Fire and Smoke Restoration

Tony Rubio is the Regional Director of Branch Operations at Restoration Management Company headquarters in Hayward, CA. Starting as a Shop Foreman 23 years ago, Tony has seen a variety of positions while at RMC including Lead Technician, Project Supervisor, Estimator, and Project Manager. Tony found his passion for the restoration industry when he was 26 years old. He enjoyed being a part of the fast paced and quick thinking industry and when he saw the vision and drive of Jon Takata, he realized he wanted to grow with RMC and see what opportunities the company could lead him to.

Tony came to the United States at only 5 years old and wasn’t sure what the US would have to offer him. He is very proud of the hard work that made him the successful Branch Manager that he is today, but most proud of the respect he has maintained with his peers and his staff. From PM’s, to Coordinators, to the  Technicians — during his rise in the company he believed remaining humble in his position will always keep him close to his staff.  “The most humble person at RMC is Jon Takata. I simply just follow his lead.” While at RMC, Tony has received “Branch Manager of the Year” and the “My Brother’s Keeper Safety Award”.

He attributes these awards and his rise in the company to his dedication and persistence when it came to the position, his ability to work hard and step out of his comfort zone in the areas he recognized he needed growth, and his ability to connect with his team and all others teams in the organization If a colleague was interested in a Branch Manager position, he would tell them to be willing to commit and dedicate yourself 100%, be sure to show interest in the position, but know you will need to work hard before it is time, and be able to listen and build relationships with those who are there to support you.

Dave chose to work at RMC for two reasons: “One, to come work with somebody I’d know and respected for a long time; two,  to take an opportunity to help a small but growing company continue on it’s path.”

“We help companies and individuals who have experienced  some form of property damage by restoring the property to its pre-loss condition.”

RMC has clients in every public and private sector you can imagine. If an individual or entity owns, rents, or is in control of a residential, commercial, or industrial building, we can serve them when they experience any type of property loss.

Dave’s background is in Finance & Accounting. After graduating from UC Berkley’s School of Business, he started his career at Arthur Anderson and company, at the time, the largest public accounting and consulting company in the world. From there he went to work in Silicon Valley for a few well known publicly traded technology firms. After moving up the ranks in the finance and accounting arena for the billion dollar companies, he took a huge leap of faith to come work for Jon.

“I started out simply trying to help him find the right person to lead RMC’s Finance and Accounting function. However, after a short search period, he convinced me to take the role myself! It was a risky move, but has proven to be the best professional decision I’ve ever made.”

Dave started out as RMC’s Chief Financial Officer, overseeing all Finance & Accounting, HR, IT, and Legal & Compliance, activities.  Over the past 4 plus years, we’ve brought on VP’s to directly oversee both HR and Finance & Accounting.  During that time, Dave has taken a more active role in Legal, Corporate Compliance, and Risk Management activities and recently took on the role of EVP, Chief Risk Officer.

“While I still get involved in most of the things I’ve done over the past 20 years, I’m spending more time making sure RMC is compliant in various areas across the company, including legal and contracts related activities.  In addition, I serve on the RMC’s Executive Leadership Team, helping to establish and direct strategic initiatives for the company. “

One of Dave’s biggest accomplishments at RMC so far is overseeing and guiding the company’s finances through a period of continuous substantial growth comes to mind. One would be surprised how challenging this type of continued growth can be from a cash flow perspective in a relatively low margin industry.

“I’d say we’re a group of hardworking people who take pride in providing great service to our clients.  The culture really stems from the type of people we strive to hire:  service-minded, team-work minded, friendly people who take pride in doing great things for our clients…at a time when our clients are really in need.”  

Something that surprises Dave the most about working for Restoration Management Company is, how hard working the technicians are.  “It’s difficult work and, at times, not too glamorous.  However, our techs show up every day ready to do great things.  It’s impressive!”

“Seeing the company continue its growth without the need to merge with others in the industry.  The restoration space is in consolidation mode with most of the better companies merging or taking on equity partners in one way or another.  I’m looking forward to continuing our growth while bucking that trend! “

Dave’s reason for staying with RMC for his long tenure is; “Although we’ve only recently started to promote these values, we’ve really lived them all along.  Given that, I’m not consciously aware of them as I go about my day.  However, when I come across a situation when one of our values hasn’t come across as strongly as it should, it will clearly stand out to me.  When that opportunity presents itself, I’ll use it as a teaching / mentoring opportunity.  It doesn’t happen often, but it has on occasion.

