David Leyva is a family man, and his commitment to others and to working together for a common goal translates over to his role as Head of Production at Cinergy Construction. In fact, when he found the same commitment at Cinergy to their employees, he knew it was a perfect fit. “It’s all about getting the job done, in a way that works for everyone and is respectful to all the people involved in a project. Cinergy’s people, both in the office and in the field, are valued. Those in the field are craftsmen, not just laborers or carpenters. It’s important to me to work in an atmosphere like that.”

Hands-On Experience Mirrored in Management and the Field

David came to Cinergy three and a half years ago, after leading his own residential remodeling company for four years. “My experience running my own business helps me understand (owners) Greg Francis and Graham Osborne,” says David. “It helps me not to be a rock in their shoes.” And Greg and Graham’s backgrounds help them to understand David and all the other workers as well, says David, since both of them worked in construction hands-on prior to forming Cinergy. “It’s rare that you find people running companies at this scale who’ve worked in the field.”

Favorite Cinergy Projects

Of the varied projects that Cinergy takes on: theaters, recording studios, safe rooms, and specialized acoustics and finishes, David’s favorites are theaters—especially one theater that Cinergy designed in-house and built themselves. The theater was a complete remodel of an existing theater, including new equipment finishes, new seating, and a total room isolation to start. Because Cinergy had control over the whole project, it was completed very efficiently. “Often when we do a remodel, we need to go in and redo the isolation, because the original design isn’t up to our standards,” says David.

First Days With Cinergy

David’s best story is not only about his first days with Cinergy, but, literally, his very first day. Here he was, still trying to get all the employees’ names straight, and Graham said, “Get in the car, we’re going to a job site.” The next thing he knew he was in an A-list celebrity’s home looking at the dual theater/golf simulator that Cinergy was building. And in walked the film star himself, who apparently visited the job often. He wanted to look at the new golf simulator controller in the center of the room, and talked with David about it. “Kind of a surreal experience,” says David, “standing there talking with the star from a hit movie playing in all the theaters.”  

As his years with Cinergy have progressed, David’s learned that rubbing shoulders with major television and film actors is par for the course – a very fun aspect of the job.

David Outside the Office  

David and his wife Jessica have been married 13 years; they have two active boys, Liam and Ethan. David is a lifelong Braves fan; he’s not sure why, exactly, except that they were in their heyday right when he became aware of baseball as a kid, so “maybe the team just stuck in my brain.” David’s dad, a diehard baseball fan in general, took David to a baseball game every year for his birthday when he was growing up; it didn’t matter who was playing. So baseball will always be an important part of his life.

Looking Forward

“I’m in it for the long haul with Cinergy,” says David. He can see the vision for the company being played out in decisions and day-to-day operations in a very collaborative environment. Staffing is up in the overall production department, communications with GCs and clients are high priority, partnerships are strong with project engineers and other key personnel on projects. “It’s a good place to work, a good place to achieve results,” he says. “We practice true teamwork. I’m happy here.”