Leadership

Mike has led Blach Construction since 1989, taking over the helm of the business at 26 upon the untimely passing of his father and founder, Michael S. Blach.  During Mike’s tenure, Blach has grown tremendously and is an established leader in the California construction industry.

As chairman, Mike provides strategic guidance to the firm. He enjoys mentoring younger team members and representing Blach in several industry, philanthropic and civic organizations, always promoting the Company’s positive values and culture.

Mike started at Blach as a teenager in 1979, first working five summers in the field, and then through college as a project engineer/manager and estimator.   After earning his MBA, he returned to Blach full-time as an estimator/project manager where he led numerous successful projects until he took over management of the Company.

Dan joined Blach in 2001 and by the time he became President in 2017, he had made tremendous strides in developing the firm’s operations infrastructure and service offerings. Under his leadership, Blach expanded into new markets and geographical areas and has been recognized consistently as a Top Contractor by Engineering News Record (ENR) of California and a Best Place to Work by Blach employees, as reported in the Silicon Valley Business Journal. These awards are on top of several notable project and safety awards from the likes of the Associated General Contractors, ENR and the Silicon Valley Business Journal, to name a few.

Combining his thorough command of construction with an unprecedented degree of foresight, Dan is committed ensuring Blach employees have the support they need to enjoy success and expand their expertise while finding new and innovative ways to provide greater value to clients.  He is a highly engaged, strategic and decisive leader who was aptly named one of Silicon Valley’s “40 under 40” in 2007 and subsequently “COO of the Year” in 2017.

Alex Llerena brings more than three decades of experience leading financial and operational strategy for large, multinational companies, primarily in the construction industry. Fluent in both English and Spanish, he has a wealth of progressive accounting and tax expertise, as well as executive leadership. His proven track record of success in navigating change and expansion is ideally suited to positively influence our continued growth. As CFO, he is integral to overall firm operations and directly oversees all finance, accounting and tax-related initiatives.

Kim joined Blach in 2004 as a project engineer. Strong client relations skills coupled with her keen business sense and strategic understanding of construction led to her move into business development, where she was instrumental in spearheading Blach’s successful education market and business development efforts for all K-12 and higher education pursuits. Her intense focus on client service, combined with her industry credibility, make her naturally suited for her current position as vice president. In addition to managing cross-functional teams, including firm-wide business development and marketing efforts, she works closely with operations and preconstruction to strategically approach each project and remains well-versed in current legislation pertaining to public construction and delivery methods.

Mike Grzanowski joined Blach Construction in 2009 and spent more than a decade working on and eventually managing several of Blach’s largest and most complex projects. Initially named vice president, preconstruction, he assumed additional responsibilities after demonstrating a keen ability to strategically connect business development, preconstruction and operations groups. Now in an expanded role as vice president, operations, Mike oversees Blach’s comprehensive preconstruction efforts, including in-house estimating, MEP and Virtual Design & Construction teams, as well as overall project operations, planning, teams and staffing.  Highly adept at leading teams, developing employees and establishing trusted partnerships, Mike has proven industry expertise and lays repeated claim to delivering projects that often exceed client expectations.

As vice president of human resources, Tierney’s top priority is to ensure Blach upholds its supportive, positive and equitable work environment for all employees. She works closely with Blach Leadership to maintain the highest standards of inclusion and employee satisfaction. Her expert employee relations skills have been invaluable to Blach’s continued growth over the past decade.

Tierney is directly responsible for talent acquisition at all levels, training, and organizational development. Additionally, she oversees Blach’s robust university recruiting and internship programs and professional development initiatives, including Blach University, Blach Boot Camp and Beyond Boot Camp.

A champion for all employees, Tierney consistently provides the resources, guidance and support necessary for them to perform at the highest level and enjoy a balanced quality of life.

John Mathias brings more than 45 years of experience to Blach Construction. As General Superintendent and member of the Blach Leadership Team, he oversees all of Blach’s craft workers, carpenters and superintendents. He is a natural leader and mentor, who takes pride in developing Blach field construction operations. With a thoughtful, hands-on approach, he visits jobsites often to confer and collaborate with project teams, ensuring they have the tools, training and resources to deliver the quality projects for which Blach is known.

Katie first joined Blach Construction in 2014 as part of the Preconstruction Team and quickly transitioned into field operations as project engineer. After earning her MBA, she returned to Blach as Program Director for Folia, our innovative prefabrication solution. Always looking for new ways to improve efficiency and drive client value, Katie has made tremendous impact at Blach and has been instrumental in building our Folia business. Her detailed organizational skills and ability to drive a cohesive team of individuals with diverse expertise, combined with savvy client relations, initiative and financial prowess have proven invaluable to the firm and our continued expansion. Having served as a project manager on one of Blach’s largest projects to date – the transit-oriented development Gateway at Millbrae Station – Katie now serves as Director, Preconstruction Services, overseeing comprehensive estimating efforts for the firm.