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MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2021
North Bay Business Journal
CEO SPOTLIGHT
Leadership begins with confidence, collaboration Marin County commercial real estate leader Stephanie Plante runs family business By KATHRYN REED For the North Bay Business Journal
B
eing at the helm of a family-owned business can come with pressure not found in other job situations. In the same year she was born, 1970, Stephanie Plante’s grandfather, Martin Bramante, started San Rafael-based CPi Developers. Today she is CEO/ president, and sole owner after buying out an aunt and two cousins. While change can be good, Plante acknowledges in a family-rooted business, change from the way it’s always been done— like converting paper files to digital documentation—carries emotional strings. As can another issue: contemplating who takes over the business. “I’ve read a lot about how you get the first or second generation after the founder to bite and stay in, but after that it gets harder. I think there is a pull to keep it going for me,” Plante said. But she also admitted, “I’m not quite attached to it as (my grandfather) was.” For now, she plans to continue to acquire, manage and develop commercial properties throughout California. No date is penciled in on the calendar for retirement nor is she eyeing a buyer for the company. The following are other insights Plante shared with the North Bay Business Journal.
What is your approach to making business decisions that are tough and important? I have been fortunate to find a few great mentors and consultants over the years that I can lean on. I have learned it works very well to know what you don’t know and ask for help.
What trends that affect your industry keep you up at night? I think most of us small business owners worry about COVID and its variants. The resulting equity issues that have been exposed definitely concern me as do the stories about how long certain systems like the supply chain will take to recover.
What qualities do you admire in other executives that you've tried to emulate? I admire people who lead with a collaborative style. I am attracted to confidence in a leader and I often seek out women who are fighting for other women in the workforce and beyond.
How have your mentors had a profound impact on your career? Without one mentor in particular, I may not have stayed in this career. With all due respect to my relatives, family business See CEO page 7
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What is your opinion about the future of the national economy? And how will that affect your business?
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is complicated. I am very fortunate to have a mentor who specializes in this field and he has kept me from giving up more than once.
I am not an economist, but if it takes until 2023 for the supply chain to recover as I have seen in the news recently, we will have to change our time horizon for many things. It will be interesting to see who can adapt and how.
What was the hardest lesson you learned early in your career which you now recognize as an important one?
What was your first job? What was your first career job?
Sometimes you have to keep your mouth shut. I am such a believer in what I feel is right and just, but I am still learning when to speak up and when to hold my cards. It is an art. Even in a family business I have a tendency to want to skip to the conclusion so we can just put our cards on the table now. But you can’t skip all the chapters, you have to go through all the steps. It’s really about patience. I’m trying to learn patience. When I don’t have a project before the city of San Rafael and I have the opportunity to give back time and I can advocate for another organization I will speak up. I’m a community member with an interest in the good of the community. I really try to take that responsibility seriously.
With your grandparents having started the business, what are some of the added pressures of running CPi? It’s that sense of obligation. My mom died when I was 29 so I chose to help my grandparents by coming to work and trying to pick up where my mom had left off. There were pressures from feeling like I was elevated a generation once she passed. Not only did my grandparents think of me as one of their daughters, but many people in the business community did as well.
Would you encourage your two children to follow in your footsteps? Why or why not? Probably not. I want each of my kids to pursue their own interests. If that pursuit leads one of them back to commercial real estate or property development, I would want it to be on their own terms.
What would you re-do in your career if you could and why? I think it’s what I would have
My first was as a lifeguard in San Rafael and Terra Linda. I quickly moved into a job as a bank teller because I preferred set hours. My first career job was as a segment producer for Preview Media where we produced syndicated news stories for national distribution.
When you were a child, teenager, even in college, is this the job you thought you would have one day? If not, what were your earlier career aspirations?
CHRIS PLANTE
Stephanie Plante, left, provides the play-by-play for a Tamalpais High School water polo game.
re-done before my career began, really, and that would be to have branched out a little further. Had I known I would end up running my family’s business, I might have moved away for college and traveled abroad for my studies as well. I went from San Rafael High to UC Berkeley. My mom was a single mom from the time I was 10. She was divorced. She had never been alone until I went to college. I could not blame her that I was not encouraged to look out very far. I stayed quite tethered to my mom by going to school so close and maybe that led to choices I made for work. I have wanted to encourage my kids to go wherever they want. I think the world view expands.
