Our Team

Ben Stuart

Ben joined Owen Thomas Group in September 2021, his focus is primarily on the New Jersey, Philadelphia, wider Mid-Atlantic, and Nashville General Contracting market, out of our New Jersey office. His excellent management and recruitment skills have been developed through his experience in the world of soccer. Ben works with and recruits for the majority of the leading GC’s and developers in his market, placing Executive to entry-level construction professionals.

Nathan Jose

Nathan joined Owen Thomas Group in November 2024, with a focus primarily on the state of Texas and its neighboring states in the General Contracting, Residential, and Design markets. His management and recruitment skills have been honed over 11 years of experience with some of the largest construction recruitment companies in London. Nathan specializes in placing candidates at all levels, from entry-level to executive construction professionals.

His passion for soccer and NFL will always shine through and is a die-hard Tottenham Hotspur and Buffalo Bills fan himself. Nathan will be a great addition to the team, bringing his extensive experience, enthusiasm, and a strong track record of success in the industry.

Patricio Esquivel

Patricio is the Divisional Manager for the Houston office at Owen Thomas Group, having joined the firm on April 1, 2025. He specializes in subcontracting construction recruitment across the U.S., with a focus on façades, commercial glazing, drywall, metal framing, and acoustical ceilings. Originally from Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, Patricio came to the U.S. on a tennis scholarship to study at Concordia University Nebraska. Now based in Houston, TX, he has spent nearly six years in the recruitment industry, leveraging his deep market knowledge and strong industry connections to place top talent in key field and office roles.

Ebnul Karim

Ebnul joined the Owen Thomas Group at the start of 2024, bringing well over half a decade of construction recruitment experience with him. He began his career as a Project Engineer for the Mechanical and Renewable construction industry working on sites across the greater New York area. Having always been involved in the sales process for all his projects, Ebnul decided to take a chance within the recruitment industry and has never looked back since. Having started recruitment in 2018, Ebnul has built up several markets for a range of positions from entry-level to C-suite within Heavy Civil, Oil and Gas as well as Solar construction. With a continued focus and specialization for the Renewable Energy market, reach out to Ebnul for your hiring needs across the US.

Kate Bogdanova

Kate joins Owen Thomas Group as Office/Marketing Manager for our North America operations, Kate's background is in administration, accounting, and marketing plus general HR duties, and has been operating as an Office Manager for the past 5 years. Having this skillset brings a new dynamic to our office as we rapidly grow, Kate will be taking care of all HR/Benefits administration, accounting matters, hiring, and onboarding new staff, and utilizing her skills in marketing to enhance our group's growth through new, innovative marketing strategies.

Jocelyn Palma

Brenden Weiss

Brenden joined our team in mid-October of 2022, his focus is primarily on the East Coast General Contracting Market out of the Jersey City office. Construction has always been a part of Brenden’s life, he started working in the family construction business before transitioning into construction recruitment in 2021 and has followed his passion since then. Brenden was a collegiate baseball player and graduated with a business management degree that will help him to succeed and grow within the Owen Thomas Group.

Maria Canales

Maria joined the Owen Thomas Group in July 2024 as a Senior Recruitment Consultant. Her passion for recruiting started in 2014 with Rutgers University Football, where she stayed for 3 years before finding her next big break in New York City. There, she specialized in the Industrial Division for 5 years and broke records by assisting hundreds of job seekers to find their match. Maria brings her years of recruitment expertise to her hometown of Jersey City for the Renewable Energy team.

Michael Morreale

Michael joined the Owen Thomas Group team in February 2023 as a Recruitment Consultant with a focus on Engineering positions across the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to Owen Thomas Group, Michael was recruiting in the fast-paced finance recruitment world of NYC, having developed those skills along with working in the banking and marketing sector, this sets Michael up very well to work in a technically driven and fast-paced environment of Engineering recruitment.

Jacob Morgenstern

Alfonso Salemi

Alfonso joined Owen Thomas Group at the end of March 2024 as a Recruitment Consultant, his focus is primarily on the East Coast General Contracting Market. Alfonso's journey began alongside his father, who dedicated a decade to laboring and operating before venturing into entrepreneurship. After completing his bachelor’s degree in psychology at Rutgers University, He eagerly joined the family business, where he spent 3 years honing his skills and contributing to its growth. However, his professional journey didn't stop there. Driven by a desire to explore new avenues, Alfonso transitioned into the dynamic world of recruitment at Owen Thomas Group.

Sylvie Michaels

With 15+ years of combined experience in Retail Management, HR Administration, and Recruitment, Sylvie brings an adaptable skillset to the OTG team. Meticulous and organized with strong professional communication skills, she enjoys improving processes and efficiencies to support both the business and its clients. In her previous role as Office Manager and Staffing Consultant to a busy employment agency, Sylvie handled full-cycle recruitment for clients’ high-volume temporary and/or permanent staffing needs, in addition to contract administration, recruitment tracking, and various administrative and finance- related tasks. Her client base included government ministries, crown corporations, and private sector businesses. Sylvie is excited to transition her abilities into an office and finance management-focused role.

Adrian Susi