Fred Perpall, CEO of the Beck Group, grew up in the Bahamas in Nassau. He immigrated to the U.S. to play basketball and run track at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he earned a master’s degree in architecture.
Perpall joined Beck at the age of 24 and now leads the global design-build firm based in downtown Dallas. Among his most memorable projects? Helping to bring a new hospital to his home country. Here, he shares his journey:
“Most people in the Bahamas either work for an airline, or hotel or restaurant. I worked in the kitchen of a cafeteria.
“By serving and looking after tourists, it becomes pretty ingrained in your culture that you have to be attentive to the needs of others. I moved to Texas in 1993 to attend school. It was jarring to grow up in a country where everyone looks like you and then come to a place where no one looks like you.
“I joined The Beck Group as an architectural intern 22 years ago, in 1999. I’ve been CEO for eight years now. In 2016, I was able to work with the city government in Nassau to design a hospital. It was a really big point of pride for me to be involved with working to improve the delivery of healthcare services.
“My mother passed away in the hospital while we were building an expansion that had the services she needed. I think that was a sign from God to me. It was an opportunity for me to return to where I’m from, to increase the efficacy of the healthcare system, and to bring my skills back with me to help improve the lives of others. That’s something that’s been a personal passion for me.”
