DPR Construction

Michele Leiva joined DPR in September 1990 as our sixth employee and was responsible for everything from payroll to accounts payable/receivable for the then construction industry start-up. In her 20th year with DPR, Michele joined the Management Committee as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In 2013, Michele was among 14 CFOs honored by the Silicon Valley Business Journal for “changing the landscape at some of the biggest and fastest-growing companies in Silicon Valley,” and was named the 2013 CFO of the Year in the Private Company category. Michele is a big sports fan, especially of hockey, baseball and college football, and loves to cheer at games – sometimes too much.

When George Pfeffer graduated from Brown University with his electrical engineering degree, construction was only one of the industries he considered. Uninspired by potential positions in marketing and product development, his passion for solving problems and love of human interaction, not to mention his summers wielding a hammer on a jobsite, made him a natural builder.

George has amassed many success stories during his more than 25-year construction career. He joined DPR in 1992 as a project engineer and then became DPR’s Redwood City office Regional Manager in 1999, overseeing the company’s largest office for seven years before his leadership and expertise were required full-time back in the field. In late 2005, long-standing customer, Genentech, called upon DPR for its 450,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility expansion that needed to be completed in 16 months after rebid, a project that many called impossible. George, who does not back down from a challenge, was the only person for the job and spent the project’s duration in Vacaville, Calif., successfully completing the world’s largest cell culture biotech manufacturing facility two weeks ahead of schedule and on budget. Now, with his personal reputation as a builder unmatched in the industry and as a member of DPR’s Management Committee, serving as company president, George strives for balance as he helps drive the strategic direction of the organization while enjoying every day in the office and at home.