U.S. Assets Group News
Keeping It in the Family
07/04/2005
SARASOTA HERALD TRIBUNE
Despite many challenges -- none of his 60 employees spoke any English, for instance -- he had no plans to leave.
Until he got the phone call.
From a continent away he received an executive job offer from one of the region's largest and most respected residential real estate brokerage firms.
Drayton knew refusing Michael Saunders, the brokerage, would have been tough.
Saying no to his mother would have been even harder.
"I once said I wouldn't live again in Sarasota, I wouldn't work in real estate and I would never work with my mother," says Drayton Saunders, 33. "I was wrong three times. She's a great salesperson."
Since January 2003, Drayton has been a Saunders vice president, overseeing the company's in-house mortgage and title operations.
Someday, it's expected, he'll direct the entire Saunders empire: Two hundred staff, 400 agents, hundreds of millions of dollars in annual real estate sales.
"The chance to work with someone who is the best at what they do, that was a huge part of my decision," adds the younger Saunders. "It was about being a part of excellence."
Passing the torch
Although passing the torch isn't new for family-owned, Southwest Florida firms -- a third generation is now working at Benderson Development Co. -- the phenomenon appears to be a growing trend in the local real estate industry.
At least a half-dozen real estate firms now count multiple generations among their staff, offspring that are poised to grab the corporate baton in the coming years.
Some have already seized it.
Mindy Parker was living in Austin, Texas, and practicing law when she got the itch to move closer to family.
Her father, Dr. Mark Kauffman, had traded in a successful medical career for one developing real estate. Parker decided to make a switch, too.
"It took us about seven days to realize she was better at this than we were," Kauffman says.
Today, Parker, 38, is the owner and broker of Sarasota Commercial Management Inc., which manages, leases, sells and develops commercial space for the Kauffman family's holdings and many others.
The firm's two dozen employees oversee as many properties, buildings with nearly 300 tenants.
Kauffman, 72, focuses on his own developments, like Courthouse Centre and Links Plaza, and on acquisitions. His wife, Irene, works with the business, as does a son, Gary, an attorney with Dunlap & Moran.
Parker handles everything else.
"People bring me things, and I direct them to Mindy," Kauffman says.
That Parker decided to move to Sarasota says as much about the region's maturation as it does about the evolution of family-owned businesses.
"Looking back 10 years ago, I wouldn't have considered moving back," says Steve Brown, 30, who will join his father, Tom, at U.S. Assets Group Inc. later this month.
"But the town has matured a lot from a lifestyle standpoint," Brown adds. "I guess I've matured a little, too."
"When we moved here 27 years ago, people told us, 'You'll love it and it's a great place, but your kids will move away,' and they did," Kauffman says. "But that's not true any longer. All three of our children came back here."
Tom Brown is equally surprised Steve chose to return to Sarasota, after being drawn to cities like Chicago, New York or San Francisco, which he'd also considered.
"His intention when he went to school was to go off and do bigger and better things," says the elder Brown, whose firm has developed the $62 million, 17-story Beau Ciel condo tower and the $500 million, 700-acre Founders Club golf course community.
"I think he saw some changes in Sarasota and liked how it was becoming more cosmopolitan and vibrant," says Brown, 59.
"I had very little idea what Sarasota was becoming until I returned from South America for a visit and saw it," says Drayton Saunders, who grew up in Sarasota until age 15, when he moved to Seattle.
A different breed
Unlike past scions, whose genes and last names often translated into high-paying sinecures with little or no professional expectations, the next generation of Sarasota real estate executive is both well-heeled and well-educated.
Aaron Ruben, who joined his father, Wayne, at Ruben Holland Development last year, received a law-related degree from the University of Central Florida.
John Hutchens, whose father, Brett, is chief executive of Whole Foods Market Centre developer Casto Lifestyle Properties, earned a master's degree in finance and worked for Provident Bank, in Cincinnati, before becoming a financial analyst with the local company.
Drayton Saunders attended Colgate University, in New York, graduating with a degree in philosophy and a minor in economics.
Steve Brown just completed his master's in business administration at Northwestern University's distinguished Kellogg School of Management.
Before graduate school, he'd worked as a settlement analyst for white-shoe Washington, D.C., law firm Baach Robinson & Lewis, handling asbestos cases for client Lloyd's of London.
Parker not only earned a Juris Doctor degree to practice law from Boston University, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School for good measure.
