I moved from Spain to the US for work. I like the American emphasis on business and the Spanish emphasis on family.

• Eduardo Cosentino grew up working in the family's stone business. • He moved to the US from Spain at 28 to expand North American sales. • He says Americans have a no-nonsense approach to business that he enjoys.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Eduardo Cosentino, executive vice president of Cosentino Group. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've worked alongside my father basically since I was born. Some of my earliest memories are driving with him through the quarries that our family owned in Spain. Later, as my father and his brothers pivoted the family business from natural stone to manmade materials for countertops, I was in the factories alongside them.

I always knew I wanted to work for the family business, but I didn't realize just how much it