business development, J.H. Findorff & Son
Company: J.H. Findorff & Son Inc.
Title: Business development
Education: BSE – Civil Engineering, University of Iowa
City of Residence: Milwaukee
Family: Wife – Christina
Hobbies and Interests: "Running and weight lifting, appreciation for craft beers and gourmet coffee, Iowa Hawkeye football (despite growing up in Milwaukee), dining out at the city’s many fine eateries with my wife, strategizing on how to make Milwaukee even better than it already is."
What are you working on? "Pursuing new opportunities for Findorff in markets that remain strong."
How does the market look to you? "Milwaukee is a market with a wealth of strong professionals in real estate and development, which makes it very competitive. With a number of large projects either on hold or dying, it forces everyone to compete for a smaller bundle of work. This is good for developers and owners who may pay less for construction despite record material prices. My guess is that things will continue to coast until the end of the year but will heat up in early 2009."
What was the best deal you have ever been involved in? "Prior to taking a job in business development, I worked in project management for Findorff and spent about two years on the Marine Terminal Lofts project in the Third Ward. There was a great group of people who worked on that project to transform the 100+ year old building to one of the nicest residential developments in Milwaukee. I think we could write a pretty good book about some of the adventures we had on that one."
What was the funniest moment of your career? "Funny in hindsight…every year Findorff organizes a broomball tournament in early December to support Toys For Tots. I tend to be a competitive person and found myself on the receiving end of the back of a broomball stick. I ended up in the ER getting my face stitched up. I am not sure we won a game that year. Last year – no stitches, 2nd place. Hopefully we can bring home a title this year."
