Chief Executive Officer Carlos is the CEO of BuildZig and the buck stops with him. He is the leader of the BuildZig team, providing vision and focus to ensure we meet our mission, core values, and goals. Prior to helping form BuildZig, Carlos was President and founder of an entitlements company and managing member of a real estate investment company. Carlos served as Chief of Staff to the Oakland City Council President as advisor on economic development issues under Jerry Brown’s mayoral term. He has extensive experience in lobbying, community organizing, as well as the more technical aspects of real estate investment and development. Carlos received his bachelor’s degree in Biology and Anthropology from UCLA, and his master’s degree in Environmental Science from Yale. Before attending Yale, Carlos lived in the Amazon rainforest with the Achuar tribe, sparking his interest in protecting the environment. Carlos is passionate about sustainable development and reducing our impact on this planet. He is most excited about working on projects that can demonstrate how to do that in a profitable and beautiful way.

Finance Director and Chief Risk Manager Monica Plazola is the Finance Director and Chief Risk Manager at BuildZig. She brings to the company over 20 years of financial management, risk management experience, and company infrastructure experience. What Monica most enjoys about working at BuildZig is being able to collaborate and work with an amazing staff. Outside of work, Monica enjoys spending time with her family and their spoiled dogs. At the Plazola house, backyard barbeques are a regular occurrence, no matter the time of year. If Monica had a superpower, hers would be invisibility – that way she could thwart any nefarious activity with no one knowing she did it!

John brings an unparalleled level of experience to BuildZig's Funds Control Department and is able to find solutions to any and all problems. John specializes in budget review analysis and has been certified as an expert witness testimony on best practices for construction payments and mechanics liens. John’s interest in construction was initially sparked by a middle school shop class and has developed into a life-long passion and career. John started working on construction sites to earn money for college and ultimately earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from CSU San Marcos. He holds certifications as a Licensed General Contractor, Certified Construction Inspector (CCI), Registered Home Inspector (RHI), and Certified Review Appraiser (CRA). In his free time, John spends his off-work hours recreating the latest recipes from America’s Test Kitchen with his wife.