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In honor of this year's Women in Construction Week and its theme of leveling up and building strong together, we are pleased to spotlight Haley Derauf, a Senior Director in Ankura's Construction Disputes & Advisory practice, based in Washington, DC. In a recent interview, Haley reflects on her work supporting a complex engagement involving a general contractor on a large multi‑building project that ultimately proceeded to formal claims and arbitration, where she focused on project scheduling, delay analysis, and claims support.
Haley discusses the realities of working under tight timelines with imperfect data — limited and inconsistent schedules, voluminous documentation, and gaps in reporting — and explains how schedule analysts must be both creative and disciplined in tailoring methodologies while grounding every conclusion in reliable information. She also underscores the importance of a coordinated team approach, where strong collaboration, clear communication, mutual trust, and a willingness to listen and adapt enable consultants to openly test assumptions, share perspectives, and turn imperfect information into a cohesive, defensible narrative that helps clients reach successful outcomes.
Her experience exemplifies how women in construction and advisory roles are helping to level up projects and teams by combining data‑driven thinking with empathy, humility, and thoughtful leadership — creating space for questions, supporting junior team members, and keeping clients informed and confident throughout the process.
To hear more of Haley's insights, including her "pyramid" approach to building analyses from a solid data foundation, listen to the full interview, hosted by Kelsey Weeks.
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