MANAGEMENT
“ I think one of the pros of family business is the opportunity to really build relationships with family and to be able to work together on a shared goal and a shared vision .”
KEVIN HUBER CEO , GRUPE HUBER big shoes to fill . “ People used to always talk about how he would go sit in their office and have a conversation with them about their families and their hobbies , and I watched how he would build relationships with people on our team and how much they valued that . So , I try to do the same thing ,” she says , which isn ’ t easy with 550 employees . Vellutini Kimble ’ s brother Leo Vellutini and brother-in-law Evan Albright also work for the company , as do several generations of other families . “ Making sure you have a family relationship separate from your business relationship is important . I ’ m not sure I ’ ve always been successful in finding that balance with my dad or my family , but I keep working at it ,” she says .
Vellutini ’ s primary focus is to prepare the company for the next 50 years and explore the company ’ s capability to scale , particularly with the current boom in construction . Royal Electric brings in about $ 150 million in annual revenue and is active in several industries , including aviation , heavy and highway construction , multifamily and commercial and education construction .
Preserving institutional memory
At 83 , Greenlaw “ Fritz ” Grupe , Jr . balks at the idea of slowing down and says he plans to work for another 20 years . The chairman of The Grupe Company in Stockton reflects back on his years in business and recites a number of different truisms that have guided him and his family company . The biggest : “ If you can ’ t execute , your vision has no value . It ’ s just a dream .” And Grupe has had some big dreams . But he ’ s also found a way to execute them . He started as a budding entrepreneur at age nine , selling farm fresh eggs to family and neighbors , then moved on to cattle and eventually owned a small herd .
In his early 20s , Fritz worked at Sims and Grupe , the real estate and insurance brokerage firm his father previously owned , giving him the confidence he needed to strike out on his own . He also credits his great-grandfather John Carsten Grupe — who emigrated from Germany to the U . S . in 1849 and was an entrepreneur in his own right — for much of his inspiration . In 1966 , Fritz founded The Grupe Company , a multipronged development and real estate company . At 28 , he purchased the land to develop his first master-planned lakefront community in northwest Stockton , calling it Lincoln Village West . The 750-acre mixed-use development was one of the first of its kind and includes waterfront homes , condos , apartments and a retail center . He went on to build more than 12 masterplanned communities and 50,000 homes in six states .
All four of Fritz ’ s children are active in the The Grupe Company , but none are being groomed to take over as CEO . Instead , Fritz is teaching each to be effective board members . “ It ’ s their job to hire the right management ,” he says . His goal was to train each one to run what they were interested in , and not force them into something they were not interested in . “ One of the principles I believe in as a manager is you should build on people ’ s strengths and make their weaknesses irrelevant ,” he says .
Son-in-law Kevin Huber , who is married to Fritz ’ s eldest daughter Sandy , first moved onto the Grupe ’ s ranch as a hired hand when he was just 16 . After getting married , Huber went to work for the family business . He has held leadership roles both as president and CEO of The Grupe Company , and president and CEO of Grupe Huber ( formerly Grupe Commercial ). In 2010 , at Huber ’ s request , Fritz returned to The Grupe Company CEO role and Huber shifted to working full time as CEO of Grupe Huber ’ s commercial business . Kevin ’ s son Fritz Huber joined Grupe Huber four years ago , making him the third generation to work in the family business . “ I think one of the pros of family business is the opportunity to really build relationships with family and to be able to work together on a shared goal and a shared vision ,” says Kevin . “ And when you do that with family , that bond is even stronger . It ’ s a very special thing .”
Laurie Lauletta-Boshart has written for Dwell , ESPN , The Wall Street Journal , Sports Illustrated and others . Online at www . wordplaycommunications . com and on Twitter @ laurieboshart .
46 comstocksmag . com | October 2021