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Randall J. Enders

New Position: Chief financial officer, First Housing Development Corp., Tampa. Previous Position: Vice president of operations and trust officer, National Bank of Commerce, Berkeley, Ill.

By FRED W. WRIGHT JR.
Published August 1, 2005

Things are so busy at First Housing Development Corp., new chief financial officer Randall Enders jokes that staffers should be wearing sweat suits instead of business suits.

First Housing provides financing for the construction and rehabilitation of multifamily rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals, Enders said. The company "brings together large developers with financial resources," he said.

With two offices - one in Tampa, the other in Garland, Texas - the company also provides mortgage banking as well as compliance monitoring services for clients throughout Florida as well as other parts of the South and Puerto Rico.

Enders said his primary responsibilities include coordinating the company's accounting and computer systems so the company can expand and compete. "Accounting and computing systems are pretty much where the rubber meets the road in terms of growth driving the whole process," he said.

That's where the sweat suits come in. "We have a lot of problem-solving. We have to move fast," he said. "In a timely manner, you have to move and you have to move fast."

A native of Chicago, Enders earned a bachelor's degree in general business and in accounting from DePaul University in 1974 and passed his CPA exam three years later.

In the early years of his career, Enders worked for several major accounting firms in Chicago, "picking up a technical accounting background," then worked for several large financial companies.

In 1994, Enders joined Finmark Strategy Partners as chief financial officer. The privately held company, with offices in Chicago and Naples, had several subsidiaries, including Aurora Cord and Cable Co., which has contracts with the U.S. military. As a result, Enders established a home in Naples - his first venture into Florida - and worked out of offices in both cities.

In 2003, he became vice president of operations and trust officer for National Bank of Commerce in Chicago but maintained his home in Naples. Now, with his new position at First Housing, Enders said he is relocating from Naples to Tampa.

Enders said the industry has a special appeal for him. "When I was in school, majoring in accounting, and first started working, accounting wasn't that exciting," he recalled. "But once you start working in it and see the importance of (accounting) to the company and that it influences all the major decisions of a company, then it becomes more than an accounting assignment.

"It takes on life," he said. "That's how you measure results. Are we doing well? Are we doing poorly? Where's room for improvement? Now you're a major part of management. It takes on a whole new look."

He said he is finding Tampa enjoyable. The city, he said, has many of the lifestyle and cultural advantages of Chicago and more to offer in many aspects than Naples. "Tampa is like Chicago, only on a smaller scale," he said.

Enders, 53, and his wife, Rosanne, have two children, both attending the University of Florida.

Recreationally, Enders said he enjoys cycling, running, tennis and chess, and said he's beginning to explore new options. "Now that I'm in Florida, we have all these great beaches," he said.

[Last modified July 28, 2005, 19:51:02]