The solid educational foundation has provided their parents not only with employees they can trust, but with partners they can turn to.
Wayne Ruben, 49, relies on son Aaron's mathematics skills and sharp memory to pull together projects such as the twin 16-story Premiere towers slated for land adjacent to the Main Plaza and Hollywood 20 movie complex.
"He's become not just my son, or a student of development, but he's a working partner," Ruben said of the 23-year-old.
"He's got skills we need," Tom Brown said of Steve, referring to a financial model the younger Brown developed for the Founders Club during an internship. "So I'm not just going to teach him; I want to learn from him, too."
"We never disagree -- we discuss and come to a decision," Kauffman said. "We have a good, mutual respect for each other."
For Michael Saunders, bringing Drayton on also settled a question of succession that had weighed on the 62-year-old real estate maven for years.
"Watching Drayton grow and gain respect, watching his commitment to the community, it's a joy," Saunders said. "I'm more and more certain every day that I made the right decision. I'm certain he'll be better at this than me one day."
Naturally, the progeny have learned a great deal, too.
"He's taught me that your word is your badge," Parker said of Kauffman. "You put honor first -- it's not all about your bottom line."
Not that there haven't been difficulties.
"The biggest challenge is not to kill each other," Michael Saunders said.
"We both have strong personalities," Drayton agreed.
Aaron Ruben's toughest hurdle has been keeping up with Dad.
"He's the fastest man I've ever met," Aaron Ruben said.
Parker and the Rubens, in particular, say maintaining balance between their personal and professional lives hasn't always been easy.
"It's hard to keep the relationship personal," Parker said. "You have to force yourself not just to relate on a work level all the time."
Even with the occasional hurdle, both generations say working with family has been gratifying.
"It's brought us closer because we're together a lot," Wayne Ruben said. "I had always hoped that one of my kids would come back and work with me."
For Brett Hutchens, the emotional impact of working with son John hit during a Father's Day fishing trip the pair took together last month.
"It's been a very bonding experience," Hutchens, 57, said. "Because you share the good times and, you're shoulder to shoulder solving the problems that inevitably come up."
"As a parent it's such a thrill to work with your children," Kauffman said. "It's the biggest kick you can have."
Keeping it in the family
Local real estate companies are passing the torch along to the next generation.
Drayton Saunders spent his post-college years running a successful bagel business in Santiago, Chile.Despite many challenges -- none of his 60 employees spoke any English, for instance -- he had no plans to leave.
Until he got the phone call.
From a continent away he received an executive job offer from one of the region's largest and most respected residential real estate brokerage firms.
Drayton knew refusing Michael Saunders, the brokerage, would have been tough.
Saying no to his mother would have been even harder.
"I once said I wouldn't live again in Sarasota, I wouldn't work in real estate and I would never work with my mother," says Drayton Saunders, 33. "I was wrong three times. She's a great salesperson."
Since January 2003, Drayton has been a Saunders vice president, overseeing the company's in-house mortgage and title operations.
Someday, it's expected, he'll direct the entire Saunders empire: Two hundred staff, 400 agents, hundreds of millions of dollars in annual real estate sales.
"The chance to work with someone who is the best at what they do, that was a huge part of my decision," adds the younger Saunders. "It was about being a part of excellence."
Passing the torch
Although passing the torch isn't new for family-owned, Southwest Florida firms -- a third generation is now working at Benderson Development Co. -- the phenomenon appears to be a growing trend in the local real estate industry.
At least a half-dozen real estate firms now count multiple generations among their staff, offspring that are poised to grab the corporate baton in the coming years.
Some have already seized it.
Mindy Parker was living in Austin, Texas, and practicing law when she got the itch to move closer to family.
Her father, Dr. Mark Kauffman, had traded in a successful medical career for one developing real estate. Parker decided to make a switch, too.
"It took us about seven days to realize she was better at this than we were," Kauffman says.
Today, Parker, 38, is the owner and broker of Sarasota Commercial Management Inc., which manages, leases, sells and develops commercial space for the Kauffman family's holdings and many others.
The firm's two dozen employees oversee as many properties, buildings with nearly 300 tenants.
Kauffman, 72, focuses on his own developments, like Courthouse Centre and Links Plaza, and on acquisitions. His wife, Irene, works with the business, as does a son, Gary, an attorney with Dunlap & Moran.
Parker handles everything else.
"People bring me things, and I direct them to Mindy," Kauffman says.
