FROM BARCELONA TO HAWAI'I

Growing up in Barcelona’s Les Corts neighborhood, HPU alumnus Sergi Beltrol lived close enough to Camp Nou to hear the crowd on match days. Soccer would eventually take him from his hometown to Missouri, then to Hawaiʻi, where he would build a career with Nan Inc.

Beltrol earned a full soccer scholarship to Hannibal-LaGrange University, where he played left wing and captained the team. After graduation, a former teammate told him about a graduate assistantship at HPU.

Men’s Soccer Head Coach Chris Fisher hired Beltrol for the position, which provided full tuition and a stipend while he earned his MBA and helped coach the team. Beltrol arrived in fall 2013 and remains grateful to Fisher for bringing him into the program. The two have stayed in touch and still meet for lunch every now and then.

After graduating with distinction in spring 2015, Beltrol joined the construction company Nan Inc. as a project engineer. He went on to become a senior project engineer, assistant project manager, project manager, and senior project manager before taking on his current role as director of civil operations.

During those years, Nan Inc. grew substantially. The company reported $197.5 million in revenue for 2015, placing sixth in Building Industry Hawaiʻi’s 2016 Top 25 Contractors list. In the publication’s July 2026 issue, Nan Inc. ranked second with $917 million in 2025 revenue, more than four times the figure from Beltrol’s first year. The company also reported a workforce of 1,554 employees.

Today, Hawaiʻi’s largest locally owned and operated general contractor builds transportation and utility infrastructure, military facilities, schools and residential developments. Recent achievements include The Park on Keʻeaumoku, the company’s first high-rise project, and the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant Phase 1B project, which received the American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawaiʻi’s 2025 Grand Conceptor Award.

Beltrol credits the people throughout Nan Inc. for making that growth possible. Field crews, project engineers, managers, estimators, administrative staff and company leadership all contribute to getting projects built. Working with and learning from those colleagues has been an important part of his own career.

He sees the company’s growth as one of its greatest strengths for young professionals. As Nan Inc. takes on more projects and expands into different areas of construction, employees have opportunities to take on new responsibilities, and advance within the company.

Beltrol now oversees Nan Inc.’s civil construction work, serving clients that include the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaiʻi, the Department of Education, the Navy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, among others. With substantial investment in Hawaiʻi’s infrastructure, this part of the business has grown considerably in recent years.

For recent graduates, another advantage is how much of the construction Nan Inc. performs itself. On some projects, the company completes more than 70% of the work with its own workforce. That gives young professionals exposure to different areas of the business and the chance to learn directly from experienced field crews and project teams.

Beltrol believes graduates who enjoy a fast-paced environment and are willing to take on responsibility can learn and advance quickly at Nan Inc. His own career has given him firsthand experience of those opportunities.

Despite its growth, he says, Nan Inc. still feels like the family-owned business it is. Company leaders keep their doors open, and employees can speak with them directly. That personal connection matters to Beltrol, who values being part of a company where people are more than a number.

“I really enjoy working at Nan Inc., and I’m excited about where we are headed,” Beltrol said.

He has been involved in a variety of projects and now oversees many others. Each is meaningful in its own way, but he takes the most pride in work that will benefit Hawaiʻi for generations to come.

Beltrol now hopes to connect more HPU students with opportunities at Nan Inc. He has met with HPU Assistant Professor and Construction Management Program Chair Charles Chen, Ph.D., P.E., to discuss internship possibilities and sees a natural fit with the University’s General Contractors Association of Hawaiʻi Master of Science in Construction Management program.

“Providing opportunities to HPU students is really important to me,” he said. “I want to hire as many HPU graduates as I can.”

He encourages anyone hungry to learn the business, motivated to grow, and willing to take on responsibility to consider applying.

Outside work, Beltrol and his wife, also an HPU alumna, are raising two young children, their own “baby sharks.” Spending time with them at the beach is one of his favorite parts of life in Hawaiʻi.

HPU brought him to the islands, and his career at Nan Inc. helped him make Hawaiʻi home. Now, he hopes more HPU graduates will find the same opportunity.