Focused. Chris Cruz was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, and at a young age moved with his family to the Island of Guam. Chris was three years old when the historic Typhoon Karen devastated the island and chased the Cruz family back to the United States to the much calmer state of Virginia. Chris graduated from high school in Williamsburg, Virginia, and immediately pursued a college education. He attended Wake Forest University, Virginia Tech, George Washington University, Old Dominion University, and The College of William and Mary, earned one undergraduate degree and two graduate degrees in the fields of engineering and applied mathematics.

Driven. During his rigorous academic career, Chris also worked as an aerospace engineer for NASA as a co-op student, and then as a full-time civil servant for seventeen years. Chris authored and co-authored over twenty-five technical publications in the fields of aerodynamics and aerospace vehicle design and analysis. Chris left civil service in the mid-1990s, and grew his professional experience in the financial management of multiple businesses. He joined Cruz Associates, Inc. as Chief Financial Officer in 1995.

Under his financial oversight, Cruz Associates has grown its revenue stream from $50K to over $37M annually. Chris also manages the financial affairs of Cruz Associates Pacific, LLC.

Centered. Chris spends his personal time playing tennis and basketball. He also coaches a variety of youth sports teams including tennis, basketball, baseball and soccer. Chris and his wife, Cindy, live in Hays, Virginia, and have renovated an 18th Century farmhouse where their farm animal menagerie continues to grow.

When not in Poquoson, Chris and his family might be found enjoying the “dry heat” of Phoenix, Arizona in the summertime, the roar of a Virginia Tech football crowd in the fall or the electricity of a University of Kentucky basketball game in the winter.