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Perryman’s father, Jimmie Lee Perryman Sr., started the business in Evergreen, Alabama, in 1954. “The move to Philadelphia decades later felt like the right move to make,” Angelo Perryman said.

“Entrepreneurship is a service, and I saw all the ways I could help Philadelphia be a better Philadelphia,” said Perryman, the company’s president and CEO. “It was an opportunity to see what I could do here.”

Perryman has infused his company’s construction know-how into projects like expanding the international terminal at Philadelphia International Airport and constructing a rehearsal area at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts with “meticulous acoustics” and “precise soundproofing.” Perryman Construction also built the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s South Philadelphia Community Health and Literacy Center, a project which included a state-of-the-art library and community center.²

Perryman appreciates that Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods that depend on each other.

“The marketplace interdepends upon itself, and that is much different from any other part of the country,” Perryman said in a 2017 interview with Construction Dive. “Philadelphia depends pretty heavily upon its capability locally. Rarely do you see in our construction industry a firm with large-project understanding and capabilities come to Philadelphia and merge into the existing culture of doing work here.”³

The Perryman legacy of leadership is continuing into a third generation through Perryman’s daughter, Angelina, who serves as the company’s vice president of administration.⁴

Perryman’s success inspires him to support other local entrepreneurs in their journey. In 2017, he was named an Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year™. Since receiving this honor, he has only become more committed to programs like the EY Entrepreneurs Access Network, which supports Black and LatinX businesses that struggle to reach their full potential due to coaching, connection, curriculum and capital barriers.

“It’s important to surround yourself with positive influences,” he said. “The world throws a lot at you that could go wrong. You have to set yourself apart and find the things that can go right. For those days when you feel like stopping, you need someone that says, ‘Get up, let’s keep fighting through. Tomorrow will be a new day and a better way.’”

“Angelo said the EOY award was one of the best things that ever happened to him, and also one of the worst,” said Dave Burkavage, EY Philadelphia Office Managing Partner. “Angelo explained, ‘Some people see that trophy on your shelf and assume you no longer need help, that you’ve been there and done it. That’s not the case.’”

To borrow a sports analogy, Perryman now sees himself as both a player and a coach. He’s always looking for ways to pay it forward and share life lessons to help others build their own legacy. He also continues to welcome key partners who can provide insight and help with navigating new challenges that he might be facing with his business.

Perryman said, “If you made it this far with the tools you have, you’ll continue to make it further with new things you learn from others.” 

“When working with EY, I saw the concepts learned in class come to life and felt proud of our work, knowing it could potentially make an impact in the professional world,” said Maeve Coogan, a Marketing major and Management Information Systems (MIS) minor at Temple. “We had the freedom to curate and ideate the most user-friendly experience through analysis, design and tests. This collaboration has given me the tools and experience I need to succeed in my future career.”

The program is spearheaded by Steve Sclarow, Temple’s Professor of MIS, who has built his professional and academic career with creativity and collaboration at the forefront. Project deliverables include developing a Digital Hub Figma prototype and a complementary Agora metaverse immersive experience, both of which are presented in a live digital demonstration.  

“The ability to work in an actual design studio environment with all of the tools, expectations and deliverables of a UX Design professional is the secret sauce,” Sclarow said. “Gaining real-world experience with an outside stakeholder is an opportunity that can’t be matched through simulation.”

Kapish Vanvaria, EY Philadelphia partner and Temple alumnus, is proud to give back to his alma mater.

“We’re providing students a safe environment to translate theory to practice while honing important skills in problem-solving, teamwork, networking and presenting,” he said.

The collaboration serves as a model for how academia and industry can work together to empower the next generation of problem-solvers and leaders in our community.