High-Profile Celebrates 25 Years!

High-Profile Monthly has been covering this evolution in the New England region, including the highs, lows, challenges and amazing feats of architecture, since our first issue was published in September of 1997.

Starting High-Profile was a natural progression for our founder, Michael Barnes, who had spent much of his career working for other news outlets and organizations that covered the AEC industry in New England. Michael and his wife, Kathy Barnes, joined forces to establish a publication focused exclusively on construction and development to meet the industry’s need for targeted coverage of “high-profile” projects in the region.

“The first issue of High-Profile was published with no money down. We didn’t have enough money to pay the printer so we had contracts with our advertisers that we brought to the printer to signify that we had the commitment and ability to pay after the paper was printed. After the first issue, we were on our way.”

MICHAEL BARNES

Engaging with industry organizations and attending their monthly meetings played a big part in expanding our understanding and familiarity of happenings in the New England states, and provided an opportunity to network within the industry. Additionally, dedicated advertisers like Joseph Clancy and Dan Bent of American Plumbing & Heating have been with us from the very first issue. This, along with our commitment to utilizing emerging technologies to deliver the news, enabled High-Profile to grow and by 2003, we were publishing a regular monthly edition.

“Most influential in introducing me to the AEC industry and High-Profile to the leaders of our industry was my affiliation with Massachusetts Building Congress. Jan Breed, MBC’s executive director, and Blasdel A. Reardon, John Cannistraro, Jr., Jeremy Ritzenberg, Joseph Gallagher, Dan Perruzzi, Michael Reilly, Joe Flynn, and Ben Goldfarb (all past presidents of MBC) were a few of those who helped me in developing HighProfile as a niche publication for commercial construction. Additionally, Marc Margulies was the person to introduce me to the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), which expanded our readership to more facility managers in the Boston area.”

— MICHAEL BARNES

In the last 25 years, the industry has faced ups and downs and periods of growth and challenges, and our family-owned business has been able to navigate through these times with a “slow but steady” approach.

“Being a family-owned business has contributed to our ability to weather an ever-changing industry, as a shared passion and collaborative spirit was definitely crucial in HighProfile’s early days. Having my parents, Ralph and Marion Barnes, on board as founding editors was a huge part of our success and when our daughter Anastasia joined the company in 2000, we all worked together to get the job done.”

— MICHAEL BARNES

In 2013, Anastasia took on an expanded role in shaping the look, feel, and quality of content for High-Profile.

In the early days of High-Profile, the Great Dane became the company’s official mascot, named after Michael and Kathy’s beloved family pets.