Theresa Nunnally, Account Executive

Theresa Nunnally joined Restoration Management Company at our Stockton, CA branch in 2021. Theresa’s experience and high level sales background make her a perfect fit for RMC.

“My goal is to uncover new opportunities that will allow us to service them in their time of need.”

Theresa’s role is a vital a component of the revenue cycle. She continues to seek out new opportunities in addition to maintaining our current client portfolio. It’s all about relationship building, and ensuring we are delivering the best service!

“I love that Restoration Management Company lives by their core values,  it’s truly refreshing to work for a company that shares the same values that I emulate in my everyday life.”

Theresa describes the people and culture at Restoration Management Company, truly as family. She continues to say, “It’s rare that  you find a corporate company that’s so close-knit. It’s like having the best of both worlds. Accessibility is a huge factor for me and being able to call the CEO or regional manager and just having a conversation is not a commonality and I really appreciate that.”

Jonathan Ocampo, Project Manager

Jonathan Ocampo joined Restoration Management Company at our Stockton, CA branch and learned about our company through a friend who is still currently employed by RMC. Jonathan had prior experience in water restoration and was his friend knew he would be a great fit.

“RMC restores your future and your children’s future.”

Jonathan encapsulates the role of Project Manager by working really closely with his customers from start to finish and ensures them that everything goes smoothly especially when they are going through a stressful situation. Jonathan loves what he does and enjoys the experience of describing what RMC does. Jonathan uses specific examples and scenarios to tell someone who is not familiar with RMC or the restoration industry to describe what we do. For example, “If someone had a leak or water damage to their property or a fire took place and damage structure and contents.”

“If I am not doing my job and not caring for our customers or the work we do, it’s going to affect more than just the image of RMC.”

One of Jonathan’s biggest accomplishments so far has been his promotion to Project Manager in March 2021. When he was first interviewed the only open position was one in which he was “over-qualified” for based on this resume and past work experiences. However Jonathan wanted to learn the RMC way and to prove to himself and management that he could take the responsibility. Jonathan continues to learn and use new opportunities to grow. Sometimes in 100+ degree weather with very high humidity. The entire team had one goal the entire time, to get the family back to pre-loss conditions as soon as possible.

In the end, the house was restored & reconstructed in about 4 months total, the insured’s property and personal belongings were replaced and Henry got to assist with moving the customer back into their restored home.

Upon the final walkthrough with the homeowner, both the husband and wife gave Collier a huge hug, prayed together, and then the family thanked him for the entire team’s efforts and was beyond pleased with the work completed. 

This project stands out now to Henry, even 13 years later. The goal is to always move the customer back in as soon as possible after a loss, but seeing the customers’ excitement, especially the children, to move back in is why Collier still enjoys working in the restoration industry today.

Aaron Murray joined Restoration Management Company as our Las Vegas Branch Manager early 2021. Tasked with opening our 15th branch, Aaron’s background as a leader made him the perfect candidate to launch RMC in the state of Nevada.

Aaron first started his career in the restoration industry 18 years ago where he eventually became the VP of operations for a construction company. Since then, he has been a restoration Regional Manager in addition to his new title, Branch Manager,  with RMC. One of the greatest drivers that has made Aaron want to learn restoration is leadership.

“I was motivated to learn the various divisions and processes in this business so I could better lead, mentor, and monitor those on my team and truly understand the challenges they face.”

Although leadership is what drove him to become the professional he is today, he says that his restoration career found him. When an old roommate who was a project director said his company was hiring for a sales/marketing position, Aaron jumped at the chance. He applied, got the job, and began the journey of learning the restoration industry and working in or around the various departments. 

Since then, Aaron says a profound moment for him in his career was a large multi family apartment fire that caused significant damage. For this loss, he researched the ownership who was based out of Los Angeles. After making unsolicited contact, Aaron asked if he got in the car and drove to their office, would they meet with him. The owner agreed and Aaron returned home the same day after 8 hours of driving with a contract for a multi-million dollar fire. He is proud of this specific moment because it was outside the box, spontaneous, and it worked! It taught him that you must get out of your comfort zone sometimes and show or do something that gives you an edge if you want to be successful. 

Aaron believes this grit paired with knowledge, the ability to listen, and attention to detail can make you truly successful in a restoration career.

