Ernesto Lopes
President and CEO
Ernesto Lopes, founder and president of Portland Services, Inc., is an expert in specialty engineering as well as heavy, commercial and residential construction. A certified general contractor, Lopes has overseen more than one million square feet of industrial, residential and commercial construction in Florida alone.
After graduating from the University of São Paulo, Brazil in 1985 with a degree in civil engineering, Lopes worked as a structural engineer designing formwork and shoring systems for some of Brazil’s most important projects including some of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world. As an engineer working for Mills do Brasil, Lopes also worked on numerous bridges and high-rise projects.
In 1987, Lopes joined the Brazilian office of Nussli, a Swiss company known for developing temporary sports and cultural events facilities throughout the world for high-visibility events such as the Winter Olympic Games in both Sarajevo and Lillehammer. At Nussli, Lopes was involved in the planning and construction of more than 300 modular stadiums and 50 rock concert stages. In 1990, he became a partner of Nussli/Brazil, and under his leadership it became the most important seating and staging company in South America.
In 1995, Lopes was responsible for the design and construction of a beach stadium designed to hold the “II World Short Course Swimming Championship” at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The 12,000-seat stadium became a landmark in modular temporary stadiums: it was the first all-round stadium with a temporary Olympic swimming pool built right on the beach. In 1997, Lopes helped build a 200-foot-high replica of the Eiffel Tower – supported by a 100’ x 60’ stage – over the most important avenue in São Paulo. The job was completed in only 28 days and was such a success that it became an annual event.
In 1998, Lopes moved to Miami to become the managing director of the Olympvs Group, a consulting company specializing in sports venues that helped with the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and the 1998 Soccer World Cup in the U.S. With Olympvs, Lopes worked on the expansion of Fort Lauderdale’s Lockhart Stadium for the Miami Fusion MLS soccer team, and with the organizing committee of the 1998 FIFA women’s soccer world cup.
In 1999, Lopes became a certified general contractor in Florida and founded Portland Services, which started as a provider of property maintenance and small-scale renovation services. Portland rapidly became a major player in Miami’s construction industry and within two years the company was building not only residential projects but also commercial and industrial projects such as the 132 Warehouse, the Kendall Warehouse, Florida Detroit Diesel-Allison, Pembroke Mall and Greenwich Corporate Park. Portland also has completed a number of public projects with the Miami-Dade Housing Agency and other public entities.
A Miami resident since 1998, Lopes lives in Kendall with his wife of 21 years and two children. An accomplished pilot, Lopes also enjoys scuba diving and golf.