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>> What role did mentors play in your career: My mentors played a significant role in my career development. I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without them. Bill Clay gave me my first opportunity to enter into the CRE industry by hiring me at SunState and then Jeff Cutberth brought me on at BDG. For the next 22 years, he [in particular] along with Rick Butler, Clay Chiappini, Toby Rogers, and many others have poured into my success. I have tried to take the best of each of them and make it a part of me. >> How has Phoenix changed and how do you see it changing in the future: Sometimes you are so deep in the forest it is difficult to see the change, but I would say that our biggest has been in the geopolitical arena due to the large influx of people moving to the Valley. Fortunately, some of the things that haven’t changed too much are the policies friendly to development and growth. My concern is that outside influences from that migration of views would jeopardize the CRE industry in the future. >>What would you be doing if you were not in your current field: I have always enjoyed working on cars, so I regularly said early in my career that I would probably have gone towards customization of cars had I not made it in the architectural field.

>>What is like working for your company: I have to say that I never imagined I would stay at one place for 10 years, much less 22. That is a testament to the environment we have at BDG. Our diversity in the marketplace, opportunity to work on a vast array of project types, and architectural variety keep you on your toes and challenged regularly. Meanwhile the solidity of our place in the market and our brand gives security in opportunities for career growth. >>What is the most challenging part of your position: As the Principal in charge of operations at BDG, my biggest challenge is overcoming the employment shortages. The recent pandemic, in conjunction with the 2008 recession, has seemingly created a vacuum for viable candidates. Candidates either lack the experience and/or drive to work in our environment. Inflation of salaries has made recruiting even more challenging as under-qualified candidates have higher, more entitled expectations than reality. There’s a mentality that you need to pay them before they will prove their worth vs receiving compensation according to their value. Otherwise, it is easy as cake! Just kidding, of course leadership is a constant challenge with varying degrees of difficulty, but extremely gratifying when you solve the issues at hand.

>>What advice would you give to a DL who is early on in their career: It may sound cliché but, ‘stay true to yourself’. What I mean by that is make sure you get into a career you enjoy. Do not treat it as a “job.” You’re investing in the rest of your life. Don’t be afraid of change, but don’t do it for the sake of just changing. Embrace the challenges with passion. Remain committed to success. Lean on your relationships. You do not have to put people down to be lifted up. In fact, the more lifting you do the higher you will climb yourself. A good leader is always asking questions and learning from their mentors and training their own replacement while not being afraid of either.

>> What are your passions outside of work: My faith, my family and having fun. I spend a considerable amount of time with my church and volunteering, but I also love to travel with my wife and anyone that wants to travel with us.

>> If you have kids, how has that changed the way you approach work: My children are both grown and out on their own. When our children were born, it didn’t just impact the way we worked, but impacted the way we saw the world. It amazes me how little value some people give life. Once I saw my son, I didn’t even watch TV the same way. I guess, when it came to work, I worked even harder to provide a good life for my family. As I look back, the only regret is that maybe sometimes I worked too hard and forgot to slow down and enjoy their childhood more. You don’t get those times back.

>> Where do you see yourself in 10 years: Continuing to carry the BDG torch[!], but also beginning to hand it off to the next generation at BDG. We have a great group of individuals, but we are even greater as the ‘BDG family’. I look forward to many more years working with this crew and working in this market. Our relationships throughout the Valley and the ability to practice great architecture should keep us all going for years to come. There’s so much to look forward to. THE DL DOWNLOAD I 06