Our Team

The Saarman Team

Who we are

Saarman Construction is assembled of established team members who build a strong foundation, forming one of the highest-quality workforces in the industry. Traditional and professional relationships bond our team as a family. The average tenure at Saarman is more than ten years, well above the industry average. This tenure translates into decades of industry experience, and a group of close dynamic team members who tackle any project smoothly.

 

We recruit and hire elite candidates, developing, and training them with the goal of promoting from within as much as possible. Saarman takes pride in having one of the most experienced teams leading the industry. Our team holds itself to high standards, in quality work, consistent results, superior workmanship, and most importantly, not just meeting project goals, but surpassing them.

 

Our team strives to be the best.

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Jeffrey Saarman, GC

Founding Principle, Chairman of the Board

Since the summer of 1973, Jeffrey Saarman has been planning the work and working the plan in the construction industry. With the mentorship of his father Paul and Paul’s growing popularity due to his famous “No Problem!” attitude, the idea of starting their own family business transpired. They eventually incorporated Saarman Construction, Ltd. and each brought something special to the company. Jeffrey is best known for his work helping owners that had defective work products get compensated for the repairs needed to correct the work. It was satisfying for Jeffrey to figure out the defect and then correct the problem with his team. He takes pride in training his team on asking the right questions in order to do something once and to do it right. After 35 years of the day-to-day hands-on responsibilities demanding of the job at hand, Jeffrey now gets to enjoy watching others planning the work and working the plan as Chairman of the Board, CFO, and Principal. Jeffrey is also now able to better focus on the company’s commitment to offsetting its impact on the environment as the green building movement has always been a part of Jeffrey’s core values. When Jeffrey isn’t helping out in the office or the field, he enjoys playing with his grandchildren.

BEN CHIH-CHENG TSAI, PE, GC

PRESIDENT, PRINCIPAL

Ben Tsai pursued Graduate Studies in Civil Engineering at the University of Michigan, where he received his master’s degree in both Construction Management and Structural Engineering. He is also a registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) in California and a licensed general contractor in Hawaii. His fascination with buildings and desire to understand the science behind them led him to start his career in construction.

Ben began his career at Saarman over 30 years ago. With hard work and persistence, he was able to unlock doors to new opportunities at the company. Whenever issues arise, Ben works closely with the Saarman team to troubleshoot and find optimal solutions for their clients. Over the years, Ben’s key contributions have included the creation of Saarman’s safety culture, and quality control procedures and the standardization of the company’s project management process allows our clients to monitor their progress in real-time.

When Ben is not at work, music is his passion. His wife is a classical pianist, and nothing is more soothing to his ears than hearing his wife play the piano after a long day of work.

HENRY WONG

VICE PRESIDENT OF ESTIMATING, DIRECTOR OF LITIGATION SERVICES, PRINCIPAL

Henry’s roots in construction go as far back as 1994. His dad and grandfather were both in construction. Three generations of careers in construction simply came about from his family appliance store being next door to a shop that contracted remodels. Henry started as a helper with their painting and tiling tasks and moved on to electrical and sub-plumbing. His natural attraction to building and understanding how things work helps to explain why Henry says every day feels like the first day. Henry’s background arms him with his specialty of providing estimates for projects and consulting on value engineering. When he is not assisting clients Henry is happiest playing golf or hanging out with his kids by the pool. He considers himself a construction nerd as he enjoys watching how other construction sites do things, especially when he travels and is able to see how other cultures do their construction.  

David Saarman

vice president, principal

Like the other Saarman’s, David grew up in construction. He got his foot in the door by working on jobs during his summer breaks in high school and grew to love the business. David officially joined Saarman Construction in 2004 and gained work experience in all aspects of construction. Having held a variety of positions, David is more than capable of handling his responsibilities for Operations, Finance, Estimating, General Management, Human Resources, Safety, Sales, Marketing, and Information Technology. He has always enjoyed the people he works with, and the impact he and his team make on the communities they work in. As the family business has been around his whole life, David considers the team at Saarman Construction his extended family. David and his team know that there is nothing typical in a workday and to expect the unexpected! David is proud of leading the work the company has made toward career pathing at all levels and working with each department to transition to digital processes and implementation of new technology. When David is not on the job, you will likely find him spending time with his family teaching his son about boating, fishing, hunting, swimming, skiing, and playing sports.

