Grow With Weitz: The Road from Operations Intern to General Manager and Understanding the Importance of Relationships Along the Way
“You’ve got to go out and build and cultivate relationships.”
That’s the key piece of advice Michael Thomas, General Manager for The Weitz Company’s Florida Commercial unit, passes along to his colleagues, and he has the experience to back it up. During his nearly 25 years with Weitz, Thomas’ dedication to relationship building has helped propel his career while attracting new and continued business across Florida.
Thomas knew from an early age that he wanted to build a career in construction. Following in his father’s footsteps into the industry, he studied building construction at the University of Florida. During his final year at school, Thomas started at Weitz as an intern. After completing school, his internship led to a full-time position as a project engineer working on large, commercial projects.
Thomas gained experience building everything from hospitals to luxury resorts to private golf clubs. He was integral to the construction of the five-story, 144,000-square-foot Palm Beach Neiman Marcus and the continued expansions and upgrades at the historic Breakers luxury resort.
Thomas credits his experience in operations roles as critical to his professional growth and instrumental to his success in business development over recent years. His operations experience allows him to build lasting relationships with clients by understanding their project goals and exceeding them. Even as he has transitioned to his new role as General Manager, Thomas insists there is an element of business development in every facet of the company.
“Growing the business is a huge piece of what we do,” Thomas said.
For Thomas, growing with Weitz has meant utilizing his knack for relationship-building and taking advantage of opportunities when they are presented. He built a network in Florida and a reputation for delivering products that exemplified the high standards of The Weitz Company. He now encourages the next generation to look to the construction industry as an opportunity for professional development.
I tell people, whether you want to be an estimator, you want to do preconstruction, you want to be in operations, you can choose any path that you want.
Michael Thomas, General Manager – Florida, The Weitz Company
As Thomas takes the helm of Weitz’s Florida Commercial unit, he finds himself often looking back and pulling from his experience over the last two decades as the unit continues to succeed. His path has run from intern to General Manager, from operations to leadership. Michael Thomas is a shining example of just how many opportunities there are to grow with Weitz.
The Grow with Weitz campaign spotlights talented employees that have grown professionally in ways they wouldn’t have imagined while at The Weitz Company. These profiles illustrate our team’s commitment to growing from within and investing in our people at every stage. Interested in Growing with Weitz? Learn more at: https://www.weitz.com/careers/.
