As part of its expansion plans, San Jose, California-based Blach Construction has added two new roles to its finance and information technology teams. Alice Chuan was named CFO and John Kern was named the director of information technology.
Chuan is a veteran of the construction industry finance and accounting management space, most recently working as CFO of San Carlos, California-based general contractor Rudolph & Sletten. Prior to that, she spent many years as controller for other California contractors, first at Level 10 Construction in Sunnyvale and then at Dome Construction in San Francisco.
As she takes on the CFO role, she will work closely with long-time Blach Vice President of Finance Laura Bold, who is retiring at the end of 2023.
“Alice’s financial prowess married with valuable background knowledge will undoubtedly enable her to take Blach’s financial systems to the next level,” said Blach President Dan Rogers in a press release.
Kern joins the firm from global digital communications giant Cisco Systems, where he spent 24 years in various IT-related management roles. For the last four years, he served as senior director, IT, HR digital experience and global workforce data privacy officer.
In this capacity, he was responsible for worldwide development and implementation of people-data privacy policies and the 2006 global release of the Workday human capital management software system for human resource pros. Prior to that, he oversaw global IT services for Cisco’s Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions group, a role he assumed after having responsibility for company-wide enterprise software deployment.
At Blach, Kern will lead the evolution, development and implementation of technology architecture, including applications, infrastructure and data management. He will oversee the entire Blach backbone, ensuring the security of systems, networks and enterprise information across Blach’s headquarters, regional offices in Monterey and Costa Mesa and many jobsites across California.
“I am thrilled to have John’s vast experience at-hand to ensure that our IT infrastructure not only keeps pace with, but also facilitates our expansion efforts,” said Rogers.
Founded in 1970, Blach Construction builds a variety of education, housing, institutional, mixed-use and workplace building types, translating into a diverse portfolio that includes civic/community, healthcare, K-12 and higher education, hospitality, life sciences, professional services and technology facilities, as well as housing developments such as the recently completed Gateway at Millbrae Station in Millbrae, California.