“Our business is very competitive and industry knowledge is key when expecting a customer to put their trust in you and your company to ensure their project is handled professionally and in the manner in which they deserve.”

In Aaron’s career he has had great accomplishments with his teams including numerous safety awards and insurance carrier top performer recognition. But it is not the awards he is most proud of, Aaron states his greatest life accomplishment is his two sons that are healthy, happy, and well adjusted.

Henry Collier joined Restoration Management Company in June of 2021. While Henry may be newer to #WeAreRMC, he has already been tasked with helping RMC open their 15th location in Las Vegas, NV – a job that can’t be done by just anyone.

Acting as our current and only Las Vegas Project Director, prior to Henry’s time in restoration, he graduated from a program that was in conjunction with his high school studies as a United States Merchant Marine. Working in support of the Navy, he was able to travel the world at a young age and was assigned to his first ship at 17.  Henry first entered the restoration industry right after his time as a Seaman in 2006 where he was a technician in San Diego with a local restoration company. 

Collier chose restoration because he enjoyed the sense of urgency, he loved serving his community through their tragic and tough moments, and he wanted something stable to support his family. He also enjoyed the opportunity for growth that a technician job offered.

“I enjoyed learning new roles and being promoted as I achieved new skills in these roles.

Wearing a number of hats and sometimes multiple hats at a time, has allowed me to help my customers in many different ways — from actually performing the work as a technician, to dispatching a team in the middle of the night to help our customer in a time of need 24/7, to training and developing staff, then being able to pass down skills that I have learned then watch from the sidelines cheering them on and witnessing their success.”

• Henry Collier, RMC Las Vegas Project Director

As a professional, Henry takes pride in the number of homeowners, business owners, etc. that he has assisted over the years and his ability to put himself in their shoes and truly empathize with them during their difficult moments. For that reason, Henry makes communication during his projects his priority. Engaging the customers and keeping them educated and updated on every step of the restoration process is just as important to him as the actual job itself.

While in the industry, Collier claims his most profound and successful moment was during a time he oversaw a large residential project in Dallas, Texas in 2008. The loss was caused by a hail storm and lightning storm that caused significant damages to the interior and exterior of the home. The family had recently purchased and moved into the property, about 2 months prior. They had four young children and lost nearly everything to the storm. Henry’s team worked day and night, 7 days a week to restore the property, sometimes in 100+ degree weather with very high humidity. The entire team had one goal the entire time, to get the family back to pre-loss conditions as soon as possible. 

In the end, the house was restored & reconstructed in about 4 months total, the insured’s property and personal belongings were replaced and Henry got to assist with moving the customer back into their restored home.

Upon the final walkthrough with the homeowner, both the husband and wife gave Collier a huge hug, prayed together, and then the family thanked him for the entire team’s efforts and was beyond pleased with the work completed. 

This project stands out now to Henry, even 13 years later. The goal is to always move the customer back in as soon as possible after a loss, but seeing the customers’ excitement, especially the children, to move back in is why Collier still enjoys working in the restoration industry today.

Martin Mora came to RMC in 2009 when his two brothers recommended he apply. Originally hired as an assistant by Tony Rubio, Martin was soon promoted to Lead Technician where he received his asbestos, lead, and BIO certificates right away. In 2019, Martin was promoted to his current position of Project Manager. 

Martin considers his family his biggest accomplishment in life. He has three daughters ages 3, 6, & 9 and has been with his wife for twenty years. His biggest success professionally has been the transition from Tech to Project Manager at RMC. Martin’s time as a Technician gave him the full perspective of how things get done from start to finish, which makes him able to manage projects efficiently. He knows what it takes to get a job done because he has done them thousands of times and has mastered the skills required by the Technicians.  

“I love what I do. I am proud to be a part of this great company and being able to wear and represent this uniform.”

As a Project Manager, even after two years, Martin says he is still learning every day and that it is very fulfilling to know he is capable of doing more for RMC. He is thankful for the guidance of his friends and team members in the company that have helped him get to where he is today.

Liz was originally hired as a project coordinator, and worked as a coordinator for 2 years. As RMC grew, she was offered a position as a water project manager out of the Union City office to work the East Bay territory.  During her time as a project manager for 8 years, she had a goal of refining her craft to be well-rounded in her title, capable of handling any type of loss RMC encountered.

