Archive for December, 2021

Mandel Group Announces New Leadership

Posted on December 3rd, 2021

Barry Mandel and Bob Monnat, longtime heads of major Milwaukee developer Mandel Group Inc., are making room for executives Ian Martin and Phillip Aiello to become the next generation of company leadership.

Martin is taking over Mandel’s title as president, and Aiello assumes Monnat’s mantle as chief operating officer. Those changes cement the second generation of top leaders for Mandel Group, one of Milwaukee’s largest and most well-regarded developers with more than $1 billion in holdings, including 5,600 housing units.

“I’ve told both of them and I don’t expect them to be me, nor do I want them to be me,” Mandel said. “I want them to be themselves because, quite frankly, I think they are much better than I ever could be. I really do believe that Mandel Group’s future will eclipse our past success.”

Mandel will remain involved in the firm as its CEO and chairman, newly created positions. Monnat becomes senior partner, as does chief investment officer Dave Pavela.

Aiello and Martin have been vice presidents of development in Mandel Group, overseeing several of the company’s projects. Martin has been with the firm five years, and Aiello for 18 years.

Aiello was a leader on the 36-story University Club Tower in downtown Milwaukee and the North End in downtown Milwaukee, for example. Martin was a key player on The West redevelopment on National Avenue in West Allis and the Velo Village apartments at Ballpark Commons in Franklin, for example.

“I may be paraphrasing a little bit, but Barry once said, ‘I’d rather have my reputation than more money,’ or something like that,” Martin said. “Not that the two are mutually exclusive, but that’s always been very good advice. Mandel Group will only go as far as our reputation carries us.”

Mandel Group’s strategy going forward will remain largely the same. The most significant new strategy is considering development outside of the state of Wisconsin. Mandel Group has acquired properties across five states, but its actual new construction work thus far has been in southeast Wisconsin.

As opportunities arise outside of Wisconsin, Mandel Group will consider them, Martin said. It is pursuing a project in the Madison area now, which would expand the company’s geographic horizons.

“I do think where we see opportunities in markets outside of southeast Wisconsin, we will in reasonable fashion pursue those opportunities,” Martin said. “We have $500 million in our pipeline right now, all in southeast Wisconsin. That’s a fair bit of work on our plate that is all important work to do, so there’s no pressure for us to pull resources and attention away from that.”

Mandel’s current list of projects includes new apartments at Pabst Farms in Oconomowoc, building restoration and new housing construction at the School Sisters of Notre Dame’s 30-acre Elm Grove campus, and an estimated $150 million mixed-use redevelopment in Milwaukee’s Harbor District.

“Every development deal we do I would say has a high barrier of entry of some kind of another, and that’s always going to be the case,” Martin said.

On the operations side, Mandel Group a year ago adopted a new property management system that provides more data to help manage operations, Aiello said. That data includes tracking rent delinquency trends caused by Covid-19, or the resources Mandel is putting into leases with tenants from different geographic areas, for example.

While Thursday’s announcement signals the future management of the company, Mandel and other executives also stressed efforts to maintain continuity. Jason Babcock, who has overseen purchases of new properties, is being promoted to senior vice president of acquisitions and dispositions. Angie Achenbach, hired in 2018, remains chief financial officer. Don Lindeman remains president of Mandel Group’s property management company, and Sherry Meyers Thompson remains controller.

This new management arrangement is more than three years in the making, Mandel said. The firm analyzed strengths and weaknesses of the individuals and how they fit into the broader team, consulted with its advisory board, and hired an industrial psychologist specializing in human behavior in the workplace.

Mandel, who founded the real estate firm in 1991, said he doesn’t intend to take more time off from the company than he has recently.

“It’s never been work for me; it really just has been part of my life,” he said. “I intend my life will be pretty much similar to the way it’s been over the last two decades at least.”

Mandel Group hires new president of property management

Posted on December 3rd, 2021

Mandel Group Inc. hired experienced Illinois real estate executive Carly Stevenson as president of its property management company that oversees a portfolio of 6,240 apartments.

Stevenson comes to Mandel and Milwaukee from the Chicago market. She most recently was senior vice president with McCaffery Interests, a Chicago real estate firm that has properties in its home market, along with Washington, D.C.; Pittsburgh; and Denver. Her 18-year career in property management also includes working for AMLI Residential, and Trilogy Real Estate Group.

Stevenson joins Mandel Group as the real estate firm undergoes a leadership transition and selects its top executives for the years ahead. Founded in 1991 by Barry Mandel, the firm has a portfolio of apartment properties in downtown Milwaukee, such as the North End, and a growing collection of Class A suburban rental properties.

“We are excited to have Carly on board to help shape the growth we anticipate over the coming years,” said Phillip Aiello, chief operating officer of Mandel Group.

As the president of Mandel Property Services Inc., Stevenson said she has initiatives already lined up. She intends to improve operational items like revenue management software and ensuring virtual apartment touring programs that launched during the Covid-19 pandemic continue long term. As Stevenson noted, the pandemic may go away, but renters’ demand for virtual touring will not.

“It will be about us finding bigger and better ways to ensure we’re meeting that virtual demand,” she said.

The property management company oversees apartments developed by Mandel Group and other companies. It has a goal of growing to manage 10,000 apartments.

“As we get to 10,000 units, there’s some real human resources planning that has to be put into place,” Stevenson said.

Don Lindeman was president of Mandel Property Services for about 17 years. He is no longer with the company.

Archive for December, 2021

Mandel Group Announces New Leadership

Mandel Group hires new president of property management

Recent Posts

Archives

Archive for December, 2021

Mandel Group Announces New Leadership

Mandel Group hires new president of property management