Jason Bartz, 38

Jason Bartz’s dream was to become a professional baseball player. He never thought about doing anything else.

That was, until he accomplished that dream and it was cut short due to an injury. After a life focused on baseball, Bartz needed to find a new career.

So in 2003, he returned to his hometown, Bradenton. After a short stint in insurance sales, Bartz turned to Ron Allen, a family friend who had given him his first job at 9-years-old, picking up the yard after the dog. Allen offered Bartz a position working for his construction and real estate development firm.

Today, Bartz still reports to Allen, now as vice president of development for The Riverside Real Estate Co. and NDC Asset Management. The company recently acquired Pittsburgh-based NDC Asset Management, which manages properties across seven states.

Bartz says his biggest challenge now is growing the company. He hopes to break into the Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia multifamily markets, connecting the company’s Southeast territories of Florida and Louisiana.

Bartz gives a lot of credit for his success to lessons he learned from his late father, Bob Bartz, who was president of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce for 35 years. Bartz says the chamber holds a special place in his heart, and it’s been an emotional but rewarding experience to be part of the chamber’s board while they’ve transitioned to new leadership.

Jason Bartz says his father taught him the importance of being a people person. “You can have a Harvard degree, but if you don’t know how to interact with people, you won’t be successful,” Bartz says. Especially in construction and real estate management, where you’re selling services and not a physical product, Bartz says, people “want to work with you because of who you are.”