Leonardo Rivas - Chief Executive Officer
Leo received his bachelor's of science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1995 and graduated as a Master of Business Administration in 2001. His roots in construction stem from Latin American and European markets. He has been an accomplished business manager in the corporate world and a successful entrepreneur in different countries around the world. He moved to Stuart, FL in 2001 and has since been heavily involved in many of the construction projects in the area.
Leo is a principal and one of the co-founders of Rivas Gassan & Associates.
He is responsible for construction policy and the overall operational oversight of the company. Leo is a licensed State Certified General Contractor and also holds a license in Real Estate in Florida. His strong educational and background acumen have led him to become the President and CEO of this company. He is also a shareholder of Orinoco Developments, a leading development firm in the commercial construction market with presence in more than three different countries, where he serves as a Board Member.
Leo is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Alexandra Gassan - Vicepresident and COO
Alexandra received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering in 1996 and has attended multiple high level management programs in Latin America USA and Europe. She has demonstrated outstanding management thinking around the world while working for multinational companies such as Daimler Benz – Chrysler Jeep playing key management position overlooking international operations. From 1996 to 1997 while based in Venezuela, she was a professor at “Universidad de Carabobo” in her spare time.
As Chief Operations Officer (COO), she is a responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of Rivas Gassan & Associates Inc. focused on strategic, tactical and short term operations management, which means, she is accountable for the development, design, operation, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver our company’s products and services.
Alexandra has strong domain knowledge of the construction business as well as understanding of management theories and standards such as TQM, Kaizen, BPR, ISO 9001 and Six Sigma.
She is a principal and one of the co-founders of Rivas Gassan and Associates, Inc., where she serves as a Board Member.
Matthew Nelson.- Construction Superintendent
Matthew attended St. Louis University and then upon joining the United States Air Force, graduated as a Civil Engineer at the College of the Air Force.
While serving his country, he used his engineering skills over the following six years working as a Civil Engineer at several air bases in the U.S. and then throughout the European, Middle East and African theaters of operations.
He led Rapid Deployment civil engineering teams setting up forward bases and camps for the NATO forces and the United Nations. He also worked on numerous construction projects ranging from runways, multifamily housing, hospitals and clinics as well as schools for the military community.
Upon his honorable discharge and highly decorated career from the Air Force, he moved to Spain where he married his wife. He worked as Chief of Construction Management for J.A. Jones Management Services and later on for Pacific Architects and Engineers for eight years. Both companies were contracted by the Air Force at the Air Base in Seville.
In September of 2004, Matthew moved with his spouse and two children back to the U.S. and worked for Toll Brothers as a Project Manager in Naples, Florida, building a new gated community of single family homes until June of 2006.