Management Team

Andrew Dennis - Founder & Chairman

Andrew Dennis is the Company’s founder and creator of existing and future product lines. Currently he is completing the development of the GigaCrete PanelSystem (a future product that the Company aims to demonstrate in late 2008). Mr. Dennis is an acclaimed architectural and industrial designer with more than 30 years of experience designing hotel, casino, restaurant and commercial projects. As both an entrepreneur leading his own design firm in Los Angeles and San Diego and as a Design Director at two of the leading architectural firms in Las Vegas, Mr. Dennis built a track record of seminal design work on some of America’s most recognized casinos and hotels.

Mr. Dennis first started the development of what became the GigaCrete technology suite by creating a challenging set of design and engineering problems: to construct a thoroughly non-toxic and fire proof Caribbean retirement home with entirely containerize-able components (panels and finishes) that could be shipped and then erected by unskilled labor in a matter of days. The panel components had to be light weight and still have structural integrity great enough to withstand hurricane-force winds. The home also had to be truly ‘green,’ with a high percentage of recycled content and low embodied energy. This set of engineering problems helped to inform some of GigaCrete’s product development efforts.

Mr. Dennis holds degrees in Architecture and Industrial Design from West Nottinghamshire College of Art and Design and Kingston upon Hull College of Art and Architecture in the United Kingdom and was the recipient of the highly coveted national award for Britain’s top design student.

Hamid Hojaji - Chief Operating Officer

Hamid Hojaji is a materials technologist with extensive scientific and managerial experience in the field of cementitious systems and products. Prior to joining GigaCrete, Mr. Hojaji spent 4 years at James Hardie Building Products in Southern California as a research and product development technical manager.  He was later promoted to manage the U.S. research and development division. During his tenure with James Hardie, Mr. Hojaji led groups of scientists and engineers in developing various cementitious building products and successfully managed a multi-million dollar project from the research stage to full-scale commercial production. Mr. Hojaji worked as a project manager and development scientist for almost 20 years at the Vitreous State Laboratory, a world renowned center in materials science and technology development located in Washington D.C. His projects were related to the development of advanced rapid setting cementitious systems, light weight high strength building products, geopolymers, and glass and ceramic products. Mr. Hojaji has extensive experience in the utilization of ash in building materials and has been involved with projects related to waste management, recycling, and the manufacturing of green products. Mr. Hojaji brings many years of experience in industrial process design, plant design and engineering principles. He has had close interactions with various chemical and cementitious industry players, government agencies and national laboratories. Mr. Hojaji has extensive managerial experience and training and believes strongly in team building and team work.  Finally, Mr. Hojaji is a strong advocate for green building products.

Mr. Hojaji holds a doctorate degree in materials science and chemical engineering from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and M.S. and B.S. degrees in chemical engineering and materials sciences. Mr. Hojaji holds more than 25 US patents and applications and has been recognized as a top inventor by the materials research society.

James Axley – Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Jim Axley is charged with the responsibility of creating sales strategies for specific markets and industries, generating pricing structures, establishing applications and best practice standards and coordinating marketing programs. Additionally, he is focused on developing a network for product distribution coupled with product expansion and synchronizing product development with industry demands.

Mr. Axley joined GigaCrete after a 32 year career with USG Corporation. During his years with USG, he demonstrated a proven ability to grow business unit profitability both domestically and internationally. In the Manufactured Construction division, he drove an increase in sales from 38MM to150MM$ in three years, improved Construction Steel ROI from 2% to 13% in two years, and established an international warehouse in Miami servicing the Caribbean, Central America, South American and Western Europe. His product knowledge and experience includes construction plastering systems, industrial plasters, wallboard, gypsum rock, manufactured housing, paper, construction steel, industrial products, acoustical systems, and bulk mineral wool. Other areas of expertise include distribution, architectural presentations and promotion and construction product recycling.

Mr. Axley holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering from the Southern Polytechnic University in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally he participated in advanced Business Management courses provided at Northwestern University for USG executives. His past includes service in the US Military as a Marine.

Edward Morris - Plant Manager

Edward Morris is responsible for managing all operational elements of GigaCrete’s first prototype factory in Las Vegas, Nevada. This includes manufacturing practices, safety, the operation of heavy equipment, supervision of personnel, and staff training. Mr. Morris has over 20 years of leadership and management experience in the construction and environmental management industries. As an entrepreneur, he founded a contracting company that built successful commercial and residential developments. Prior to GigaCrete, Mr. Morris worked as a heavy equipment operator and supervisor at Crapo Hill Landfill in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was honored with the “Bronze Excellence Award for Outstanding Contributions for Landfill Management.” Crapo Hill Landfill successfully partnered with Commonwealth Electric of Massachusetts in converting landfill gas into electrical power, feeding the local electric distribution grid at ComElectric’s 3.3 MegaWatt green power plant. Mr. Morris is also a skilled carpenter.

Rick Phillips - Director of Training & Technical Assistance

Rick Phillips is responsible for working with applicators, contractors, specifiers, and other professionals throughout the United States and training them to successfully specify and apply GigaCrete products. His work enables contractors to maximize savings in labor costs and vastly increase the speed of projects that they can complete, enabling them to do more jobs, realize higher margins, and deliver greater value for their customers. Mr. Phillips is also a research and development professional, with an appreciation for taking products from the lab and making them more user-friendly and easier to install.

Mr. Phillips has over 20 years of experience in the finishing concrete industry and has installed millions of square feet of commercial and residential slabs. He was one of the innovators that mastered the art of colorizing and patterning concrete before it was fully understood, recognizing concrete as a viable option to replicate finishes like brick, slate, stone and tile. By integrating artistic decorative overlay finishes to existing surfaces, this technology also served as a cost-effective option to removing and replacing surfaces for aesthetic purposes. Mr. Phillips worked to bridge the gap in education between the installer and the customer, successfully pioneering the initial effort to educate the trades. He represented major decorative flooring product suppliers and conducted training seminars to advance the careers of industry professionals. A member of the American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) and the Decorative Concrete Council (DCC), Rick has trained and certified over 400 entities nationwide and demonstrated installation techniques at major international events like “The World of Concrete.”