RAY SERENA

GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT, PARTNER

Eighteen years old and straight out of High School, Ray realized his High School education wasn’t going to get him the brain surgeon position he was hoping for so he immediately pursued construction, another career path he was interested in.  47 years later and Ray still makes a point to be present on each job site daily as he truly believes there is no better way to know the heartbeat of a job other than to be part of it both mentally and physically. He believes that most people would like to see the face of the person that is guaranteeing a successful and safe job. Calling Ray accountable is simply an understatement, as he proves himself a man of his word time and time again. Ray has enjoyed many successful jobs over the years and is proud of all of them. While Ray is proud of all the successful completed projects he has been a part of, he is most proud of seeing the success and growth of the team that has been part of his 27 years with Saarman Construction, and believes the company’s future is bright because of these individuals. When Ray isn’t working, he is busy in his family life spending time with his best friend and wife of 45 years and celebrating special occasions with his four children and their families, including 8 grandchildren.

JAIME MEDINA

GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT, PARTNER

Jaime fell in love with construction as he recalls beginning in the field in 1986 and being trained by great builders to help build beautiful custom homes in the Los Gatos hills. In these early years, Jaime learned to read plans, lay out foundations, and cut roof rafters. He continued to grow and continue his path in construction as he gained experience building in the outside phases and inside phases of these custom homes.  He was involved with the building of wine cellars, libraries, and mantles and installing different types of wood and stone plus landscaping. He did everything and took everything he learned and applied it to a different area of construction; Reconstruction. Being well trained in the fundamentals, Jaime is able to quickly spot bad workmanship or failing materials and utilizes the plans to fix the issue. Having held the positions of General Superintendent, Manager, Journeyman, and  Carpenter, Jaime is also bilingual which is invaluable to Saarman Construction’s daily abilities to plan and effectively communicate. In Jaime’s free time, he enjoys coaching his son in baseball and cheering on the San Francisco Giants. 

JEFF LEWIS

DIRECTOR OF TESTING & MAINTENANCE, PARTNER

To Jeff, it was simple, he enjoyed working with his hands and building things so he knew construction was for him at the age of 15. These days you will find Jeff going over schedules, checking on jobs and crews, answering emails, marketing to clients and contributing to problem solving. Jeff enjoys collaborating with his crew and working for the different professionals in their trade. Jeff has a deep knowledge of the business spanning decades and is known for his ability to adapt to multiple personalities while keeping them happy. In Jeff’s free time he can be found relaxing with family and friends or hunting with his dog.

BERNABE CARDOSO

GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT, PARTNER

Bernabe was inspired to work in the construction industry to follow the same footsteps as his father. At a young age, he learned how to build his own home.

As General Superintendent of Saarman Construction, Bernabe sets up the crew and communicates with the subcontractors. He enjoys meeting new people at work and sharing his knowledge with the team. During weekends, he loves to spend time with his family and work on his cars.

Cesar Lepe

general superintendent, partner

For nearly 30 years since he was just eighteen years old, Cesar has worked in the construction industry. Eagerly rising every morning to get to the job site, one might find it hard to believe that Cesar is simply going to work and excited to get tasks done. Cesar’s hard work and experiences are valuable to Saarman Construction in that he started his career as a laborer and progressed to his current position of General Superintended, Partner. Cesar oversees projects and is able to enjoy the company of a close-knit group. When Cesar is not working on a project, he enjoys spending time with his family and volunteering as a soccer coach for his community.

