At age 12, working alongside his father on a concrete crew in Chicago, Rey Rivera Jr. dreamed of owning a company that would “help build this great city.” When the third-generation tradesman was ready to realize that dream in 2009, he pressed forward in the face of one of the country’s worst economic downturns. Today, running a project on Chicago’s Navy Pier as owner of CSI 3000, Rivera is working to fulfill his company’s commitment to become the leading minority-owned concrete contractor in the region. He is well on his way: Company revenues have risen almost eightfold since 2011. “I like to view the CSI 3000 team as the new generation of concrete contractors with an old school work ethic,” says Rivera, who advanced from laborer to complete his master’s degree.