This goal drove her to become certified with the IICRC in WRT, FSRT, ASD, AMRT, Smoke and Odor Removal, and to attain certifications as an asbestos building inspector and asbestos abatement supervisor. After showing true grit for the restoration industry, Liz was interviewed and awarded her current position as the Branch Manager for RMC’s San Jose, CA office. “I instantly  fell in love with this company and loved what I was doing.  Every day was so different with a different set of challenges and I loved that.”

In Liz’s career, she is most proud of the growth in San Jose.  When she took the branch over in 2011,  the branch only had  two project managers and one coordinator.  Today, it has grown to six project managers, three coordinators, and the branch’s revenue has more than tripled. Liz considers her biggest success being the development of others. With a love of working with people, gratification has come from coaching others and  being able to identify those that want to excel and giving the tools to help them move up within the company.

As a Female Branch Manager in a mostly male dominated industry, Liz attributes her success to her competitiveness, her need for growth, hunger for taking on new challenges, and our Founder and President Jon Takata. In Liz’s early days of RMC, Liz stopped by a project and was surprised to see Jon on site with the crew where he would work alongside his employees all night covered in mud at a large water loss project. Watching Jon made Liz realize she wanted to do more than coordinate for him. Liz never intended to stay in Restoration, in fact she says the job fell into her lap after college. But after witnessing Jon’s passions, it excited and motivated her to put herself out there and to do more with RMC and the Industry as a whole.

Samuel (Sam) Bonner was hired as a technician by Restoration Management Company in 2001. Celebrating 20 years with RMC this year, Sam knew he wanted a long term career with the company early on. The atmosphere was positive and everyone worked together for the betterment of the company. Chasing after a leadership role within the  company, Sam obtained his IICRC certifications in water, mold, fire, and odor control accompanied by a HIPAA Certification to handle the restoration of confidential documents.

The combination of fieldwork and school work provided questions and answers for each other, so learning while in the field gave Sam the optimal experience. Through Sam’s education,  striving to do his best, doing his job with integrity, and using teamwork to provide a quality service, he was able to move his way up in the company.  “I am recent proof that buying in and working hard can amount to opportunities.” Within Sam Bonner’s  time with RMC, Sam has held a variety of roles including Project Manager, Project Director, and his current role — Branch Manager of the RMC Orange County/Lake Forest office.

As the Branch Manager, Sam is the leader of a team of Project Managers, Project Coordinators, Supervisors, and Technicians that control 25% of Southern California. Sam is responsible for maintaining  our relationships with existing clients while forging new partnerships with carriers, property managers, and other potential partners.  As a leader, Sam develops his team by aggrandizing cohesion, delegating, and holding parties accountable. Responsibilities include hiring, coordinating the fleet, the branch budget, managing staff, personalities, company property, and promoting within this well-run company.

As the Orange County Branch Manager, Sam is most proud of his team. Together they have exceeded revenue goals in 2019 and 2020 during the height of the pandemic and he could not have done it without their help and contributions.  Sam contributes his success to the support system within his team, his own personal career goals that he worked hard towards, and the constructive feedback that helped him become an active listener while he was at RMC.

Sean Wisdom joined Restoration Management Company in 2007 as a Branch Manager who was tasked with opening our Orange County office. Since opening this office, Sean has also opened our Los Angeles / Inland Empire office where he became the Regional Director for Southern California. In 2014, Sean was promoted to his current role — Director of Commercial Solutions. Taking the time to learn and understand all aspects of the business and how they relate to each other immensely helped Sean with his career growth. In the Restoration Industry, Sean has worked in IT, the accounting department, the call center, managed a vehicle fleet, and has held several different Operations and Sales and Management roles.  Understanding how the different aspects of the business operate and how they work together has helped Sean to be able to relate to other people in the company and helped others in their journey to also be successful. Prior to RMC, Sean served as an Emergency Operations Controller in the Air Force.

Sean chose the Restoration industry after the military due its humanitarian aspects. He enjoyed the fast pace, how the day always looked different or changed last minute due to an emergency, and the ability to provide a service to customers and communities that are going through a challenging or difficult time. “If the people that I work with and around are successful then I know I’m going to be successful.” Sean is most proud of the team that he has been a part of building. Watching his team develop professionally and grow into new roles that support the company’s growth is what gave Sean his driving passion — recruiting people to join the RMC team who have the desire and drive to grow in the industry. For the last several years Sean has been studying leadership and received his certification to become a Leadership Development Coach.  This certification granted him the skills and tools to help develop the up and coming leaders in Restoration Management Company.