Monday June 14, 2021

Al. Neyer CEO Wins Top Workplaces Award

From The Cincinnati Enquirer:

“I have confidence in the leader of this company.”

More than 35,000 workers at 189 firms across the Cincinnati area were asked that question as part of the Top Workplaces Cincinnati 2021 survey.

This year, based on the results of the surveys made for the Enquirer by Energage, three individuals stood out as Top Workplace leaders:

• Ken Oaks, CEO of Total Quality Logistics.
• Keith McCluskey, CEO of McCluskey Chevrolet.
• Molly North, CEO and president of Al. Neyer, the Downtown-based construction and development company.

How did you lead your company through a combined health and economic crisis over the past year?

Molly North, CEO of Al. Neyer: Anytime an organization or a company or group falls upon uncertainty, there’s a call for leadership. How are we going to get through this? Are we going to get through this? And for the most part, people really want to be communicated with. They want to know what kind of decisions are going to be made, your process for making them, and how those decisions are going to affect the company and the individuals that work for the company, and all the individuals that the company serves. So, I’m a big communicator. I really talk a lot about authenticity. Being yourself. Being transparent. Telling people the truth. When hard decisions are made, (being able to tell my employees) how (I) went through the process of making them. People may not always agree with how you navigated a decision. But if they understand how you went about making it and recognize they did it in good faith, that really builds a lot of confidence in the leadership that’s making those decisions.

[…]

In what ways have you seen your employees adapt through unprecedented times?

North: You know, it’s been interesting because “silver linings” has become a phrase we’ve all heard a lot about. We’ve found new ways to communicate with one another, and new ways of getting things done more efficiently. But we’ve also recognized the importance of, you know, working as a team, collaborating very closely. And I’ve just really seen the employee-owners (Al. Neyer is an ESOP) here rise to the dynamic environment and shifting to adjust to what it takes to be successful.

[…]

How did you manage the everyday stresses of the pandemic while also running your business?

North: You know, a lot of it hasn’t been all that fun. Because the way that we, or at least the way that I get energized, is through personal interactions with people and sharing ideas. And, you know, impromptu brainstorming sessions and missing those has resulted in what we’ve all heard about which is burnout. It really is this personal interaction with people where you create something that you didn’t expect that just rebuilds energy in us as individuals and in our company. So finding every opportunity to do that through the pandemic I feel like we’ve taken. And now that we’re returning to some normalcy. I just really feel that high level of energy and engagement again and it’s just really exciting.

[…]

Taking what you’ve learned from the past year, how do you plan to lead your company forward?

North: I think we’ve been really disciplined in continuing to push the organization and continuing to push all of our goals with the same strength, in which we did pre-pandemic. And now coming out, we’re not in a rebuilding mode at all. We’re really in a position of strength, and we now finally have the opportunity to re-engage and get to know all the new employee-owners that have started. I think there are about 30 people that work for the company that have started since the pandemic, and they haven’t had the benefit of personal interaction. You know I often say to our employee-owners that one of the primary reasons for satisfaction at work is having friends at work. It’s very difficult to build strong friendships with people over a team’s call or over a zoom call. And so now we have the opportunity to just really build these personal relationships that can translate into just working in good collaboration with one another.

[…]

What does it mean to you to have won the Top Workplace Leaders award?

North: You know, the very best part of what I do day in and day out is watch people grow in their professional lives, and watch them thrive in a work environment that empowers them to lead. To be recognized for any of that is really is the most meaningful award I can receive. It really is. That’s awesome.

Read more from the article here.

ABOUT MOLLY NORTH

Since 2015, North has served as president and CEO of Al. Neyer. Prior to becoming the CEO, Molly served as the company’s CFO after years of leadership in real estate development. She is heavily invested in the company culture, which fuels the company’s growth trajectory. North has extensive experience in sophisticated capital instruments and is especially passionate about urban redevelopment and projects that foster diversity and inclusion at every level.

North has received recognitions including Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019, Midwest Real Estate News Magazine Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, Cincinnati Business Courier Women Who Mean Business Award, and YWCA Career Women of Achievement. She was also a participant in the Cincinnati USA Chamber of Commerce Leadership Cincinnati Class 39. Under North’s leadership, Al. Neyer has received accolades including the Cincinnati Enquirer Best Places to Work, Fast 55 Winner, and Best Places to Work as recognized by Cincinnati Business Courier, NAIOP Developer of the Year in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, NAIOP Deal of the Year in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100.

ABOUT AL. NEYER

Established in 1894 and employee-owned since 2014, Al. Neyer prides itself on inspiring, challenging, supporting, and rewarding our employee-owners. Specializing in development and design-build, our team is made up of people who dig the details and have the skills to orchestrate them to perfection in a high-energy environment. Our passion is contagious and our sleeves are always rolled up.

We attribute our success to the entrepreneurial spirit of our employee-owners as we run toward the same goals and care about the legacy our work leaves behind.

Al. Neyer has been continually recognized for its ability to provide greater value, high quality, and faster project delivery. With offices in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Raleigh, our team serves a local, regional and national client base.

 

Photo credit to The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Recent News