FRED R. SOELTER
4712 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Blog: http://FredSoelter.wordpress.com/
310-749-9453
Fred[at]Soelter.us

PROJECT/OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE
LARGE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Experienced, Large Project and Operations Executive with 25 years experience in large, complex urban construction projects. Proven track record in design, project planning, budgeting, permits, regulatory compliance, purchasing and schedule development. Actively sought out by top-10 firms for project management expertise and achievements. Expert in market analysis, revenue forecasting, costing, acquisitions, opportunity analysis and strategic project prioritization. Proven relationship building skills with city and county regulatory agencies, expediting permits and approvals to save hundreds of thousands in interest and operating costs on major projects. Hands-on expertise includes large master planned residential communities, condominiums, luxury hotels, hospitals and office complexes. Architectural and general contractor licenses. Noted achievements in process streamlining and team training/motivation.

Project/Operations Management Residential/Office/Hospital/Hotel Construction Architectural Design General Contracting Civil Engineering Permits/Regulatory Approval Purchasing Process Re-engineering Staff Training/Development Strategic Planning
Budgeting Market/Revenue Analysis Project Turnarounds


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

CONSULTANT, Marina del Rey, CAJune, 2009 Present
Consulted on wide variety of business opportunities, including business development and entering new markets.

S & K Marine
Marina-del Rey, CA yacht maintenance business with annual revenues of $1.4M.

Recruited by owner for business development ability; hired to act as Development Consultant and expand sales. Perform market analysis, revenue forecasting and costing to explore ways to grow the business through market expansion and acquisition.
* Analyze market opportunities to develop strategic growth plan to grow revenues by 10%.
* Develop close working relationships with Los Angeles Country officials to significantly and accelerate permit issuance and expedite regulatory compliance to accommodate tight implementation schedule.

Advanced Development Systems
Woodland Hills, CA business specializing in wind energy installations and utility scale photovoltaic systems with 12 employees and revenues of $1.2M.

Recruited as Entitlement and Operations Consultant because of development reputation. Perform operations analysis, produced implementation schedules and costing to determine feasibility of photovoltaic business unit. Perform operational analysis for entering new renewable energy market and develop implementation schedule.
* Identified Critical Path milestones to improve scheduling and enable more realistic budgets.
* Evaluated vendors and negotiated design/build installation to reduce time-frames and risk.

WOOD PARTNERS, Newport Beach, CA2007 2008
Fourth largest developer of apartment buildings and condominiums. Headquarters in Atlanta, GA. Annual revenues around $1B, with approximately 200 employees nationwide.

LA High Rise Project Manager
Recruited by company in real estate downturn. Directed all aspects of large, high-rise condominium project. Expedited entitlements, regulatory compliance and permitting with state, county and city governments, coordinated all aspects of design and engineering, bidding and contracting, including subcontracting, purchasing, budgeting, scheduling and staff hiring. Also managed all logistical efforts and provided key assistance to development and acquisition teams. Reviewed and evaluated plans, budgets and schedules, directed proposal issuance and bid evaluation and evaluated sites for optimum location planning.
* Used interpersonal skills and relationship-building ability to significantly hasten permit issuance to shorten interest payments on projects $120M loan by four months.
* Directed project for first high rise residential tower built by company without General Contractor to save over $20M on $120M total project budget.
* Led initial project startup for condominium project with only two weeks notice to save weeks of delays and interest costs.

COMSTOCK HOMES, Manhattan Beach, CA2006 2007
CA-based developer of single family houses in the Southern California region, with approximately 40 employees and annual sales of $50M.

Director of Project Management
Recruited by Comstock management to direct major development project. Overall direction and management of brownfield-remediation, 54-acre master planned residential community with 161 abandoned oil wells. Obtained entitlements, led the regulatory compliance and permit process, managed all construction budgets and schedules. Directed, mentored Project Managers in all aspects of large construction projects.
* Accelerated permit and regulatory process to save two months interest on $50M loan.
* Streamlined architectural plans to reduce construction costs by 5%, saving $15,000 per home.

