Get to know Todd A. Zehner, Chief Administrative Officer, and Chief Financial Officer for MasterCraft Builder Group since July 2019. Armed with a Master of Business Administration and decades of experience in senior executive roles for national resort residential developers and their operating entities, Todd plays a key leadership role at MasterCraft, ensuring that all aspects of the home-building process are a streamlined success. When he’s not busy at work, Todd enjoys spending time with his wife, Katy, daughter, Carson, and son, Cade, and traveling and visiting National Parks. Learn more about Todd and his role with us at MasterCraft Builder Group!
EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT YOUR DAY-TO-DAY AND LONG-RANGING STRATEGIC RESPONSIBILITIES ARE AS THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.
Day-to-day, my role is to support our core business of building homes. That includes working with all components of our MasterCraft team, from our purchasing team being sure our sub-contracting partners are paid on a timely basis to our sales team supporting our buyers on the financial side from contract to close and our building team supporting them to make sure they have all the financial resources available to build our homes as efficiently as possible. Long-ranging and strategically, my role is to support the management team by providing the data needed to manage the day-to-day operations and the projections and forecasting necessary to plan for the future.
WHERE WERE YOU RAISED?
I moved to Jacksonville when I was three, as my dad was in the U.S. Navy and was stationed at NAS Jacksonville. Since then, I have lived in Jacksonville, except when I attended college at the University of Florida.
TELL ME HOW YOUR EDUCATION, A BA FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA AND A MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FROM UNF, HELPED PREPARE YOU FOR YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT MASTERCRAFT BUILDER GROUP.
The Masters of Business Administration program at the University of North Florida gave me an excellent foundation to understand the many facets of operating a business and managing people.
WHILE YOU WERE WORKING TOWARD YOUR MASTER’S DEGREE, YOU GAINED VALUABLE DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE AS A CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTANT WORKING ON VARIOUS TYPES OF PROJECTS IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA. TELL ME ABOUT THOSE EXPERIENCES.
Throughout undergrad and graduate school, I worked for a small engineering firm, CGS Consulting Engineers, in Clay County for Gordon Smith, currently the Utility Engineering Manager for the St. Johns County Utility Department. Gordan was the ideal mentor who gave me great experience and excellent education in the land development industry.
Starting as a draftsman and eventually working my way into a Project Manager role, this experience exposed me to land planning and the development process for residential and commercial real estate.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT WORKING FOR MASTERCRAFT BUILDER GROUP?
Working at a place where you are proud of the product they provide and a place with a higher calling is important for me to get up and be passionate about going to work. MasterCraft is a company that offers both. MasterCraft’s commitment to Craftsmanship and Choice allows us to build homes for families we can be proud to call a MasterCraft home. In addition, the company’s commitment to the community and local charities led by Chris Shee provides me the comfort in knowing it’s not always about the bottom line but about providing for others in need. Furthermore, I get to do this daily with a wonderful group of people who feel more like family than coworkers.
WHEN YOU’RE NOT AT WORK, WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING?
Golf is a huge passion of mine. I try and play at least once a week, which provides a great opportunity to be with friends and relax. Over the last twenty years, golf has also allowed me to visit many places and experience some of the best golf courses in the world. In addition to golf, traveling with my wife and two kids collectively and individually has provided some of the most incredible life experiences. At this point, I have been fortunate enough to visit 49 of the 50 states and four of the seven continents worldwide.
WHERE DO YOU THINK MCBG WILL BE IN FIVE YEARS? IN 10 YEARS?
For the last 11 years, MasterCraft has been on an incredible path to becoming the best home builder in Northeast Florida and growing the business to build over 100 homes a year in the best communities in St. Johns County. I don’t see this trend changing. More importantly, this great success has provided a bigger platform to make an impact on the greater community and those in need. I believe this is the biggest opportunity MasterCraft has over the next five to ten years.
