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committed to providing common-sense
lending in our community.”
With recent expansions at their
headquarters in Duluth, Ga with two floors
now covering 16,000 square feet of space and
in Cobb County with the opening of a 10,000
square foot facility, Brand Mortgage is ripe for
continued success. In addition to these recent
expansions, Brand Bank also recently received
a $200 million capital infusion.
According to Greg, this substantial
capital infusion will allow Brand Bank and
Brand Mortgage to go back to being bankers
and lenders. “This will give us the ability to
maintain our proactive strategy and make
good loans to good people.”
“Because of our common sense approach
to banking and lending, Brand Mortgage has
had the unique opportunity to take advantage
of the downfall,” said Greg. “We will continue
to bring on new employees and grow our
products and services as we expand in the
Southeast as long as we can maintain high
quality products and processes and uphold
our high degree of work ethics that our
customers expect.”
Along with giving a forecast of Brand
Mortgage’s future, Greg is quick to offer his
outlook for the mortgage industry, giving
some hope. “It is slowly getting better day
by day,” said Greg. “Rates are low, purchase
opportunities are available at record lows
and the Gwinnett and metro Atlanta area in
particular have a lot of upside potential.”
As a pacesetter in the metro Atlanta
region with their positive, common-sense
approach to doing business, expect more
to come fromGreg and his team at Brand
Mortgage with new opportunities for
customers, more jobs, continued expansion in
the Southeast and increased support for the
local community.
Russell Landscape Group President & CEO Bill Russell, PhD
Over the past couple of years, the landscape industry was hit
with increasingly high gas prices, employment challenges, and
traffic issues. With only one operational location
in Gwinnett, Russell Landscape Group - a 24
year old family-owned and managed commercial
landscape company – was at a crossroads with
large expenses in gas and labor sitting in trucks
slowly moving through metro Atlanta traffic.
While other companies were cutting back
expenses, Russell Landscape Group was busy
expanding to four different locations in metro
Atlanta to reduce gas and labor costs. This
strategy was proven successful with revenues over
$20 million and listed in the top three landscape
companies in metro Atlanta by the Atlanta
Business Chronicle. Most recently Russell Landscape Group
President & CEO Bill Russell, PhD, is exploring foreign trade
opportunity made possible in part by the Gwinnett Chamber
economic development’s Global Business Missions where he
discovered significant opportunity in the area of landscape
services and trade & development of his business in China.
Fellow Chairman’s Club member Dr. Daniel J. Kaufman,
president, Georgia Gwinnett College, had the opportunity to ask
Bill Russell a few questions on how Russell Landscape Group has
achieved such success and what the future holds for this long-
running, thriving landscape company.
Dan: What are some of the most significant strategies and
tactics that were put in place at Russell Landscape Group that
enabled your company to thrive in an economic downturn on
top of high gas prices, employment issues and traffic challenges?
Bill:
The commercial landscape contractor industry has been
adversely affected during the past three years due to drought, the
down economy, double digit healthcare insurance
premiums increases, immigration reform legislation,
and astronomical increases in fuel costs.
Russell Landscape Group Inc. (RLG), a
24-year-old family-owned company and Georgia’s
largest independent landscape firm, has significantly
minimized the affects of high fuel costs among many
other adversities by strategically establishing three
new branch locations throughout the metro Atlanta
region. These new locations removed the variable
of company vehicles and employees being stuck in
congested traffic resulting in reduced travel distance
and time to and from client job sites while improving
landscape service quality.
Dan: How has this enabled you to think differently about
how you run your business?
Bill:
The many recent local business challenges have forced
RLG’s ownership to evaluate and then pursue other southeastern
landscape markets — such as Nashville, Charleston, and
Birmingham— that have been less harshly affected by ‘The
Great Recession.” Additionally, our company leadership devotes
considerable time each week to evaluate each line item including
payables and receivables to ensure that each company branch
and division is successfully generating acceptable bottom-line
profit. As a result of these efforts, RLG has been successfully able
to afford its management team and workforce both raises and
bonuses each year of the down economy.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
THE EXECUTIVE – SUMMER 2011
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