Introduction
“So, you’re kind of like a fresh face in the industry,” a friend remarked during dinner in 1995. The term “fresh” felt right to Mandy Rennehan. Twenty years old, with no formal education in either construction or business management, she had just started breaking into the male-dominated facility construction industry. Through cold calling local contractors and word-of-mouth referrals, she had built onsite experience in various trades such as HVAC, roofing, plumbing, and concrete. Shortly after the dinner, Freshco, the first full-service, 24/7, on-call retail facilities company in Canada, was born.
Between 1995 and 2024, Freshco, with Rennehan as founder and CEO, grew into a multi-million dollar business, trusted by retailers such as Apple, Gap, lululemon, and Nike, to name a few. Rennehan achieved this success as a woman and a lesbian in an industry that, according to her, “barely knows what to do with either.” Due in large part to Rennehan’s advocacy for women in the trades, as of 2024, women comprised over 70% of Freshco’s workforce, despite the persistent male dominance in the industry.
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This case was written by Momoko Ishida. The author prepared this case under the supervision of Professors Sarah Kaplan and Hyeun Lee.
The development of this case study was supported by the Latner GATE MBA Internships program.