Managing Partner / C.F.O.

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Maria Mehranian is the Managing Partner for Cordoba Corporation, a full-service civil engineering, construction management, and program management firm specializing in transportation, education & facilities, and water & energy. Cordoba is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Oakland, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino, California.

For over 20 years, Maria has dedicated her career to building Cordoba into one of the top engineering consulting firms in the nation. For her efforts, Maria's rapid rise through Cordoba's executive ranks caught the attention of academic institutions and was included in a case study prepared by the Harvard Business School  and the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University recording her career growth and the firm's success.

Prior to serving as the Managing Partner, Maria managed the company's very successful urban and transportation planning division. Her portfolio includes a number of landmark projects that shaped California's current infrastructure. Maria’s studies were instrumental in developing Regulation IV, a city ordinance that regulated employees' solo driving patterns by enhancing carpools, vanpools, and other alternative commute modes. Her in-depth knowledge of the demographics, transportation patterns, and commute modes gave her the ability to make significant contributions to planning the station locations and transit route alignments for current light and heavy rail systems in the region. In these studies special focus was given to Joint Development Stations and Public Private Partnerships in specific transit station locations.

As an urban planner Maria played a key role in the development of the downtown strategic plan, a blueprint of development in downtown Los Angeles that planned for housing in the area. This plan was strategically used to preserve and protect the industrial zones in downtown and convert existing unused office spaces to attract 100,000 residential units to the downtown area. She was also instrumental in research for designation of Federal Enterprise Zones in Southern California.

Throughout the years, Maria has been responsible for the firm's strategic financial planning, including capital financing, cash flow operations, profit/loss responsibilities, and project delivery. Maria's ongoing relationships with the California business community and financial institutions allow her to develop long and short-term growth plans. In addition, Maria led Cordoba into international markets by heading multi-million dollar planning projects.

In the People's Republic of China, Maria and her team developed and designed a master plan for a state of the art produce mart and distribution center in Beijing. The project included development of industrial, cultural, and housing zones around the center. In a study commissioned by the Southern California Association of Governments she assessed the impact of NAFTA on the goods movement patterns in the major border through fairs. Most recently, Maria participated in a joint project with the Agency for International Development (AID) in Armenia. The project developed a complete construction training program for the local labor force employed by the US government for the construction of the US embassy in Armenia, the second largest in the world.

Affiliations

California Regional Water Quality Control Board

California Hospital Medical Center Foundation

Recognitions and Awards

• Ms. Mehranian received the prestigious Corporate Woman of the Year award in 2004 given by legislators of the 43rd and 44th Assembly and 21st Senate Districts of California. This award is given to an individual for demonstrating outstanding leadership and professional skills.
• Ms. Mehranian received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 2008. This award is given to remarkable Americans who exemplify outstanding qualities in both their personal and professional lives, while continuing to preserve the richness of their particular heritage.

e-mail: mmehranian@cordobacorp.com