HAPPY
Mario Chávez’ s grandfather came from Mexico to El Paso with his hands as his only capital. He learned to operate heavy machinery, raised six children on his own after being widowed, and passed down his trades like someone handing over a torch. That is how legacy works in the Chávez family: each generation receives it, amplifies it, and passes it on.
Mario was the first to pick it up in this generation. An electrician by trade, he dreamed of having his own company and in 2004 founded MC Electric in Chino, California. He was a visionary with his hands in the work and his head always pointed toward the future. What he needed was someone who would build the structure capable of sustaining that dream for the long haul. That someone was Elvia.
“ Many people assume that MC Electric was Mario’ s company,” she says.“ In reality, I co-founded it with him in 2004.” When Mario started the business, Elvia had been managing someone else’ s company for nearly a decade and had just completed her accounting degree. Her contribution was not decorative: it was structural.“ I focused on the areas many founders neglect: bookkeeping, administration, internal controls.” While Mario
22
TH ANNIVERSARY
MARIO DREAMED THE COMPANY, ELVIA SUSTAINED IT, AND ANDREW SENT IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. THREE GENERATIONS OF THE CHÁVEZ FAMILY ARE BUILDING THE ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF CALIFORNIA’ S FUTURE
›› BY: PABLO SCARPELLINI | LOS ÁNGELES
JULY 2026
THREE CHAVEZ, ONE COMPANY, ONE PATH
was on the job site, Elvia was building the architecture that would make it possible to survive what was coming.
What came was 2008. The crisis dried up the market.“ The option was to close,” Elvia acknowledges.“ As an accountant, it was the safest decision.” But Mario could not let go of the dream.“ When I saw he couldn’ t let it go, I rolled up my sleeves with him.” They accepted any work. Elvia opened bookkeeping and notary services to generate cash flow. They obtained new licenses.“ We chose expansion because staying put would have meant giving up.” Mario provided the vision. Elvia provided the numbers. Together they saved the company.
The real leap came with the third generation. Andrew Chávez arrived with a finance background and credits toward his CPA license. But it was during the worst moment— COVID, sector downturn, and the loss of the general manager— that he proved his true value. Elvia suggested he look for another job. His response was immediate:“ Absolutely not. I’ m not leaving you.” Andrew took over operations, learned fieldwork at extraordinary speed, and connected what his parents had built separately: Mario’ s instinct and Elvia’ s financial discipline. Today he is COO and the engine of the growth that has taken MC Electric to another dimension.“ Andrew was the gamechanger,” Elvia says without hesitation.
It was precisely to give Andrew room to grow that Elvia first assumed the COO role and then
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the CEO— not as a solo protagonist, but as the architect of a family transition that is today the company’ s greatest asset.
MC Electric has been installing EV charging infrastructure for over a decade and has more than twenty years in telecommunications. California was promising the transition while they were already building it.“ We don’ t talk about electrification as a concept of the future. We build it every day.” ●
Many people assume MC Electric was Mario’ s company. In reality, I co-founded it with him in 2004.”
— Elvia Chávez