Guiomar Obregon is a Colombian civil engineer who founded Precision 2000, a construction and concrete firm, with her husband, Carlos Sanchez, at their kitchen table 25 years ago. They saw an opportunity in the market and seized it.
“Guiomar has succeeded remarkably in a male-dominated industry and has become a role model for both women and Latinos in the construction industry and business world in general,” said her staff. “Guiomar is used to being the only woman in the room and it’s a challenge she’s embraced since taking up civil engineering studies in Colombia.”
Precision 2000 provides high-quality products and services in civil infrastructure and transportation-related projects, including airports, military bases, roads, pedestrian paths, crossings, intersections and sidewalks. The company specializes in concrete paving and concrete repairs and has become the go-to company for high-strength concrete repairs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport.
Obregon said her mother, also a civil engineer, inspired her to follow her love of math into the field. She earned a Tech MBA and a finance master’s from Georgia State. As the CEO of Precision 2000, Obregon has grown the firm to 80 employees overseeing infrastructure and transportation-related jobs. “She has become a part of a movement to forge inclusivity by creating opportunities to inspire women and minorities to enter construction and engineering,” said her staff.
Resilience and flexibility are at the core of leading, said Obregon. “In the contemporary landscape, a leader must demonstrate resilience and the ability to swiftly adjust to shifts in the marketplace,” she said. “Complacency is not an option; instead, the leader must engage in a constant process of evolution.”
As a Hispanic woman-owned general contractor, Obregon takes pride in her role as a catalyst for change and progress. This pride led her to co-found the Georgia Hispanic Construction Association as a way to bring greater cohesiveness to the loosely knit group of Hispanic construction companies in Atlanta.
“Under her leadership, the association helped countless companies cope with the devastating downturn due to the Great Recession,” said her staff. “Guiomar cares deeply about providing job opportunities for minorities and serves as an example to other companies while opening doors for them.”
Obregon is also passionate about helping young people. She shares her personal success story with students in metro-Atlanta high schools and offers jobs through her apprentice program and has created a mentorship program for civil engineering students from the Colombian School of Engineering in Colombia. Her efforts have led to recognition as one of the Women Who Mean Business and Minority Business Person of the Year by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and received the Leadership Award from the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
