Last year, the Neenan Co. had sales close to $200 million, making it the largest fully integrated, design-build firm in Colorado, he says. By fully integrated he means that it is one-stop shopping for customers. In addition to building everything from medical buildings to downtown office buildings, it will design, develop, and sometimes even take ownership positions in them.
It's one of the few construction firms in the country that is structured as an ESOP (employee owned stock ownership plan, he says. "I know there are other employee-owned general contractors in the country," Neenan tells GlobeSt.com. "I just don't know who they are." Most construction firms are owned by families or structured as "Sub Chapter S" corporations, where a few insiders own the company, he says.
Before becoming employee owned company, the Neenan Co. had been a Sub Chapter S Corp., he says. Neenan had held 56% of the stock out of 11 owners.
Now, anyone with at least five years experience - from secretaries to the president - will be a fully vested owner. "This will allow a single mom, raising two kids to buy a home over time," Neenan said. The company has about 300 employees and about 200 of those have at least five years at the company. Of those, 56 "rainmakers" will be asked to purchase interests in the company.
Neenan personally will not make a killing by selling his shares to employees, but will retain a 10% "profit's interest" in the company, which means if it makes money down the road, he, too, will prosper. Neenan will eventually step down as CEO, a mantle that will be taken over by his nephew, Jim Neenan, the current president. David Neenan will remain as chairman.
Neenan always has been as much of a philosopher as a construction guy. "All of my life I have had a dream of doing something bigger than (my) self," Neenan says. "I made a promise to myself that that if I were successful, the stock in the firm would be held not by a person, but by a community. This is my chance to fulfill that dream and keep my promise while at the same time recognize and take care of those who have supported me over the years."
Before he founded the firm in 1973, Neenan had worked in Kansas City, MO. "I wanted to buy into the company, but the owner, who was a great guy and really helped me in my career, told me he would never sell one share of stock to anyone who is not one of his direct descendants," Neenan relates to GlobeSt.com.
He said he will likely spend more time traveling around the world, giving seminars - not on construction, per se - but on how to live a better life. "My seminars are how to be more of a player and taking more responsibility in your life, as opposed to being a victim," Neenan says. He recently gave a seminar in Singapore and will be soon going to Estonia.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
