Chris Klemaske joined Sundek in Arlington, TX, as Director of Commercial Development in 2019, where she continues her role as an industry leader working with designers, architects and commercial developers on projects nationwide.
Klemaske began her construction career 30+ years ago as an office administrator for Klemaske Brothers Concrete Inc. She recognized early on that it was a male dominated industry at the time and decided she was interested in pursuing the restoration side of decorative concrete.
In 1990, Klemaske started her own decorative concrete restoration company called, Classic Concrete Care. Here she empowered other women to get involved in the industry and worked side by side in the field with her team cleaning and resealing decorative concrete finishes throughout the San Diego area. In 1995, Progressive Concrete came to Klemaske with an offer to become a project developer where she worked for five years and won numerous industry awards for design and perfection of installation.
For the last 19 years, Klemaske worked for T. B. Penick & Sons Innovative Concrete Services Group working directly with owners, developers and public officials, as well as designers, architects and artists on the creation and execution of decorative concrete projects. Klemaske was instrumental in the design and execution of decorative concrete projects ranging from public art to structural, architectural and infrastructural works.
Along with her many career accomplishments, Klemaske is a champion for the architectural concrete industry and a sought-after industry spokesperson. From 2012-2013 Klemaske served as the First Women National Director for the Decorative Concrete Council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC). In 2013 Klemaske became the First Women President for the San Diego Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) and a member of the advisory board of Concrete Contractor magazine. She belonged to the National Organization of Women in Construction. She also sits on the ASCC’s Sustainability Committee, Public Relations Committee and served on the organization’s 2011 Strategic Planning Committee.
In 2016 Klemaske was featured on the cover of Concrete Contractor magazine where it recognized her as one of the Most Influential People in the Construction Industry. She has belonged to the National Organization of Women in Construction (NAWIC); and she previously served on the board of ACE and on the AGC Build & Serve Committee. In 2019 Klemaske became the first woman to be elected to the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) Board of Directors.
Throughout her career in the industry, Klemaske has broken many barriers for women in the industry. She has been a tireless advocate for women in the building trades and a promoter of the decorative concrete industry as a structural form that melds together art, design, architectural integrity and functionality.