JOHN LAING HOMES, Newport Beach, CA2004 2005
One of worlds oldest developers of residential real estate, a division of John Laing PLC established in Britain in 1848 and the worlds seventh-largest US residential property developer. 2005 revenues of $1.6B with some 500 US employees.

Vice President, Operations
Full P&L responsibility for residential development projects with total of $400M in revenues and 65 direct reports. Managed all operations including planning, budgeting, scheduling, contracting/ subcontracting and options and standards. Recruited to take over failing Los Angeles/Ventura divisions seven large residential projects, bringing them back on schedule and on budget and completing business plan of 384 homes with $34M profit. Reorganized Purchasing Department, created historical cost database and developed new reporting standards to improve performance.
* Trained new purchasing staff in negotiation to limit materials price increases to 7% below inflation.
* Leader in House to Home program that reduced new homeowner warranty complaints by 75%.
* Increased customer satisfaction from 88th in nation to #1.
* Increased local contractor participation by 10% without affecting quality of work, costs or timelines.
* Voted Best Thing to Happen in 2005 by Division Executive Team.
* Sole Vice President to win Extra Mile award from the CEO.

TOLL BROTHERS, Orange, CA2001 2004
Large, national residential developer with 2005 revenues of $1.5B and 1,000 employees.

Project Manager
Recruited for expertise in residential development. Ultimate oversight with complete P&L responsibility for entitlement, design of 1,400-unit, luxury condominium development project in Dublin, CA with then-market value of over $1B. Started Southern California Multi-Family Acquisitions department. Managed marketing, sales, planning, budgeting, purchasing, contracting, hiring, training and construction for 154-home masterplanned community.
* Directed luxury residential development project with total value of almost $1.2B.
* Developed strategic relationships with country and city agencies to expedite permit process and reduce interest on project loans by $2M.

DANIEL SILVERIE III CONSTRUCTION, Monterey, CA2000 2001
CA-based builder of multi-family dwellings with 2001 revenues of $25M and 25 employees.

Project Manager
Onsite Project Manager for $30M apartment building project, directing five staff and 25 subcontractors. Managed all construction, regulatory compliance/permits and all client relationships.
* Achieved 20% increase in project revenue by successfully negotiating change orders with clients.
* Worked with Army Corps of Engineers to dramatically reduce permit approval time.

KB HOME MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING GROUP, Westwood, CA1997 2000
Second largest US builder of residential properties with revenues in 2000 of 3.93B. the Multi-Family Housing Group builds tax credit-funded low-cost and senior housing with 1999 revenues of $1B and 200 employees.

Senior Construction Project Manager
Owners representative, overseeing General Contractor budgets, schedules and quality on as many as 20 East Coast construction projects simultaneously, each worth between $10M and $50M. Developed standardized operations, wrote operations manual codifying all aspects of project management, developed new set of standard forms.
* Re-organized and re-scheduled delinquent project to complete it on time and save $5M in tax credits.

RBB ARCHITECTS, Westwood, CA1994 1997
Large architectural firm specializing in institutional facilities, particularly hospitals and schools. RBB is ranked among the top 50 architectural firms in the US and among the top 10 in Southern California.

Project Manager
Recruited because of plan-to-execution ability. Architect in charge of two acute care hospital projects with budgets of $50M and $72M. Took initial idea to complete working drawings for OSHPD submission in fewer than 90 days. Managed 30 direct reports and 15 consulting engineering firms. Responsible for all permits and regulatory approvals. Acted as liaison between owners, Construction Manager, General Contractor and architectural design team.
* Twice led team to completion of project in 90 days instead of usual six to ten months to receive state-subsidized, 10% on interest costs for each project.

EDUCATION

Master of Business Administration Degree, Executive MBA program, Pepperdine University
Bachelor of Science Degree, and Bachelor of Architecture Degree, University of Southern California
Architects and General Contractors Licenses, State of California
Graduate, Bell Leadership Training and Center for Creative Leadership