Javier Ortega General Superintendent

I started in the construction industry young, uneducated, inexperienced, and unable to communicate in English. Despite these setbacks, Colich & Son’s gave me a shot and hired me as a laborer in 1987. I learned the job through a lot of mistakes and help from my co-workers. As I continued working and learning, my love for the construction industry grew and I knew this would be my lifelong career. Not only did I love my job, but it was also the best paid job any uneducated person could have. By the age of 23, I became a pipe layer/Leadman with the goal of one day moving up to the position of Foreman. To become a Foreman, I put in a lot of effort and sacrifice into learning how to write work reports, timesheets, and extra work tickets. I would study plans and read the notes so that I could understand what it would take to be a Foreman. Soon I was promoted to Foreman and was now in charge of running large projects. The promotion would not have been possible without the help of my wife who worked with me at night while I studied to be a Foreman.

In 2004, I started my career at Bali Construction, Inc., where immediately Bali’s owners, Mike Brooks and Ted Polich, along with their VP, Grant Wood, made me feel like part the family. I knew that I couldn’t let them down. Ted soon promoted me to Superintendent, a position that I did not feel I deserved nor was ready to fill, but I accepted it anyway knowing I had Bali’s team behind me.

I am currently the General Superintendent at Bali, still learning, pushing, and loving the career path I took. I am where I am today because of all the people who helped me throughout my career. I do not believe that there are great companies as general term, rather I believe that great people are the ones who make the companies great. Bali is great because of its people.