ROBERTO CONTRERAS

Roberto Contreras has been in the surfacing industry since 1987 and has made a name for himself as a respected entrepreneur. He has founded and owned several highly successful companies, including CSC North America and Cosentino North America, increasing sales from $0 to $300 million. Currently, he serves as president and CEO of St. Christopher Holdings, a privately-owned holding company (founded in 2009) and DC Partners, a real estate investment development firm.

He has received national and international recognition for his business accomplishments, including Time Magazine’s Visions of Tomorrow Award to Cosentino product, Silestone in 2004, and his Cosentino company was recognized in 2005 by Inc. 500 as one of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

MIKE HEYLMUN

Mike Heylmun has over 20 years of executive experience in the building and construction industry. He was a key partner in pioneering the North American quartz surfacing market and developing an organization that attained over $500 million in annual revenue. In 2000 and working with Roberto Contreras as the vice president of sales and marketing for C&C North America, he developed and managed the introduction of quartz surfacing into Home Depot, completing a national rollout within 24 months. During that time, he established and managed a national network of fabrication partners that serviced home centers, kitchen and bath, builders, and commercial projects.

As vice president of commercial and builder sales for Cosentino North America, he developed the strategic plan to expand the warehouse distribution model for the U.S. and Canada markets. He successfully increased each market to $67 million and $89 million respectively in 2012. In 2016, Heylmun joined Camp Construction as the COO and expanded the multifamily business from four states to 16 with annual revenues swelling from $75 million to $125 million.

DOUG DILLARD

In 2002, Doug Dillard entered the stone surfacing industry and has now worked with Moderno Porcelain Work’s core executive team for nearly 20 years. An experienced finance professional in a variety of industries including oil and gas, water utility, consumer credit, mortgage banking, real estate financing and development, and surfacing (fabrication and distribution), Dillard has worked with companies such as Citibank, AquaSource, Cosentino, PKF Texas CPAs, and St. Christopher Holdings. During his time at Cosentino, he managed large accounting operations with over $450MM in annual revenues at peak levels. He also developed and managed all KPI reporting and executive meeting reports as director of FP&A U.S. operations.

Along with extensive experience as a technology consultant, installing ERPs in public accounting and being certified in Microsoft Dynamics and Jet Reports, his accomplishments include being named by the Houston Business Journal as a CFO of the Year finalist in 2017 and 2018. Mr. Dillard is Six Sigma Green Belt certified and has recently become a member of the University of Houston Real Estate Advisory Board.

BEN SZELL

Ben Szell has more than 30 years of experience in the installation of marble, ceramic, granite, and glass. His experience began in Hungary, Italy, and Austria where he worked with old craftsmen performing restoration work on national historic buildings. Now, Szell is recognized as a subject matter expert in the surfacing industry on fabrication and installation techniques and methods.

His accomplishments include developing the tools for the Gauged Porcelain Tile Panel (GPTP) in 2012 and by 2016 focused exclusively on this market segment. This involved developing the respective tools required to transport, handle, fabricate, and install large format porcelain.

ARMIN DEUTSCH

Armin Deutsch has over 25 years of extensive experience in project management, construction, merchandising, and purchasing. He previously worked for Fortune 100 companies such as Home Depot, where he was responsible for purchasing volumes in excess of $1 billion annually, and with Cosentino North America. His diverse background includes managing construction projects in major U.S. cities, as well as Canada.

JULIE KLEINE

Julie Kleine is responsible for marketing, brand management, advertising, and public relations. She has more than 15 years of management experience in the publicly traded real estate industry, including global sales and marketing, trade show development, digital and traditional media, and multilingual communications for international, commercial, and land information management consulting firms.

RAFAEL ALVAREZ

For over 20 years, Mr. Alvarez has been changing people’s lives by providing them training and career opportunities with which they can realize their true potential. Prior to joining the Moderno team, Mr. Alvarez was Founder and CEO of Genesys Works, a national social enterprise which he grew from zero to over one thousand employees. In addition to his role at Moderno, Mr. Alvarez is also a Lecturer in Management at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.

His accomplishments include: named by Forbes Magazine as one of the world’s top 30 social entrepreneurs; received the 2012 Texas A&M University Entrepreneurial Leadership Award; named to the Aggie 100 list of fastest growing Aggie-led companies for three consecutive years; inducted into the Immigrant Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.