Fordje Portland, Oregon

Gillian Sowray has spent 17 years bringing products to market across construction, climate tech, and software - scaling teams and launching solutions from startups to enterprise. She's presented at SXSW, RE+, and the 2025 International Builders' Show, where her company Fordje was named runner-up for Best New Startup. Today, as Co-Founder and CEO of Fordje, Gillian is tackling one of construction's most persistent bottlenecks: the code complexity that delays projects and drives up costs. Fordje's AI-powered platform lets builders get code right the first time, eliminating the rework and delays that come from discovering requirements too late. Gillian holds an MBA and M.S. in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor's degree from Boston University.