Jeff Watson, Home Depot’s Senior Director of Pro Sales West By Carole VanSickle Ellis When Jeff Watson was framing houses in college, he had no idea that his decision to leave that job and look for “more consistent” work at The Home Depot would result in a career with the company spanning more than 29 years (and counting). That initial decision shaped Watson’s professional life — for the better, he
Read More
Nate Zielinski, Senior Partnerships Coordinator at RCN Capital By Carole VanSickle Ellis When Nate Zielinski graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism in 2015, he did not foresee real estate investment financing in his future. Nevertheless, when he joined private lender RCN Capital in 2020, he knew his background in communications would be an asset in his new role. “I went in as a blank slate as far as the
Read More
Larry Goodman, CEO, HomeVestors of America By Carole VanSickle Ellis When Larry Goodman, CEO of HomeVestors of America, graduated from the University of Alabama with a real estate finance degree in 1987, he dove right into the industry as a real estate appraiser in Miami, Florida. It was not long before Goodman expanded his area of expertise, branching out from residential real estate into commercial properties. “That was a great
Read More
John Gordon — Director of National Accounts, Home Depot By Carole VanSickle Ellis In 1980, a newly married John Gordon and his wife were heading toward Lansing, Michigan, where they expected Gordon to join computing powerhouse IBM in the company’s marketing department while his wife earned her master’s degree at Michigan State. They were loading the truck to head for Michigan when they got the call: IBM was in a
Read More
From Dreams of Baseball to Leaving the Insurance Industry Better Than He Found It Shawn Woedl’s journey to becoming the President and CEO of National Real Estate Insurance Group (NREIG) has been guided by one saying by Rear Admiral Grace Hopper: “The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” Woedl took this same approach when entering the insurance industry many years ago. NREIG provides
Read More
RCN Capital’s Jeffrey Tesch is Pushing the Limits and Staying in the Fast Lane By Carole VanSickle Ellis If Jeffrey Tesch, CEO at private direct lender RCN Capital, were not involved in the private lending industry, he would probably be zooming at top speed around an asphalt track in Daytona or Talladega. “My wife might not agree, but I think if I put a helmet on and really worked at
Read More
