Stewart Wangard is stepping down as chief executive officer of the real estate development firm he founded in 1992, with the appointment of Matt Moroney to CEO, who hopes to continue the pattern of growth at the firm.
Wangard will remain active as executive chairman of the board of Wangard Partners and will be working about 30 hours instead of the 70 hours he was clocking as CEO.
Formerly serving as president and COO at Wangard, Moroney plans to focus Wangard’s growth efforts on multifamily and industrial development projects throughout the state, with a focus on projects in the Milwaukee and Madison metro areas.
Wangard Partners also develops outside of southeast Wisconsin in markets including Des Moines, Minneapolis, western Michigan and northern Illinois, which Wangard said could be opportunities for future growth.
In recent years, the company has focused on projects of larger scale and has achieved revenue growth of 20% annually.
Additionally, Moroney sees an opportunity to shorten the firm’s concept-to-completion timeline. He said the firm has already made investments into its accounting and data system.
“What might have taken us a couple of days to analyze, now can be a matter of minutes,” Moroney said.
In his new role, Wangard will also be spending time travelling to find new ideas and practices to bring back to Wisconsin, he said.
“The real estate development business is one where you’re working with a very traditional construction industry, and yet there’s a lot of new ideas coming forward,” Wangard said.
He recently was in New York learning about robotic furniture to use space more efficiently, and in Miami looking at modular construction techniques.
Since 2020, Wangard has extended minority ownership of the company to nine employees that comprise Wangard’s board of directors, including Moroney.
“Under Stu’s leadership, Wangard has achieved tremendous growth over the last 30 years and has matured into Wisconsin’s leading commercial real estate firm, priding itself on its holistic passion for development and property management,” said Moroney. “I am honored to shepherd the firm into a new era while continuing the tradition of exceptional quality service, community building and integrity.”
