Photo Credit: Jock Fistick / South Florida Business Journal
In November 2024, GL Homes President Misha Ezratti will be honored as a South Florida Business Journal Ultimate CEO. Misha Ezratti’s leadership embodies teamwork, integrity, honesty and hard work.
Under his guidance, GL Homes has flourished, building thousands of homes across the state and planning thousands more.
Misha Ezratti grew up the son and grandson of the founders of one of Florida’s most successful homebuilders, GL Homes. However, he originally intended to work in New York after earning his bachelor’s degree in finance at Boston University, not the family business.
Then, during his senior year, Sept. 11 happened.
“I really didn’t want to go to the city after that,” he said.
So, he went home, joining GL Homes in 2002 as a construction superintendent. Fourteen years later, he was named president, with his father, Itzhak, as chairman. The company has built thousands of homes statewide and is planning thousands more.
On leadership … My challenge is always imparting the knowledge of all of the top executives who I grew up with down to the next generation in our organization. I’m one of the youngest executives in the company. The team was built over the last 30 years. As people retire over the next five years, we’re trying to make sure the next generation understands our values, roots and history.
On defining success … It’s about our people and how we’ve recruited some of the best people in the industry by working together and feeding off each other. We’ve had experts come on board in legal, accounting and land, and they’re doing other roles in the company. That’s the biggest success: Taking someone who’s in one specialty and giving them the skill sets that translate across multiple departments. Turning them into triple threats. Our people are the key.
On the impacts of mentorship … It’s big. My father is my biggest mentor. He’s a visionary and true entrepreneur. The company I joined was not the company he started. He had to personally sign and risk our house and his well-being. He and a team of 14 or 20 who he developed have mentored me and made sure I was getting ready to take over as the leader in 2016. You had to have the old and new guard interact as much as possible, so we understand what we struggled with as a growing company to get where we are.
On what inspires him … Not resting on our laurels and being a pioneer as much as we can as a volume builder. To do something that’s unique and architecturally significant for one house is achievable. But to do it across hundreds or thousands of houses over the course of years is difficult. Traveling around the world leads to inspiration. And we’re lucky to have a team who can turn that into something incredible.
On the future of GL Homes … The key for us is land. That’s the future. That’s where growth is for us, the right land close to infrastructure. GL has been a tremendous success with the right land and philosophy about how our people can succeed, and where I can foster the growth of our organization like my predecessors did.
On industry innovation … You hear many things about innovation in the construction business, like people wanting to do 3D printing of houses or other trends. In architecture, you want to be innovative in the architectural style or design or add the latest amenities. But on methods of construction, we don’t want to be pioneers. We’d rather watch someone try something new, and we deliver houses we know are high quality.
On values … Our motto is to do the right thing, with a mindset of honesty, integrity, hard work and loyalty. They’re not just words. Those are our core principles. We don’t try to cut corners or try to hide any facts. If you do, it will come back to bite you in the end.