Joel Lester

In 2020, Flintco named Joel Lester as General Manager of our Houston office. Joel brings 22 years of Houston construction experience in Higher Education, K-12, Manufacturing and Office. Joel said his focus moving forward is twofold: continue attracting and developing staff and increasing market share in those sectors where Flintco has gained traction in Houston – Parking, Municipal, Higher Education and Industrial. “Finding the right private development partner and landing an anchor project that helps us diversify and keep growing staff and developing careers is in the mix, too,” he added.

Joel believes strongly that “unless we are training our replacement, we are not doing our job,” he said. He enjoys working with staff helping them reach their career goals, which in turn means building a stronger company. “Our business has become more dynamic with technology and more efficient processes,” Joel said. “Attracting and retaining top talent remains a priority.” He described his decision-making process as “trust but verify. Talk to everyone involved and know your options. Then decide. Don’t let an issue sit for long.”

Joel points to the Calhoun Lofts for the University of Houston as a standout project in his career portfolio of work – a $100 million, 550,000 SF, 984-bed graduate and professional student housing complex. He described his first impression of Flintco as a “honest, ethical and customer-driven company – character traits that should be more common, but often are not. Flintco’s drive to be on the cutting edge of our industry is impressive and helps explain the success we’ve had for more than 100 years.”

Joel said he is looking forward to working with Flintco Industrial to create more opportunities for self-perform work, is excited by how Lean2.0 delivers real value to customers and helps to differentiate Flintco and identifying off-site construction opportunities. Joel holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Science from Texas A&M University. He and his wife are active in the St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church with two children ages seven and nine who are also active in sports. The family supports Westbury Little League and Target Hunger.