Dave Riordan of Centric General Contractors in Napa Valley wins North Bay Forty Under 40 award

Dave Riordan

Age: 39

Director of operations, Centric General Contractors

1230 Spring St., Suite G, St. Helena 94574

707-968-2900

www.centricgc.com

Read other profiles of this year's winners.

Responsibilities with your company: Day to day management of our field and office staff to complete construction projects across the North Bay and San Francisco. On any given day, I spend half my time at the office reviewing estimates and contracts, while the other half jumping from job site to job site to check in the status of a project.

In 25 words or less, how do you exemplify the spirit of being a top Forty under 40 professional?

Being recognized by the community as a leader for the hard work I put in day in day out to support my family and contribute to the community.

Years with company: 6

Length of time in current position: 2

Number of companywide employees: 50

Number who report to you: 35

Greatest professional accomplishment: Completing a highly complex and politically challenged urban construction project with a happy community and even happier client at the end of the project. It created a project that was both technically challenging, but rewarding to see the communities involvement.

Greatest professional challenge: Moving my priorities from managing a construction project on a daily basis to managing employees on a daily basis.

Also, the ability to accept failure and learn from it.

Best advice received: Don't get distracted by loudest one in the room. Often times the person with the most power is the quietest.

Single most important event in your professional life in the last 12 months: Overseeing the successful acquisition of another construction company to grow our company employees by more than 40%. This growth happened overnight and was a big challenge to keep operations moving forward.

What steps is your company taking to sustain your organization and morale in the current economy?

With such a large economic growth period it is important for us to retain our current employees.

We aim to give our employees all of the tools to perform their jobs with efficiency when there is such a demand for time.

Next professional goal: Improve our employee feedback and mentoring programs. Retaining employees is important to our company and even more important in today's economy. Providing employees feedback on their performance builds a stronger relationship and also creates a better more experienced employee for others to learn from.

Education: Master of Architecture degree - Washington University in St Louis: Bachelors of Arts degree in architecture - University of Illinois

Hometown: Napa

Community/nonprofit activities: Connolly Ranch, Napa

Mentor/admired businessperson: Currently it is Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates

What is your most disliked industry buzzword?

Think outside the box. This buzzword/phrase doesn't inspire anyone to act, understand, question, or think.

Typical day at the office: My days typically start in the office to catch up on emails and check in with the office staff. Once things are settled in, I like to stop by 1-2 job sites if I don't have meetings scheduled. These visits include talking with our field management and the workforce onsite.

Best place to work outside of your office: Truck. I drive a lot.

Hobbies: Concerts, cycling, RV/camping trips with the family, tiring the kids (and myself) out on the weekends.

What you wanted to be when you grew up: Architect, automobile designer, or pilot

#1 thing you want to accomplish by the time you turn 40: That's not too far away, so I would say it is understanding the work/life balance. I have made progress on this over the many years of late nights and 7 day work weeks. It is something that may not ever be achieved, but I feel that 40 can be a turning point to be more aware of the importance of this balance.

First job: Painting piers during Wisconsin summers

Social media you most use: Instagram

Favorite book: “Into Thin Air”, by Jon Krakauer. Closest I will get to climbing Mt Everest.

Favorite movie: “Ferris Bueller's Day Off... Bueller?

Favorite App: Spotify, music is essential to my day

Favorite after-work drink: Golden State Hard Cider

Last vacation: Family ski trip to Steamboat, Colorado

What does your mom or dad brag most about you?

Directly managing the construction of a high rise building at age 28.

Dave Riordan

Age: 39

Director of operations, Centric General Contractors

1230 Spring St., Suite G, St. Helena 94574

707-968-2900

www.centricgc.com

Read other profiles of this year's winners.

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