Details

De la Cruz

What is your position within your company?
I am operations manager for Roofing Solutions, Prairieville, La. I founded the company in 2004.

What is the most unusual roofing project of which you have been a part?
The most unusual job was the roof system replacement of the 100-year-old Carrollton Water Plant Power Complex in New Orleans for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We needed to reinforce the roof system to make it as resistant to hurricane winds as possible.

Why did you become involved in the roofing industry?
I became involved in the roofing industry by luck; I wasn't planning on it. After I graduated from college, I had the opportunity to work for a residential roofing contractor. I loved the work, and the rest is history.

What was your first roofing experience?
I was first hired by a residential roofing contractor. I taught myself how to do takeoffs for the jobs we were bidding.

If you could meet any historical figure, whom would you meet? Why?
I would like to meet one of the great industrialists from the 1800s or 1900s, such as John D. Rockefeller. They achieved amazing, successful results with organization and foresight.

What is your roofing industry involvement?
I recently was elected to serve on NRCA's board of directors, and my company is a member of The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress. I also am a Class 5 graduate of NRCA's Future Executives Institute (FEI). I liked the FEI program so much, my company enrolled two more employees in FEI Classes 6 and 7.

What's the most exciting/adventurous thing you've done?
I have been skydiving twice, and I also tried bungee jumping. I would skydive again if I had the opportunity because it produces the best adrenaline feeling ever. I am an adrenaline junkie.

My favorite part about working in the roofing industry is …
There are two main parts of the roofing industry that fascinate me—the relationships that are built during the course of a career and each job is different. Every job teaches me something new, and I get to experience the rush and thrill of the outcome. This is a fast-paced, high-risk industry with rewarding outcomes when good execution takes place.

What three condiments always are in your fridge?
Sriracha sauce, Grey Poupon mustard and ketchup

What do you consider a waste of time?
I think gossip and drama are unimportant, waste-of-time activities.

What was your first job?
When I was 7 years old, I sold lemonade and pastries outside a football field on the weekends.

What's your favorite roofing material to work with? Why?
I like polymer-modified bitumen because the roof systems are durable, great to work with and you can develop high productivity rates under the right circumstances.

What are your favorite foods?
Sushi and a good steak

What's your favorite type of music?
I like techno and dance music because it keeps me going.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
I would go to New Zealand. I had the opportunity to live there for three months in 1998. It is a fascinating country—the diversity, things to do and places to visit are endless.