What from your childhood was a clear sign you would one day have an executive leadership position?
I am an only child; this gave me plenty of opportunity to be bossy! It also gave me a chance to grow up fast and be around adults often. I developed a sense of responsibility at a young age.
From an optimistic outlook, where will your business and industry be in the next five years? Hard to speak for my industry; commercial real estate is redefining itself. It sounds trite, but we don’t seem to need a “place” as much anymore whether it’s a place to have an office or a place to shop or a place to buy a car. As for my business, I am hopeful we will be adapting with the influence of a creative new CEO who can replace me. I don’t have someone in mind and it’s not either of my kids. I want them to find their own way.
Yes, in a way as I wanted to be on the “Today” show so, after my master’s program at San Francisco State I tried to find work from some of my internships. I went from production jobs behind the scenes to an on camera job as a traffic reporter at the San Francisco NBC affiliate KRON.
Any regrets you didn’t pursue being a television journalist? I got to do it on a local level, so not really. It’s a hard lifestyle. Having several years to do that in my 20s was a good time. I think it would be hard to do it and raise a family. I leaned lot of skills that I continue to be able to draw on. Traffic reports are not exactly scintillating news, but they are not scripted. I never worked from a script. That has served me well whether it’s talking at city council meetings, giving an impromptu speech or doing high school water polo games live on YouTube.
What advice would you give someone just starting his or her career in your industry? My advice is to think broadly about the jobs you take. I have See CEO page 27
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BRIEFS
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fourth quarter of 2021. This represents a 4.7% increase from the prior quarter. The dividend is payable on Jan. 14, 2022 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 3, 2022, the company stated FCPT, headquartered in Mill Valley is a real estate investment trust primarily engaged in the ownership, acquisition and leasing of restaurant and retail properties.
WINE Shannon Family of Wines announced plans to open its mercantile store in Kelseyville The Lower Lake wine company has taken over the former home of Steele Wines at 4350 Thomas Drive, and the new store will have a wine bar to showcase its overall portfolio and offer innovative food pairings. “We wanted to create a special place in Lake County where people could come to meet us and experience our wines, our grass-fed lamb, organic olive oil, and freerange eggs,” said proprietor Angie Shannon in a statement. “We will be offering gourmet foods from small, local producers, along with a beautiful, pet-friendly lawn and picnic area where food and wine lovers can stay a while and enjoy some time with friends and families.” The store will be open Thursdays through Mondays and reservations are not required. —— The Anderson Valley Winter White Wine Weekend, to be held Feb. 19 and 20, will mark the 15th year that local vintners have held the event that showcases Alsatian-style wines. The festival is held at 27 participating wineries throughout the valley located in Mendocino County and features various white wines, sparklers, rosés and even a little pinot noir splashed in for visitors to enjoy.
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found that your first job is usually not your last. All job experience is good experience.
What are the benefits and drawbacks to being located in the North Bay and doing business here? Marin is a very special place to live and I feel fortunate to call it home. But if I had not had an established business to step into, it would have been more difficult to stay here. The cost of living is high and there are a host of problems that come along with that.
