Cupertino Electric, Inc.

As chief operating officer of Cupertino Electric (CEI), Brett Boncher oversees corporate-wide divisions delivering commercial, energy and data center projects. 

Prior to being promoted in 2020, Boncher served as senior vice president of operations where he was responsible for CEI's $500 million Data Center Division and corporate-wide business processes. Boncher's teams have built some of the largest data center and renewable energy projects under construction in the U.S.

Boncher joined Cupertino Electric more than 25 years ago as an estimator, and transitioned into project management where he rose to become Director of Project Management. While serving as a member of CEI’s project management staff for 10 years, Boncher managed a variety of fast-track data center, education and casino projects that were often occupied and featured difficult conditions. Some of Boncher's notable projects include multi-million-dollar projects for clients such as Kaiser, Yahoo, NVIDIA, Veritas, Enron, Informatica and Sprint.

Boncher's experience, strong academic credentials and ability to identify, motivate and lead a successful workforce make him a critical member of Cupertino's management team. In his role as vice president of operations, Boncher is growing the company's energy business to continue to serve utilities, Fortune 500 companies and institutions demanding world-class services. He holds a bachelor's degree from UCLA and has been trained in LEED and LEAN practices. 

As president and CEO of Cupertino Electric, Inc. (CEI), Tom Schott is responsible for driving the strategic direction, growth initiatives and cultivation of culture at one of the largest electrical engineering and construction firms in the U.S. Under his leadership, the company has grown to $1.6 billion in revenue and performs work in more locations than at any time in the company's history.

At Cupertino Electric since 1993, Schott previously served as chief operating officer (COO) and ran several divisions, which allowed him to perfect his operational and people management skills. His two decades of commercial experience serving in project management, estimating and operational roles have helped shape the direction of the company. While serving as COO, Schott nearly tripled CEI's revenue between 2010 and 2018, diversified the company's portfolio of work, expanded geographically, and increased service offerings. He was named president and CEO in 2018.

Schott holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Santa Clara University and serves on the board of directors for Sacred Heart Nativity School in San Jose.

As chief financial officer for Cupertino Electric, William “Bill” Slakey drives the company’s financial strategy and oversees the risk management and finance organizations. Slakey joined Cupertino Electric in 2015 after having served as CFO for several private and publicly-traded technology companies with stringent financial processes and strong financial results.

Prior to joining Cupertino Electric, Slakey held the position of executive vice president and CFO at Echelon Corporation and before that served as executive vice president and CFO at LiveOps, a private Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and crowdsourcing business. Slakey has also held CFO roles at several NASDAQ-listed technology firms, including Extreme Networks and Handspring, and successful private companies including Snaptrack, Inc. Previously he held financial management and investor relations roles at Apple and 3Com.

Slakey holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree in Economics from University of California, Berkeley. He is on the Board of Directors at Lighthouse Bank, where he is chairman of the audit committee.

Senior Vice President of Operations Adam Spillane oversees Cupertino Electric's (CEI's) Data Center business, including stick-built and modular projects. Prior to overseeing data center operations for CEI in 2021, Spillane ran CEI's commercial operations in San Francisco and Southern California that built some of the region's largest multi-million dollar electrical projects. 

Spillane joined the company in May of 2001, after serving in the U.S. Navy as a Nuclear Propulsion Engineer. He is known as a collaborative team member who was closely involved with every project he oversaw as a project manager. As a project executive, Spillane developed an engineering plan of action, pre-construction services plan, oversaw budgets, implemented best value approaches and conducted strategic construction planning. His close involvement with MEP coordination, scheduling, material procurement, and maximizing field installation methods made him one of Cupertino Electric’s most successful project managers before officially joining the leadership team in 2012.

Spillane holds a bachelor's degree in Naval Architecture from the U.S. Naval Academy and has attended numerous courses on electrical construction.

In his current role as senior vice president of operations for Cupertino Electric, Inc. (CEI), Robert Thome oversees all commercial construction projects across the company. Prior to overseeing all commercial operations at CEI, Thome oversaw Silicon Valley-based commercial projects and served as division manager of Cupertino's commercial division in San Francisco. During his San Francisco stint, Thome increased division revenue sixty-two percent (62%) in a single year. 

With more than two decades of industry experience in roles ranging from electrician to president, Thome has a strong moral compass and an ability to establish and maintain long-term customer relationships. He has spent the past 18 years working with prominent electrical contracting firms, in positions ranging from project engineer to project manager. Since 2010, Thome's divisional leadership at CEI that has generated more than $1.5 billion in revenue for the company. He began his career as an electrician, after completing an apprenticeship program with the Western Electrical Contractors’ Association.

Thome holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas, Austin, and has completed a series of management, construction claims and National Electrical Code courses offered by the University of California, Berkeley and Chabot College in Northern California.

Debra Olson serves as chief legal officer of Cupertino Electric, Inc. (CEI) and is a member of the company's executive leadership team. In her role, Olson manages the in-house legal department, oversees corporate governance and compliance matters, develops and implements dispute management and resolution programs, oversees contractual relationships and manages outside counsel relationships. Prior to joining CEI, Olson held management and legal positions at leading energy generation, technology, development and construction companies, including NAES Corporation/NAES Power Contractors, Calpine Corporation, AREVA Solar and Vestas Americas Wind. Prior to her in-house counsel roles, Olson was a partner in a large regional law firm specializing in commercial/industrial project development, construction and financing matters. 

As Chief People Officer at Cupertino Electric, Inc. (CEI), Estrella Parker is responsible for all aspects of people and culture, including talent management, rewards, employee relations and engagement, organizational development, leadership development, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Parker brings to her role more than two decades of executive management and HR leadership experience at companies experiencing high-growth, market diversification and geographic expansion. 

Prior to CEI, Parker served as chief human resources officer for five years at Satellite Healthcare. During a 10-year stint at The Clorox Company, she served in various executive HR roles, including senior director of HR global business partnership and senior director HR global solutions and workforce services. Previously, Parker held management roles at companies like Kaiser Permanente, The Prudential Insurance Co., and Gemini Consulting Co. 

She holds an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of the Philippines, where she graduated cum laude. She is a San Francisco Bay Area resident, serves as a curriculum advisor for the College of Saint Benilde HR master’s program, and is a member of several non-profit boards.