• Founder and Chief Executive Officer of African Skills and Development Group Ltd.
• Founder and Executive Director of GFP International, a U.S. based non-profit organization
Michael Vallez is the founder and Executive Director of GFP International, a U.S. based nonprofit company with a history dating back to 2005, and whose current mission is to serve young African men and women through advancement of world class skills training opportunities in their home countries.
GFP International Home
He is also the founder and CEO of African Skills and Development Group Ltd., a development stage company he formed to serve GFP International with welding school development services and to assist proactive clients to mitigate the significant risks associated with the lack of African skilled labor in critical high value-added construction and manufacturing trades.
African Skills and Development Company Ltd
Prior to starting work as a construction consultant and expert witness in 2017, Mr. Vallez had over 45 years of diverse experience in the engineering, design and construction industry across multiple market sectors including transportation, heavy civil, mining, power, oil and gas, high rise hotels and offices, educational, medical and other building types. In all, he has provided leadership on several billion dollars’ worth of projects in these markets and has provided claims consulting on projects with a total combined value approaching $100 billion dollars.
Aside from mastering the technical sides of scheduling, cost and quality control, Mike is a natural born leader who began his professional journey by focusing his MBA studies on human motivation and productivity improvement. He in an inspirational leader, coach and mentor who has led thousands of men and women to achieve superior results by creating work environments where everyone can achieve a sense of achievement and self-fulfillment by working cooperatively on high functioning teams. He has a natural desire and ability to engage team members with their hearts and minds to mount challenges that may seem impossible.
He is also a writer, who has written several books on leadership and safety. In 2017, he applied his technical training and practical experience in the realm of construction litigation and claims as an independent analyst and expert witness under his consultancy, Vallez International LLC.
Vallez International home
He quickly rose to a position on the board of directors of Long International, one of the leading and original consultancies providing claims consulting services. He understands what can cause projects to run over schedule and over budget, and the strategies to prevent this from occurring. Mr. Vallez has a proven ability to evaluate the work of owners, contractors, engineers, architects, and project construction teams to identify the root causes of project cost and schedule overruns and quantify their impact on project outcomes.
After spending five years on the board of Long International from 2017 to 2022, he resigned his seat on the board and position as senior executive consultant to focus full time on his current mission to play a part in the transformation of Africa from an underdeveloped continent with nagging poverty and unemployment, to an industrial powerhouse that can contribute to continued global prosperity for citizens on every continent. He has traveled extensively to build a multi-layered team with a shared vision: Africa is the new China, becoming an engine for global growth, while raising millions from poverty in the process.
His books about construction management, effective leadership, and safety can be downloaded for from the Vallez International website:
Education:
• Bachelor of Science in Civil/Structural/Geotechnical Engineering
Michigan Technological University, 1975
• Master’s in business administration (MBA). Emphasis on organizational effectiveness and human productivity.
University of Utah, 1983
In addition to a list of confidential expert witness clients, Mr. Vallez has managed and worked on major world class projects for power companies, international mining companies, energy companies, commercial developers, and other institutions including:
- Rio Tinto Union Carbide
- Kennecott Utah Copper Monsanto
- Anaconda Mining Company IBM
- Molycorp Minerals Duke Energy
- Graymont ExxonMobil
- Rocky Mountain Power Berkshire Hathaway
- Tata Chemicals Ormat Technologies
- Xcel Energy Walter Resources
- Air Products and Chemicals University of Minnesota
- Kern River Gas Vivint Solar
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Al Johnson Construction Company
- Dravo Engineers and Constructors McDevitt & Street
- Bor-Son Construction The Woolfolk Companies
- Shelard Real Estate (CB Richard Ellis) Thor Construction
- Adolfson & Peterson Casey Industrial
- Bodell Construction Big-D Construction
- DMC Mining Services