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Petaluma Health Care District hires community health program manager Benjamin Spierings has been worked as a community health hired as community health proeducator while serving in Peace gram manager by the Petaluma Corps Ethiopia. Health Care District. “Ben is an excellent addition The Sonoma County public to our team and has real interest agency stated Spierings will and experience in engaging the coordinate the district’s comcommunity to address social munity health initiatives and Benjamin determinants that impact health partnerships, as well as expand Spierings outcomes,” said Ramona Faith, community outreach efforts. district CEO, “and we are thrilled He also will direct the district’s newly to be able to launch our much-needed developed Community Health Workers Community Health Worker program. program, which will train and equip The introduction of this program in a team that provides tailored strate- southern Sonoma County is a critgy to improve residents’ health and ical response to the many forms of well-being. environmental, equity and pandemSpierings was previously a contrac- ic-related trauma our community has tor for Providence Health Community weathered.” Benefit, where he worked to convene Spierings received a bachelor’s Sonoma County Health Action chap- degree in global disease biology from ters and community partners. He also UC Davis. Tickets are available at cellarpass.com and include up to four tasting experiences per day for both Saturday and Sunday. Early-bird pricing of $110 per ticket is available until Dec. 15 and tickets will be $130 each afterward. Attendees can choose which wineries they would like to attend for each day with their registration. —— The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance will hold sessions for grape growers to learn more about becoming certified with its designation as environmentally friendly farmers. The group will hold a Dec. 7 session at 10 a.m. to provide and overview on the program. Another one will be held at 10 a.m. Jan. 11 for those seeking information on how to renew their status as there have
been recent updates to the initiative. For more information, visits the group’s website at sustainablewinegrowing.org. —— Napa Valley Vintners has announced the appointment of Sotheby’s as its new auction partner, marking the first time that Sotheby’s has partnered with a wine region to help connect wine consumers, collectors and connoisseurs to its wines. During the three-year partnership, the groups stated, Sotheby’s will conduct in-person and online auctions for the Napa Valley Vintners. Major endeavors in 2022 will include the Napa Valley Library Wine Auction taking place January 18-29, 2022; Premiere Napa Valley February 23-26, 2022; and Collective Napa Valley with several offerings throughout the year in 2022.
If you could change one government regulation, what would it be and why?
Do you believe in the future of workers going to work in an office? Why or why not?
Not sure I want to answer this one.
You have holdings outside of the North Bay. How is it different doing business in other locations? Marin County is as unique as people say. Other communities are more interested in development or perhaps they simply need the development for their local economy more. That translates to an easier permitting process sometimes.
Because of remote work businesses are rethinking the need for and how much office space is needed today.
I certainly like having an office to go to when I want or need to go, but I am often alone at my office so it’s a bit of an oasis. Working from home in the midst of the business of family life presents its challenges. I believe in offering people a choice.
How has the commercial real estate industry changed through the years — and not just because of the pandemic? Well, there are more women at the table than when I first started working with my grandfather in 1999. There are
The Napa Valley Vintners is a nonprofit trade association with nearly 550 members. Linda Reiff, president & CEO of Napa Valley Vintners, said: “We’re thrilled to partner with Sotheby’s world-class wine team to strengthen Napa Valley’s growing presence in the global marketplace. We look forward to introducing Sotheby’s clientele to even more of Napa Valley’s fine wine producers through this first-ofits-kind partnership. The alignment of our two entities is a perfect fit, and we’re excited to launch this incredible partnership with our first endeavor this January.”
CONGRATULATIONS The Marin-based nonprofit 10,000 degrees has been named as the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Champion “for its work in the North Bay providing programs to help rising high school seniors from low-income backgrounds find a pathway to enter and graduate college,” the groups stated. As part of the Neighborhood Champions program, 10,000 Degrees will receive a $50,000 grant and an opportunity to participate in virtual leadership training delivered by experts in the nonprofit sector on topics like human capital management, increasing financial sustainability,and storytelling. “Education is the foundation of a just and equitable society,” stated Kim Mazzuca, president and CEO, 10,000 Degrees. “This grant allows us to further our mission by helping us ensure more of our college graduates are prepared to successfully transition into their careers and go on to make a positive impact in their communities. The Neighborhood Champions grant also gives us the green light to broaden our student success support, and provide some of our own 10,000 Degrees’ leaders with an excellent opportunity for developing their professional skills and enhancing their network relationships.” also more women in city government, law, consulting and every step of the real estate and development process. I am so hopeful that we can place more and more women in all industries as role models for our daughters and our daughter’s daughters. Maybe one day, the phrase “old boy network” will be out of our lexicon. My grandfather used to tease me about attending UC Berkeley where he thought I had learned women’s rights by “burning my bra.” I choose to think he would be proud to know that we don’t need those feminist symbols as much today at work or in life. I am working toward a day when everyone can have a seat at the table, no fires needed.