Appointments strengthen business and field operations across the Bay Area, Central Coast and Southern California
Blach Construction, an award-winning general contractor serving California since 1970, has announced four key hires, including project executives in Monterey and Southern California and a senior director of marketing at its San Jose headquarters, along with several leadership promotions made over the past year. The appointments position the company for continued strategic growth across its core markets.
Project Executive Daniel Chavarria will support Blach’s continued expansion on the Central Coast. He brings more than 16 years of industry experience focused on design-build delivery of civic projects across Central and Northern California.
In Southern California, Project Executives Rick Fochtman and Rick Willison bring decades of experience serving the region’s education and institutional construction sectors. Both will leverage longstanding relationships in the market to support Blach’s growth in its newest geographic region.
Blach also appointed Kate Vernon as senior director of marketing. Vernon brings more than 20 years of construction marketing experience and will lead integrated marketing initiatives for both the Blach and Folia brands, with an emphasis on strategic storytelling and content development.
“Daniel, Rick, Rick and Kate bring not only deep expertise, but also critical leadership qualities to their roles,” said Blach President Dan Rogers. “Over the past several years, we have been establishing a presence in Southern California, particularly in the education market, which is a natural extension of Blach’s long-standing commitment to the Bay Area and Central Coast. We are also excited to expand our affordable housing expertise and our prefabricated Folia system to serve communities throughout Southern California.”
Blach’s Southern California office, located in Orange County, has grown to 15 employees since opening in 2021. Consistent with the company’s statewide focus, the office supports education, housing and civic projects across the region. Current work includes K-12 projects for several school districts, including Pasadena Unified School District, Long Beach Unified School District and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
Supporting the company’s continued growth strategy, Blach also announced promotions for several longtime employees: Tierney Azzopardi to vice president of human resources; Justin Cabral to general superintendent following the retirement of John Mathias; and Katie Blach Ellington to vice president.
Azzopardi, who joined Blach in 2011, oversees talent acquisition, training and organizational development. She leads the firm’s recruiting and internship programs, as well as professional development initiatives that support the company’s growth through both external hiring and internal advancement.
Cabral brings more than 30 years of construction industry experience to his new role. Since joining Blach in 2010, he has played a key role in developing the company’s next generation of superintendents and exemplifies the builder-first mindset central to the firm’s culture. As general superintendent, he will oversee all field operations.
Throughout her career at Blach, Ellington has focused on driving innovation across operations, preconstruction and the Folia team. As vice president, she will continue supporting preconstruction, virtual design and construction, and marketing while leading strategic company initiatives.
“As we continue to grow and evolve, Tierney, Justin and Katie’s promotions underscore our commitment to fostering a dynamic workplace and delivering exceptional projects for our clients,” Rogers said. “As we mark 56 years in business this year, we are confident we have the leadership in place to adapt to the industry’s evolving demands and continue strengthening the communities we serve.”
Blach’s leadership team includes Mike Blach, chairman; Dan Rogers, president; Alex Llerena, chief financial officer; Katie Blach Ellington, vice president; Kim Scott, vice president; Kevin McIntosh, vice president; Michael Grzanowski, vice president of operations; Justin Cabral, general superintendent; and Tierney Azzopardi, vice president of human resources.
