iBUILT, the new design-build-operate company powered by state-of-the-art technology, announced that Gonzalo Gonzalez, manufacturing and electronic engineering expert and former senior director of manufacturing engineering at Tesla and vice president of operations and engineering at Jabil, has joined the company as chief manufacturing officer. In this position, Gonzalez will play a key role in driving the manufacturing innovations that will underscore the company’s transformative, product-based approach to constructing buildings offsite, as well as producing structures with a standardized set of components and highly customizable designs.
Gonzalez brings over 20 years of experience in designing, leading and driving large-scale and highly efficient manufacturing solutions to head the company’s offsite manufacturing at iBUILT’s facility in Pennsylvania. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations, he will help nurture and develop the on-site company culture, focusing on upskilling workers and creating an environment that enhances learning and advances innovation.
“iBUILT is disruptive. This company is reimagining the fundamentals of the construction industry by streamlining the design and build processes and making great strides towards efficiency,” said Gonzalo Gonzalez, the newly hired chief manufacturing officer at iBUILT. “Although the construction industry is one of the largest in the world, it’s the least digitized and has lacked innovation for decades. Joining the team presents an opportunity to be a changemaker and to create better and more efficient ways to build.”
The company is redefining the construction value proposition by re-imagining the entire design, development and construction processes to create end products — buildings — that are more sustainable, meet the highest standards nationally and are smarter than those that result from a traditional development approach.
“Gonzalo is a leader in manufacturing and we are thrilled to have him join the iBUILT team," said Ayall Schanzer, chief strategy officer at iBUILT. "His deep experience in manufacturing environments around the world provides him the insight and skills necessary to deliver top-tier products at scale.
"We are bringing together all the critical pieces to transform how buildings are built, and Gonzalo will play a lead role in streamlining our design and manufacturing process. The ability to attract Gonzalo from Tesla speaks volumes about the potential here at iBUILT, and this vision has already attracted a range of world class small- and medium-sized enterprises."
Before joining iBUILT, Gonzalez served as senior director of manufacturing engineering at Tesla, where he led the engineering teams responsible for manufacturing Tesla’s battery pack, drive unit and energy storage systems. He worked on upgrading the Model 3 and Model Y, and spearheaded automation solutions that optimized the overall manufacturing process. Throughout Gonzalez’s tenure at the company, millions of dollars in operational cost savings were created by solving Tesla’s battery production and assembly issues — streamlining operations.
Previously, Gonzalez was vice president of operations and engineering at Jabil, a product solutions company that provides comprehensive electronics design and production. At Jabil, he was responsible for a $2.6 billion operation and 15,000 employees working at sites in China, Taiwan, Indonesia and across the United States. He led the automation group, delivering automation solutions and standardized processes across Jabil’s manufacturing locations. Gonzalez played an integral role in managing Jabil's client relationships with Apple and GoPro, advancing their manufacturing and production processes.
Gonzalez’s experiences leading the manufacturing and development of some of the most cutting-edge technologies position him perfectly to head iBUILT’s offsite, integrated manufacturing operation. He has high expectations for the manufacturing team that iBUILT is creating and knows the value of a strong workplace culture and an efficient, collaborative and fundamentally-sound work environment.