That Parker decided to move to Sarasota says as much about the region's maturation as it does about the evolution of family-owned businesses.
"Looking back 10 years ago, I wouldn't have considered moving back," says Steve Brown, 30, who will join his father, Tom, at U.S. Assets Group Inc. later this month.
"But the town has matured a lot from a lifestyle standpoint," Brown adds. "I guess I've matured a little, too."
"When we moved here 27 years ago, people told us, 'You'll love it and it's a great place, but your kids will move away,' and they did," Kauffman says. "But that's not true any longer. All three of our children came back here."
Tom Brown is equally surprised Steve chose to return to Sarasota, after being drawn to cities like Chicago, New York or San Francisco, which he'd also considered.
"His intention when he went to school was to go off and do bigger and better things," says the elder Brown, whose firm has developed the $62 million, 17-story Beau Ciel condo tower and the $500 million, 700-acre Founders Club golf course community.
"I think he saw some changes in Sarasota and liked how it was becoming more cosmopolitan and vibrant," says Brown, 59.
"I had very little idea what Sarasota was becoming until I returned from South America for a visit and saw it," says Drayton Saunders, who grew up in Sarasota until age 15, when he moved to Seattle.
A different breed
Unlike past scions, whose genes and last names often translated into high-paying sinecures with little or no professional expectations, the next generation of Sarasota real estate executive is both well-heeled and well-educated.
Aaron Ruben, who joined his father, Wayne, at Ruben Holland Development last year, received a law-related degree from the University of Central Florida.
John Hutchens, whose father, Brett, is chief executive of Whole Foods Market Centre developer Casto Lifestyle Properties, earned a master's degree in finance and worked for Provident Bank, in Cincinnati, before becoming a financial analyst with the local company.
Drayton Saunders attended Colgate University, in New York, graduating with a degree in philosophy and a minor in economics.
Steve Brown just completed his master's in business administration at Northwestern University's distinguished Kellogg School of Management.
Before graduate school, he'd worked as a settlement analyst for white-shoe Washington, D.C., law firm Baach Robinson & Lewis, handling asbestos cases for client Lloyd's of London.
Parker not only earned a Juris Doctor degree to practice law from Boston University, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School for good measure.
The solid educational foundation has provided their parents not only with employees they can trust, but with partners they can turn to.
Wayne Ruben, 49, relies on son Aaron's mathematics skills and sharp memory to pull together projects such as the twin 16-story Premiere towers slated for land adjacent to the Main Plaza and Hollywood 20 movie complex.
"He's become not just my son, or a student of development, but he's a working partner," Ruben said of the 23-year-old.
"He's got skills we need," Tom Brown said of Steve, referring to a financial model the younger Brown developed for the Founders Club during an internship. "So I'm not just going to teach him; I want to learn from him, too."
"We never disagree -- we discuss and come to a decision," Kauffman said. "We have a good, mutual respect for each other."
For Michael Saunders, bringing Drayton on also settled a question of succession that had weighed on the 62-year-old real estate maven for years.
"Watching Drayton grow and gain respect, watching his commitment to the community, it's a joy," Saunders said. "I'm more and more certain every day that I made the right decision. I'm certain he'll be better at this than me one day."
Naturally, the progeny have learned a great deal, too.
"He's taught me that your word is your badge," Parker said of Kauffman. "You put honor first -- it's not all about your bottom line."
Not that there haven't been difficulties.
"The biggest challenge is not to kill each other," Michael Saunders said.
"We both have strong personalities," Drayton agreed.
Aaron Ruben's toughest hurdle has been keeping up with Dad.
"He's the fastest man I've ever met," Aaron Ruben said.
Parker and the Rubens, in particular, say maintaining balance between their personal and professional lives hasn't always been easy.
"It's hard to keep the relationship personal," Parker said. "You have to force yourself not just to relate on a work level all the time."
Even with the occasional hurdle, both generations say working with family has been gratifying.
"It's brought us closer because we're together a lot," Wayne Ruben said. "I had always hoped that one of my kids would come back and work with me."
For Brett Hutchens, the emotional impact of working with son John hit during a Father's Day fishing trip the pair took together last month.
"It's been a very bonding experience," Hutchens, 57, said. "Because you share the good times and, you're shoulder to shoulder solving the problems that inevitably come up."
"As a parent it's such a thrill to work with your children," Kauffman said. "It's the biggest kick you can have."
