CEO – Steve Roeser
Steve comes to Southern Piedmont Materials with 20 years of leadership experience providing environmental planning and management both as a Project Manager and as Program Manager primarily for the Air Force and Navy. Steve’s career spanned 30 years with Leidos, one of the largest contractors serving the Department of Defense. He has always looked for new challenges and over the course of his career with Leidos he held numerous positions that helped him to understand the full breadth of the company. Steve was promoted to lead the Infrastructure Planning and Management Solutions Division in 2001 where he was responsible for the execution and financial performance of over 200 projects annually. His division and staff continued to grow to over 230 engineers, scientists, architects, and associated support staff. He was responsible for managing the business of 11 office locations spanning the U.S. with annual revenues totaling over $56 Million. Steve retired from Leidos in 2018, bringing his planning, budgeting, and project execution skills to the mining business. His environmental and infrastructure planning experience will be utilized as we design our mining operations to be profitable and environmentally sound.
He started his career on Eglin Air Force base as a technical illustrator, and later he joined Leidos on the Space Defense Initiative Program. Steve gained experience across many disciplines in the progression of his career development. He became proficient in computers systems, and network design and he was promoted to System Analyst and eventually transferred to the Lethality/Vulnerability division. He developed new skill sets here that used Boolean algebra and engineering judgment to build 3D computer models of ballistic missiles instead of graphic visualizations. He was tasked to design a network and systems upgrade plan for the Environmental Management Branch on Eglin AFB and was then tasked to complete the build-out and manage it full-time and he became certified as a Network Administrator. All this diversified experience eventually led to his promotion to Division Manager.
Steve grew up in Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie and studied at the Columbus College of Art & Design for 4 years, majoring in Illustration and Design. He met his wife of 39 years in a small church in Castalia and they were married shortly thereafter. They moved to Florida at the end of that same year and have two sons together. He attends the First Methodist Church in DeFuniak Springs where he is the Trustees Chairman and serves on the Church Council and on the Finance Committee. Steve is a founding member of Southern Piedmont Kingdom Builders charitable foundation and serves on the Board of Directors.
COO – Rafael Alcover
Rafael comes to Southern Piedmont Materials with over 30 years of combined experience serving in the US Army for 20 years and achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1998. Upon his retirement, he continued supporting the DoD, working for several companies within the Government Services Industry, including industry leaders, such as Honeywell, and KBR. During his Army career, Rafael held positions within the Combat Service Support Management competency, starting at platoon level, increasing with promotions to more complex and higher responsibility positions including working for the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans at the Pentagon and subsequently as Chief Plans and Operations Division for the Installation Management Agency, Europe Region.
During his tenure within the Government Services Industry Rafael held positions as Senior Logistics Consultant, Logistics Manager, Operations Manager, Deputy Program Manager and Program Manager. Rafael has managed projects ranging from $7 Million to $40 Million with staffing over 500 personnel working in the areas of Operations, Maintenance, Transportation, and Logistics. During his tenure with industry Rafael obtained his Six Sigma Green Belt Certification and expanded his knowledge base in Performance Improvement, Strategic Operations and Planning, and Operations Design.
His vast experience in operations and logistics set the baseline for Southern Piedmont Materials developing a flexible and adaptive concept of operations, supported by our resources, crafted into a feasible and achievable plan. Orchestrating the tenets of effective operation management in combination with robust logistics understanding, built over quality and safety, have allowed Southern Piedmont to strategically align our goals and objectives from the shop floor to the board room.
Rafael grew up in Puerto Rico and graduated from the Inter-American University majoring in Administration and subsequently received a Master’s Degree in Administration from the University of Central Michigan. He met his wife of 40 years while in high school and married shortly after joining the Army. Upon retirement, together with their four children they moved to Florida. He has been blessed with the addition of three grandchildren since then. He attends Destiny Worship Center in Miramar Beach where he serves in prayer group and is an active member of the Roundtable of Issachar. Rafael is a founding member of Southern Piedmont Kingdom Builders and serves on the Board of Directors.
CPO – Michelle Schack
Michelle comes to Southern Piedmont Materials with over 16 years experience and has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management. She established the HR Departments from the ground up at both the City of DeFuniak Springs and Southland Utility Services and holds 2 professional certifications (SHRM-CP & PHR). At Southland, as part of the executive team, she was involved in strategic and financial decisions for the company and served as Director of Human Resources for over 10 years. While Michelle was responsible for hiring employees at every level, her focus was hiring construction laborers, technicians, equipment operators, drivers and field supervisors and addressing their unique workplace concerns, increasing job satisfaction and retention.
She designed and implemented Foreman Leadership and Individual Career Development Programs for continuous employee development. Michelle brings this mindset directly applicable to our mining operations. She believes in a People First mentality to ensure everyone is utilized in the right place doing the right things. She wants them to understand their purpose and have a great sense of accomplishment as part of the team.
Michelle has been very active in community service and personal development. She served the local Kiwanis club as Secretary for 10 years and has been involved in several other professional organizations throughout her career (United Way Fund Distribution, United Way Loaned Executive program, American Society for Training and Development, Toastmasters, Society for Human Resource Management Emerald Coast and National, Walton County HR Round Table, Project Princess, Bare Necessities, and Peers Pursuing Purpose). She completed the Walton Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Walton Class and the Dale Carnegie Learning for Managers Course. She received an award from the Dale Carnegie program for Innovation.
Michelle and her husband are the parents of seven amazing children. She attends the First Methodist Church of DeFuniak Springs. Michelle is a founding member of Southern Piedmont Kingdom Builders charitable foundation and serves on the Board of Directors as the Secretary.
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