Roberto Contreras

Before forming Houston EB5, Roberto Contreras began his career in the stone and surfacing industry. He first moved to the United States from Mexico in 1984 as a student at the University of Houston. Soon after graduation, at the young age of 23, he founded his first company, Super Marble, a custom marble fabrication shop whose notable projects included the Holocaust Museum, Moody Gardens, and Houston International Airport. This marked the beginning of his trademark entrepreneurial spirit.

In 1994, Mr. Contreras became one of the very first EB-5 investors in the U.S. Only a year later, he and his father founded Technimar Industries, Inc., which was sold and became Cambria. In 1998, Contreras launched the first company to introduce quartz to the U.S. market, Cosentino North America. The operation quickly became an industry leader with over $350 million in sales and operated 17 large distribution warehouses and 11 company-owned fabrication shops. Receiving national and international recognition for his business accomplishments, he was awarded Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002. Mr. Contreras sold the company in 2009, where he remained CEO through the 2010 transition.

Having become a U.S. citizen in 2008, Mr. Contreras turned his interest to various business ventures such as real estate and the EB-5 Visa program, with the goal of assisting international investors legally immigrate to the U.S. He founded DC Partners and its subsidiary, Houston EB5 in 2010. Today, DC Partners, has constructed over $1.3 billion in residential and commercial properties, while Houston EB5 has sponsored 1,300+ green cards and its projects have led to the creation of over 6,300+ new jobs and counting.

Recently, Mr. Contreras is replicating his previous success in the surfacing industry by introducing a new surfacing technology (large format porcelain panels) to market with Moderno Porcelain Works.

Dedicated to local communities and multiple non-profits, Mr. Contreras is an active board member of Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Greater Houston Partnership, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Foundation. Additionally, he has served on the boards of Prepared-4-Life’s Lemonade Day Houston, KIPP Academy, Houston Zoo, and the City of Houston’s Hispanic Advisory Board. He is also a member of the World President’s Organization. In 2017, Contreras received the “Arrival Award” by the University of Houston Law Center, recognizing outstanding immigrant achievement.

Recognitions:

2002 – Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year

2004 – “Visions of Tomorrow” by Time Magazine (Cosentino product Silestone)

2005 – Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies (Cosentino)

2017 – “Arrival Award” by the University of Houston Law Center

2019 – Houston Business Journal Finalists (DC Partners – Marlowe and Arabella)