together that now serves as the vessel for their father/son fly-fishing trips.
Doug is also Vice President of the Bucks County Trout Unlimited wildlife conservation group in his community. The group is dedicated to conserving and preserving the habitat of wild trout.
Interested in learning more about Doug McCabe? Give him a call at (215) 262-1441.