PHILIP MRAZ

SENIOR ESTIMATOR, PARTNER

Philip inherited an aptitude for construction from his grandfather. Before twelve years of age, he was shown around the phases of new tract home developments supervised by his Grandpa in Apple Valley, CA. In admiration of his early mentor, Philip tried to imitate his grandfather by building a backyard fort out of scavenged scrap materials with recycled penny nails that were straightened on the concrete patio. The structure included a wood floor frame and hatch door access with a ladder to a lookout platform above, plus a parapet for perimeter protection from projectiles. Philip vividly remembers his Grandpa coming out for inspection and bestowing inspirational advice about how to add diagonal bracing for improved stability. The beneficial impact of these early lessons was never forgotten. Consider this a core memory for Philip as he continued to hone trade skills while attending academia, utilizing wood, metal, and glass shops to produce multi-media sculptural assemblies of his creative conceptual designs, ultimately achieving an MFA graduate accreditation from the University of Washington in 1978. In addition to his educational achievements Philip founded, Mraz & Co Renovation & Construction. Local architects appreciated his respect for and execution of their custom design details. Following an extended 30-month career sabbatical, cruising by sailboat through the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, Philip returned to the construction industry, managing larger-scale multi-family construction defect repairs for an established business operation headed by an old friend whom he had trained as an apprentice. More recently in his career, Philip finds himself bringing his plethora of experience to Saarman Construction to be closer to his daughter and grandchild in Silicon Valley. Philip notes that motives for career choices and transitions are often obscure, yet determine where we continue to seek stimulating challenges many years later. One can almost guess Philips’ next stimulating challenge will be the role of Grandpa inspector like his grandfather was to him.

KABIR SINGH

SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, PARTNER

Kabir’s introduction to construction was right out of college. With wide eyes and a mind full of bright ideas, he fell in love seeing projects come together with the right team, the proper process and the right technology. Kabir begins his day reviewing his checklist for each project, checking in on progress with site staff and completing project related required paperwork such as schedule updates, meeting minutes, change orders and RFI’s. Kabir enjoys both leading the project and working hand-in-hand with the site and office team to tackle daily project issues. Kabir has been described as efficient and proactive  as he has successfully completed over 100 projects over his career. Kabir is also proud of having successfully implemented construction project management software into many of the organizations he has been a part of. When Kabir is not onsite working on a project, you would likely find him sipping on a nice cocktail while chasing a small white ball down the fairway. 

DARWIN HENDERSON

Shop and Equipment Manager, Partner

Thirteen-year-old Darwin would have never imagined he would be in the position he is in today with Saarman Construction as the Shop & Equipment Manager, Partner. Initially hired as a painter Darwin quickly ascended the ranks, and finds himself at different job sites delivering equipment to projects and working on fleet vehicles. Darwin enjoys being able to run wild and help everyone in the company as he feels he is part of a brotherhood of individuals that have been with each other for 25 to 30 years.  When Darwin isn’t working, you can find him riding on his Harley with his family.

JUAN GALVEZ

SUPERINTENDENT, PARTNER

In 1996 Juan started to get a taste for construction as he helped his brother on side jobs and decided in no time that construction is what he really enjoys doing. 26 years later and he still gets the feeling of satisfaction when he sees the final results of a project. His work day usually starts with him gathering materials and getting to the job site on time to set up for the crew and attend meetings. Juan can do almost all types of construction work making him a valuable asset to Saarman Construction as this enables him to solve a wide range of unexpected problems. Juan is proud to have become a supervisor and a shareholder of the company this year on top of previously earning his contractor state license. In Juan’s free time, he can be found practicing soccer or horse riding with his son Juan Jr. 

JOSE DOMINGUEZ

SUPERINTENDENT, PARTNER

For Jose’s entire career which began in 1995, he has been an employee of Saarman Construction. While this longevity with the company speaks volumes to how dedicated Jose is and how great of a company Saarman Construction is, it all started with an eager young man hungry to learn and collaborate with others. Jose’s role is now more of a planner and motivator. Every day he ensures safety procedures are being followed and that everyone is doing a good job. Jose enjoys seeing the progress made in every project and finds it rewarding to know that he represents the values of the company. Jose is well-versed in carpentry, waterproofing, and the restoration of buildings. He is also bilingual which serves him well in his current position as it allows him to better communicate with those he supervises. When he isn’t working Jose enjoys spending quality time with his family. It is also Jose and his wife’s mission to continue encouraging their two sons and daughter in their academics and the development of their musical talents. 

