Content area
Full Text
Integrity, loyalty, honor, respect and discipline are more than just words to Brad DeVries.
To the 40-year-old president and CEO of Louisville's Paul Semonin Realtors, those terms represent a sort of code of conduct, away of life.
Maybe it was his eight years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and his subsequent service flying fighter planes in the Persian Gulf War that instilled those strong values in him.
Perhaps it was his upbringing in a close-knit, Christian family in Naples, Fla., that underscored the importance of developing a high moral code.
Or possibly it's his own family life and involvement in his church community that keeps him focused on what's really important.
Whatever the reason, DeVries is a man who has his life in order. "I try to keep my priorities in line," he says, "My priorities are my faith, my wife, my kids, my friends and family, and then my job. I try to keep Semonin fifth."
'Obsessed' with growing Paul Semonin Realtors
Still, DeVries says he is pretty "obsessed" with growing and improving the company he took over on Jan. 1. As president and CEO, he is responsible for Semonin's work force of 110 employees and 670 agents. He oversees 13 offices, which serve Louisville, Lexington, Georgetown and Lawrenceburg, Ky., and Southern Indiana.
DeVries estimates that he spends about half of his working hours on the telephone, communicating with employees, agents and customers. The rest of his time is split between planning and meeting face-to-face with staff and agents or talking with people looking to join the company.
His favorite part of the job is getting out of the office and making personal contact with his various constituencies. What he likes least is sitting behind his desk, shuffling papers - "a necessary evil," as he describes it.
"You can have the paperwork. You can have the numbers. I would just as soon be face-to-face with our people," he says.
George Gans, who preceded DeVries in the president and CEO posts at Semonin, believes that his successor has the right combination of energy, enthusiasm and people skills to keep the company moving forward. He recommended DeVries for promotion. DeVries had been Semonin's general manager since November 1999. Gans remains chairman at...