Cruz Companies has announced a number of strategic promotions and new hires. Headlining these moves is the appointment of Justin Cruz to the position of chief operating officer across all three Cruz Companies corporate divisions. Accompanying this elevation is the promotion of longtime John B. Cruz Construction team member John Teixeira to the role of project manager, as well as the elevations of Cruz Management team members Jennifer Then to regional property manager and Cherelle Spencer to senior property manager.

In addition, Cruz Companies has added a number of newly appointed professionals that reflect the firm’s depth of talent and expertise across the construction, real estate development and property management sectors. These include the hiring of Isabel DeAndrade, who has joined Cruz Companies as executive assistant, along with several other key office staff, as well as the elevation of four additional Cruz Management team members and the hiring of 14 new management division employees.

The new appointments come as Cruz Companies, which recently won the global “Brands That Matter” award from Fast Company Magazine, celebrates its 75th anniversary and expands its reach with significant new projects. Highlights of this growing portfolio include a 50-unit, affordable housing community in College Park, Maryland; the soon-to-open Michael E. Haynes Building in Boston, which has 55 units of affordable housing and the company’s new global headquarters offices; a mixed-use, 170-unit complex with a five-story, affordable wing, plus a 10-story condominium with underground parking in the Roxbury, Massachusetts, Nubian Square district; and an 80-plus-unit, affordable community in New Bedford, Massachusetts, that reimagines several historic landmarks.

According to Cruz Companies President and CEO John B. Cruz III, the firm’s recognition of emerging leaders reflects this broad range of work, its expanding presence in cities across the Eastern Seaboard and its enduring commitment to diversifying the building trades, creating community wealth and dismantling legacies of systemic inequity.

“As every division of our organization continues to grow, it is essential that we recognize and nurture an emerging generation of leadership,” said Cruz III, who is frequently cited for his thought leadership by the real estate and business media. “These professionals embody the range of skills, insight and experience that has long made Cruz Companies a valued partner in the communities we serve — and their success proves that explicitly prioritizing diversity and representation among our own staff is both a social imperative and good business.

“Cruz Companies will always focus on building a future of greater equity and opportunity,” Cruz III concluded. “With these new leaders helping guide us on this mission, I’m confident that we will continue to live up to our motto of Pioneering Progress, Empowering Communities.”