In 1972, Martin’s father, Michael Howard, started a small construction business out of his garage after teaching himself the trade and obtaining his contractor’s license. Martin grew up working “in the trades” surrounded by the business he learned by being hands-on while working side by side with his father on the weekends and after school.

Following his graduation from Whittier College, Martin competed in the United States and Europe as a member of the US National Cycling Team. In 1988, he returned to his roots, continuing with the family business and working in the field seven days a week.

Now, with close to 40 years of experience in the industry, Martin has grown the small, family business his father began into a successful, multimillion-dollar company with over 45 full-time employees. Over the years, he has been involved in many successfully completed commercial, industrial, hospitality, medical and mixed-use developments. The company’s more prominent achievements in construction include the Laemmle Theatres, Orange County School of the Arts, Otium Restaurant and SteelCraft. In the realm of development management, notable projects consist of The Pike at Rainbow Harbor, City Place in Long Beach and The District in Tustin.

Martin is still very much involved in cycling and in the Long Beach community, where he, his wife Cynthia and their three children make their home. He is a founder and active member of BIKEable Communities, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to champion bicycling as a viable, safe form of transportation in order to create better places to live, work and ride. He has also played a major role in the revitalization of a mile-long commercial corridor along Long Beach Boulevard in Bixby Knolls.

Martin still rides six to seven days a week, clocking in 8,000-10,000 miles a year on his bike. In addition to cycling, he enjoys golfing, skiing, spending time with Cynthia and keeping up with their three children.

Q&A

What inspires you?

A self-made person. Someone who can take an idea and successfully execute it. A hard worker who creates opportunities.

What makes a good day?

Any type of success—whether you rode hard that day, completed all the tasks on your list, or inspired someone else. If you made a difference, it was a good day.

What is your proudest achievement?

First and foremost it’s my relationship with my wife and our three children. I’m also very proud of developing a successful business that continues to grow.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

President, BIKEable Communities

Co-Vice Chair Property Development, Foundation Board, Orange County School of the Arts

Vice President of Property & Facilities, California School of the Arts—San Gabriel Valley

Member, Board of Directors, St. John Bosco High School

Member, Board of Trustees, St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation

Member, International Council of Shopping Centers

Licensed California & Nevada State Contractor

EDUCATION

Whittier College, BA – Liberal Arts

Steve heads Howard CDM’s development services department, providing entitlement, financing and development and construction consultation on various projects. His diverse experience includes the construction of:

• High- and mid-rise office buildings
• Mixed-use residential/retail projects
• Regional and neighborhood shopping centers
• Restaurants
• Industrial buildings
• Parking structures
• Mega-plex theatres
• Hotels

Many of these projects involved public/private partnerships in their development. In addition, Steve has also coordinated and built over 5 million SF of tenant improvement space.

The development services team is currently performing development management services for Arclight Theatres, a continuous client since 1999, nationwide. They are also working with Seritage Realty Trust to convert several Sears stores into multi-tenant retail stores. In addition to the Sears store reconfigurations, they are investigating the conversion of multiple Sears Auto Centers into multi-tenant retail buildings.

EDUCATION AND LICENSES

University of California Irvine, Certificate – Commercial & Industrial Development Management

California State University Long Beach, BS – Business Administration option in Real Estate Finance

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS/ACTIVITIES

Member, International Council of Shopping Centers

Since joining Howard CDM over 20 years ago, William has helped grow the organization’s financial maturity by upgrading and implementing more sophisticated accounting software, by reforming and evolving policy and procedure and by initiating an annual CPA review of the company’s financials.

William views the role of the accounting/finance department at Howard CDM as needing to exercise cautious and conservative policies as a steward not only of Howard CDM’s capital, but also that of our clients. This is why his department adheres focus to getting timely payments from clients and turning them around quickly to subcontractors, while strictly enforcing insurance, licensing and lien law compliance with each of them.

EDUCATION AND LICENSES

University of California, Los Angeles – Economics

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS/ACTIVITIES

Board Member and Treasurer, Bixby Knolls Business Improvement

Association Member and Candidate, Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Alumni, Leadership Long Beach, Class of 2007

Treasurer, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church