By Shar-day Campbell

Jesse Gonzalez began his career with SpawGlass as a laborer and has risen to chairman of the $400 million-a-year company

Jesse Gonzalez (1969 BSCE), chairman of SpawGlass Employee Holding Company and 2003 Distinguished Alumnus of the UH Cullen College of Engineering, is a living testament to the fundamental principle that hard work goes a long way.

Coming from humble beginnings, Gonzalez began his career with SpawGlass—a general contractor—by his father’s side in high school. His father worked for SpawGlass as a laborer and foreman for 33 years.

Married as a sophomore in college, Gonzalez supported his family while studying at the Cullen College by continuing to work for SpawGlass. When asked why he chose the University of Houston, he cited the same reasons many students do today.

“The university offered the work-life balance I needed,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to pay for school and support a family if it hadn’t been for the flexibility of Saturday labs and night courses.”

After graduating, Gonzalez was hired full time by one of the company’s co-founders, Louis Spaw. He then went on to hold several leadership positions, ranging from vice president of operations to spearheading the company’s entry into the non-union market with Cahaba Construction. He later became the president of SpawGlass.

“Second to my parents, Louis is the most influential person in my life,” said Gonzalez. “What I am and who I am is because of him.”

It was this connection with Louis Spaw, who became his mentor, and his history with SpawGlass that interested Gonzalez in purchasing the firm. Along with nine other employees (affectionately known as the “SpawGlass 10”), Gonzalez bought controlling interest of the company in 1991 from a French firm that had acquired the company from Louis Spaw and Frank Glass in the 1980s. In 1993, they acquired 100 percent ownership.

Since the purchase, SpawGlass has thrived, grossing $80 million in 1991 to almost $400 million in 2007. Some of the company’s notable projects include the renovation of the Texas State Capitol Building, Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall at UH, the Butterfly Museum and the University of Houston-Downtown Commerce Street Building. The company has offices in Houston, San Antonio, Austin and South Texas.

A pioneer in the industry, SpawGlass built a company office building in Houston that is certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The building is the first in Houston to receive this certification and the fifth in Texas.

As a first-generation college graduate, Gonzalez credits a great deal of his success to his education. A man of reciprocity, he is a firm believer that one should give back to those who support him. That is why he capitalizes on every opportunity to give back to the university and the college.

“We all have something we can contribute,” he said. “Alumni are the heartbeat of the university and the reason it continues to prosper.”

More alumni news in this issue:
• Jesse Gonzalez (1969 BSCE) — From Legacy to Leadership
• Charles Beyer (1972 BSCE, 1977 MSCE) — The Road to Success
• John “Danny” Olivas (1993 MSME), Rex Walheim (1989 MSIE) — Engineering Alums Venture into Space
• Class Notes