A man of tradition: Jay Koven, President, Ambassador Construction. (Profile of the Week).

Ambassador Construction Co. has often been recognized for its dedication to quality and attention to small details in the highly-specialized field of commercial interior construction.

Ambassador is one of New York's general contracting companies, providing pre-construction, general contracting, and construction management services. The company's unique corporate structure promotes direct accountability throughout every project. Each job is assigned a team of professionals all of whom remain directly involved throughout the life of the project -- from the estimating phase to final punch-listing.

"Our mission is to bring experience and professional expertise to every project, enabling the client to meet or exceed their objectives and expectations," says Ambassador president Jay Koven. "Every client and project is unique, a condition that requires delivering services in a highly personalized manner."

Koven represents the third generation of strong leadership at Ambassador Construction, the firm founded by his grandfather, Louis Friedman, in 1960 and developed into an interiors powerhouse by his father, Irving Koven, over the next 30 years.

Since taking the helm as president in 1997, Koven has dedicated himself to inspiring and maintaining Ambassador's team of senior construction experts, many of whom have stayed with the firm for more than quarter of a century. In addition, he oversees quality control and plays a major role in business development.

Koven is dedicated to building the company without overloading his project managers and team. "The temptation is omnipresent, but we just don't take on more work than we can handle," he says. His regular contacts in the market appreciate this unique approach.

"When Ambassador takes on a project, we know it will be well-staffed and well-managed, with senior-level commitment to the management and execution of every detail," says Jane Smith, principal in Harris Smith Design, an interiors firm that has worked with Ambassador on many projects in the last two years. "In today's market, the ability to count on that kind of attention from one's contractor is a rare and valuable commodity."

Ambassador's greatest commodity is its senior level staff, most of who have been with the firm for decades. Relationships are the reason executive vice president Gerald Flamio joined Ambassador. His father has been a project manager for the firm for more than 30 years. Flamio worked his way up to become a senior member of the firm's team and now plays an active role in guiding its affairs and maintaining executive liaision to major clients.

"There is a certain, personality at this company that I believe was shaped by Irving Koven right from the outset," he says. "We are conservative. The customer is always right. That is why we enjoy the relationships we do. We are not a Johnny-come-lately. We are not a one-shot deal. Our main focus is to continue with repeat business. We may get a job initially because of our reputation with a landlord, but we make tenants happy. By doing a successful job for tenants, time and time again, we have built on these relationships with tenants, as well as leading architects and construction consultants."

One area of construction where Ambassador stands out is lobby renovation and construction. The company enjoys an expert reputation for effectively implementing the challenging tasks involved in the redevelopment of lobbies in occupied commercial buildings. Effectively and efficiently navigating the logistical problems associated with reconstructing public spaces with minimal inconvenience to tenants, Ambassador has been selected for such high-profile projects as 90 Park Ave., 570 Lexingtonm and most recently, Silverstein Properties' spectacular 140 Broadway.

"We have a relationship with Ambassador that spans more than 20 years, and have developed a bond of trust based on the delivery of outstanding quality work, on-budget and within the time-frames promised 100% of the time," says Roger Silverstein, vice president of Silverstein Properties. "We use them exclusively on our properties, and we find that our tenants -- more often than not -- choose Ambassador even though they have a choice of many contractors."

Ambassador is particularly adept at coordinating sub-contractors and their activities through their ability to communicate on a personal level will all of those involved in a project. Seamless integration of sub-contractor functions, coupled with a project team that is aggressive in its pursuit of quality, ensures the success of a project. Client questions concerning schedules, costs, materials, labor are responded to immediately. This hands-on methodology enables tighter controls and better client relations.

"Our business philosophy has always been to provide clients with easy and rapid access to key staff and the information they can provide," says Koven. "Rather than pigeonhole functions and responsibilities, our key personnel operate in an environment of multiple disciplines. I think my father stated it best when he said 'A construction project team is like an orchestra, and we're the band leader. We may not know how to play the trumpet, but we know how it's supposed to sound."'