MIGUEL GALVEZ

SUPERINTENDENT

Since 1989 Miguel has devoted himself to construction as he  always had an interest in building things. Even as a child he enjoyed taking things apart and rebuilding them. It gives him great pride and satisfaction seeing the work he has done and watching others enjoy the final results. To ensure results he can be proud of, Miguel takes the time to demonstrate how to do the job when needed. On a daily basis Miguel makes sure everyone can work effectively and are using the proper materials. Miguel has been described to be a team player and hard working. This combination of attributes allow Miguel to prioritize his responsibilities as a leader. In Miguel’s free time he enjoys gardening and spending time outdoors. 

SUSIE BATCHELOR

DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Susie has over twenty years of experience in HR. She began her career supporting companies in the software industry and throughout the years got exposed to a variety of industries including construction supply and now general construction where she tackles Human Resources challenges and provides individualized approaches that work for the company. Susie brings a wealth of Human Resources knowledge with her to Saarman Construction along with an open-door approach and willingness to serve all employees. Susie strives to attract and retain the best talent and supports our team by building a safe and fun work culture. Susie relishes the opportunity to make a positive impact in people’s lives. She believes our work product, systems, programs, and our professional relationships are such a major component of who we are as a company.  When Susie isn’t providing Human Resources guidance, you will most likely find her with her family, friends, and animals on an adventure. Susie loves to find and experience good food and dabbles in art. 

DAVID MANGINI

GENERAL COUNSEL AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT REPRESENTATIVE

Professionally, David likes nothing more than to immerse himself in the interesting work of others and he found out early on that Construction fit that bill. David has found that in this business as General Counsel and Business Development Representative, he must “wear different hats” through the course of a given day. Whether it’s legal items or business development, he thrives on that variety. David is Saarman Construction’s creative thinker and problem, solver. Before joining Saarman, David had twenty years of experience as a practicing attorney working with other construction industry clients. David has also taken numerous large construction cases to trial over the past two decades and they were all victories. David is also proud to say that he has had the honor of working with three generations of the Saarman family over the decades. When David isn’t working on a case, you will most likely find him telling one of his famous jokes or with his wife, daughter, and Australian shepherd. 

MEGAN WRIGHT

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Megan started working in the industry as an Administrative Assistant for a painting company in 2018. In retrospect, she finds that she didn’t necessarily choose the construction industry but more so stumbled upon it like a pleasant accident. As Megan’s background included customer service and hospitality she found her responsibilities to not be much different aside from sitting at a desk for an 8-hour shift and customer interactions being on phone calls rather than face to-face. One day, Megan was introduced to the networking side of the industry and remembers attending her first event with an estimator from the painting company and thinking, “How cool! These people get to come to events and make friends for work?!” Three and a half years later. she found herself doing just that for Saarman Construction and could not be happier. Megan grew up in a small Bay Area city where everyone knew each other. Anytime she went anywhere, her parents either knew someone in line next to them or would make friends and start chatting away. Megan used to hate this as a kid but now finds herself doing the same and thinks this is a big reason why she enjoys Business Development so much. When Megan isn’t working she can be found enjoying the outdoors hiking or kayaking with friends and family. Megan enjoys day trips and quick weekend getaways as well. 

MEGAN MUTIMER

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Megan has always been interested in the construction industry and after graduating from SSU with a degree in Marketing, she started her career in 2011 working for a painting manufacturer. Megan’s experience has allowed her to become familiar with many different aspects of the industry and has given her unique insight to be able to provide support to the client’s that Saarman serves. When Megan is not at work she enjoys thrifting/antiquing, DIY projects, and spending time with her two Dachshunds, Brizzy and Coconut.