Christine Loiselle | Age: 58 Managing director-construction

Hylant Group Inc.

Independence, Ohio

Christine Loiselle says the challenges she has faced as the mother of a special needs child have helped her in her career.

Nick, the younger of her two sons, who is now 29, has a genetic disorder that took 10 years to finally diagnose, Ms. Loiselle said. “In having Nicky, my grit and perseverance came out as a woman and as a mother,” she said.

Those traits have influenced her work, she said.

“I do whatever I can for a client, and it’s the same thing that I do for Nick,” if it is something that can benefit him, she said. “Nicky gave me such determination, and that’s definitely transferred over to my work life.”

Ms. Loiselle “will always go that extra mile to help you,” said Michael Maitland, client service executive with Hylant, who has known Ms. Loiselle for 15 years and worked with her at three different companies.

“Christine is the warmest, most giving person I know,” Mr. Maitland said. “She’s selfless. She’ll give you the shirt off her back.”

Ms. Loiselle grew up in Highland Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom, and her father worked as a tool and die specialist. A younger brother is a paramedic.

Ms. Loiselle worked for two small agencies before joining Cleveland-based Oswald Cos. where she switched from trucking to construction, which has remained her focus ever since.

Construction involves “meeting with the client and understanding their business,” she said. “Transportation was very transactional and certificate driven, and I liked being able to talk to people, to get to their business risk and figure out a way in which I could help with insurance,” she said.

At Hylant, which she joined two years ago, she works with a group of seven other women.

“We’re the construction girls,” Ms. Loiselle said. It is a team of people “who are passionate about it and really know their stuff. They’re wonderful.”

Judy Greenwald