New position: President, Tampa division, Richmond American Homes, Tampa. Previous position: Vice president, operations, KB Home, Tampa
By FRED W. WRIGHT JR.
Published May 24, 2004
For the first time in his 20-year career, Bill Pizor is getting to start a community development business from the ground up. That means hiring a staff and acquiring land for future homes.
Pizor has been named president of the new Tampa division of Richmond American Homes, a subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings. While some staff members already are in place, Pizor must hire more personnel as he seeks undeveloped land.
"I enjoy management," he said. "It's being able to find talented people and direct them to do the things I've been lucky enough to do."
Richmond American Homes plans to build more than 200 homes by the end of 2005, Pizor said, and another 500 in 2006. The Tampa division marks Richmond American Homes' entrance into the five-county Tampa Bay area - Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk and Manatee counties, basically in a 40-mile radius from the intersection of Interstates 4 and 75, Pizor said.
There is plenty of land to be developed within miles of the Tampa Bay area's densest populations, he said. "All you have to do is get into an airplane and you can see there's all kinds of land. You just have to figure out what areas people are willing to go into."
Pizor said plans call for construction to start in November. "We're still in product design, getting our suppliers and contractors ready to go," he said.
For Pizor, the key to a successful startup is building the right team. "Success is measured by your team," he said. "One person can't determine success in this business. Like the Buccaneers. They brought in a great leader, but it was the team that got them to the Super Bowl."
Pizor is a loyal Bucs fan although he grew up in the Pittsburgh area and once was an avid Steelers fan. He had planned to go into the steel industry after college. But after earning an associate's degree in mechanical engineering from a community college near Pittsburgh, Pizor said, he looked at the steel industry and saw a grim employment future.
He then looked at what parts of the country were experiencing job growth. As a result, he transferred to the University of South Florida where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1981 in business administration.
He began his career in Tampa, first with General Homes in the mid 1980s as a construction manager, "the most basic position in the operational side," he said. "You're outdoors 90 percent of the time."
Over the next 20 years, Pizor held management positions with numerous home builders in the Tampa Bay area, joining KB Home in 2003 as vice president of operations.
"I truly enjoy taking a project or a piece of dirt that is raw and within a matter of 12 to 24 months, you're looking at a community, building homes and lifestyles," he said. "You get to see people (achieve) their biggest dream - owning their own home.
"Providing that, I've always found very fulfilling," he said.
Pizor said he emphasizes personal contact with clients and home buyers. "A big mistake a lot of builders make is not going out into the field, getting the pulse of the project," he said. "I just have to make sure every community has what it needs."
Pizor, 47, and his wife, Cindi, live on Lake Tarpon in Palm Harbor. They have two children, Derek, 14, and Veronica, 6.
Despite working long hours, Pizor said he manages to get to the gym at least four mornings a week, at 6:30, before gong to work. It's a time when he has the gym almost to himself, he said.
"Who else is up at that hour?" he said. "Nobody can mess with my schedule."
