Ben Rives is Director of Preconstruction at the Collage Companies, a design build, integrated services firm that is an established leader in the construction industry; headquartered in central Florida and working throughout the Southeast. Ben oversees all of the company’s pre-construction operations including the following sectors:  commercial, transportation, parks and sports, hospitality, education and religious.

Ben’s interest in construction began during two mission trips to villages near Montego Bay, Jamaica. During his first trip, volunteers constructed a CMU church building from the foundation up. The importance of the structure to the community hit home with Ben when villagers used the church as a shelter during Hurricane Gilbert later that year. Ben’s interest grew during college and he ultimately earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. Ben likes the blend of technical/engineering work and business/financial work involved in construction and exhibits a good balance of analytical and interpersonal skills.