Blach Construction names industry veteran as CFO

Alex Llerena has more than 30 years of experience including stints at Bechtel, Cemex and Bradley Electric.

San Jose, California-based Blach Construction announced Monday that it has named Alex Llerena as chief financial officer.

Llerena has more than three decades of experience leading financial and operational strategy for major multinational companies, primarily in the construction industry. He most recently worked as CFO for Novato, California-based W. Bradley Electric, according to a press release shared with Construction Dive.

Prior to that, he spent 16 years at Reston, Virginia-headquartered contractor Bechtel Corp. His roles there included head of international tax, general manager of Bechtel Business Services and CFO/principal vice president and ethics and compliance officer for the firm’s Mining and Metals Global Business Unit in Santiago, Chile. 

Llerena’s other previous experience includes leading the international tax groups for Austin, Texas-based software firm Oracle Corp. and Mexican building materials giant Cemex, according to the release.

Llerena will replace Alice Chuan, who was hired as the firm’s first CFO last year.

At Blach, Llerena will oversee the finance and accounting team and serve as a member of the cross-functional leadership team that manages overall firm operations.

“Alex’s distinguished background in guiding financial operations for global building companies and proven track record of success in navigating change and expansion make him an ideal addition to Blach leadership,” said Blach President Dan Rogers in the release. “I am confident that his savvy experience, coupled with his broad understanding of the construction industry overall, will have substantial impact on our continued growth.”

Blach also announced several changes to its operations team. They include:

• Keith Craw, who was appointed to the newly created position of vice president, field operations, leading the firm’s safety program, quality assurance/quality control and self-perform crews. 
• Vice president of operations Mike Grzanowski, whose role was expanded to include responsibility for Blach’s project management teams, in addition to his oversight of preconstruction and virtual design and construction groups. 
• Both Kevin McIntosh and James Woodbury, who were promoted to vice president, with McIntosh overseeing Blach’s central coast region and affordable housing market projects and Woodbury responsible for market rate and mixed-use projects, as well as companywide innovation and design-build initiatives.
• Amber Emery and Brad Fannin, who were promoted to project executives.

Founded in 1970, Blach’s portfolio encompasses a range of sectors, including healthcare, education, hospitality, life sciences, professional services and technology facilities, as well as affordable, supportive and market-rate housing developments. The firm’s 2022 revenue was $294 million, according to Engineering News-Record.