David Gordon, 37

David Gordon knows he has big shoes to fill in taking over the role of president of Kurtz Homes Naples from his father-in-law, Randy Kurtz. But while he’s charting his own path at the Southwest Florida custom homebuilder, he’s also carrying on the legacy of his most significant career mentor.

“It’s always been about treating the client right, putting their needs and their desires above ours as a company and making sure we’re doing things the right way for the right reason,” says Gordon. “I always think back to the way Randy treated clients to make sure they feel heard and have confidence we’re doing the right thing in the right way. Integrity with clients is the first lesson from day one that I learned from Randy.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Another key takeaway? The importance of teamwork. “Randy was the first one to give our team the credit for anything we really accomplished,” says Gordon. “As I’ve moved into this role, I’ve seen how true that is. There is one of me, one of Randy, but a whole team beside us doing the work with us.”

Gordon appreciates working on projects with clients that lead to long-term relationships. The self-proclaimed “building science nerd” also gets excited about the nuts and bolts of the process, things like waterproofing and heat loads. “My best days are the days that I’m out in the field looking at active construction sites and working through next steps and best resources to fix unknowns on the job site,” he says.

He tries to carry on the joyful spirit Randy always brought to the workplace. “Randy bringing that lightness and change of pace and witty responses made the days go a little better,” says Gordon. “Work will get you down real quick if you let it.”

Gordon’s wife and sister-in-law are also involved in the business, and he’s grateful they’re a “drama free” family. “No one has a big chip on their shoulder,” he says. “No one feels like they’re above the other person, and that really helps us all work together…It’s not an expectation of ‘what can you do for me?’ We all come at it together as ‘what can we do for the company and for each other?’”

And four decades of homebuilding is hopefully just the beginning for Kurtz Homes Naples, founded by Randy and his father, Ron. Gordon would love to be able to hand the company off to his own kids one day (or any kids his sister-in-law might have). “I’m not just here for the short term,” he says. “This is something I want to be doing until I retire. It’s a unique opportunity to be three generations in at this point and looking to the fourth generation.”