VLO Construction - FOUNDED 2023

  Luis Varela is one of the founders of VLO Construction. At VLO, Luis focuses on providing vision & direction for the company & clients. He is focused on providing preconstruction & estimating needs for clients & supporting the company in day-to-day operations. Throughout his professional career, Luis has focused on connecting with all those he interacts with & developing an un-rivaled team culture. When building VLO, the focus for Luis was on creating a general contractor that delivers a premier project experience for all parties involved & leaves a desire for a continued relationship.

Since his childhood in Arizona, Luis has always had a passion & curiosity for construction & design. Luis spent much of his childhood weekends & summers working alongside his family in the construction industry. This passion led to him studying & obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico (UNM). During his final years at UNM, Luis joined a national general contractor as an intern & began to further pursue the passion of the construction industry.  
 

Since graduating from UNM, Luis spent 8 years with the same national top 20 general contractor. Luis began as a project engineer on healthcare, K-12 & higher education projects. As he progressed in his career, Luis held positions as an Assistant Superintendent, Assistant Project Manager & eventually Project Manager. Luis's project experience ranges from being a new project engineer on a $4M dollar education remodel project to being a key leader on a $174M senior-living building in the heart of Tempe, Arizona. Most recently, Luis lead a team that annually completed $25M of technical healthcare renovation work such as MRI suite build-outs, CT remodels, Pharmacy & Sports Med remodels at one of the premier healthcare facilities in Phoenix, Arizona. 

 Jake Lund is one of the founding partners of VLO Construction. At VLO, Jake focuses on leading high functioning teams to achieve results that all parties involved can be proud of. Jake has forged a reputation as a driven, reliable partner that emphasizes building relationships and a winning culture while delivering an exceptional client experience. 

A native of Arizona, Jake wanted a change of scenery and decided to go to Colorado State University-Pueblo to pursue his bachelor’s degree. After obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering Jake knew that he wanted to be apart of a team that ultimately brought designed projects to life and followed his passion into the construction industry. 

Jake spent 7 years with a top 20 ENR rated general contractor working on projects across a wide range of markets including K-12, Higher Education, Entertainment, Healthcare, Research Labs, and Technical training facilities. Jake began as a project engineer in the K-12 sector and worked his way up to the role of Project Manager while working on projects from $3M dollar in value up to $174M. 

  Shane O’Malley is one of the partner owners of VLO Construction and is one of the founding members who started the company in 2023. In his previous role prior to co-founding VLO, he was employed by a large national general contractor for 8 years where he developed from an intern to a project superintendent. During those 8 years, Shane worked in the commercial, solar, education, and healthcare markets. He spent 6 of those years dedicated to healthcare construction for a highly renowned healthcare institute in Phoenix. Shane’s building expertise ranges from newbuilds to renovation of inpatient healthcare services spaces, radiology department work, central utility plants, sports medicine clinics, and outpatient services spaces. The projects Shane directly managed vary in total contract size, from a few thousand dollars to over $20 million.

Shane’s background as a superintendent brings high operational execution to the team. His role in VLO is focused on structuring and guiding the company in daily operations. He is the leader in connecting with our craft workforce and engaging with our union partners. He develops and nurtures our relationships with trade partners to help grow and advance the construction industry. His activity in industry organizations such as CASHE contributes to developing healthcare construction to be the best it can be.

Shane holds a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Arizona State University. He has lived in Arizona for over a decade where he continues to grow a beautiful family and enjoy time with many amazing friends. Arizona has become home for Shane, and he loves having the opportunity to be able to advance local construction and provide an unparalleled experience and finished product for his clients.