Fourteen years after helping F. James McGuire launch his real estate development firm, James Dentinger is taking his first steps back as part of a planned management transition designed to raise a new generation of leadership.
McGuire Development Co. will announce Wednesday morning that Dentinger, a 35-year veteran of the commercial real estate industry, will step down as president of the firm, taking on a new advisory role as director of asset management.
In his place, the firm has appointed Danielle Eisen Shainbrown and David Von Derau Jr. as co-presidents. Shainbrown, currently the firm’s executive vice president and general counsel, will also be chief business officer, while Von Derau, previously chief administrative officer, will become chief operating officer.
“Jim McGuire and I see tremendous talent and dedication in Dave and Danielle and the particular chemistry in how their skills complement each other,” Dentinger said. “Our role as the founders and leaders of the company is to give them the room and resources to grow.”
Founded in 2006, the family-owned company is still led by McGuire as CEO, along with Jackie McGuire Gurney. It’s a subsidiary of nursing home company McGuire Group.
“Jim Dentinger remains an active partner in our building ventures as he transitions into McGuire’s director of asset management,” McGuire said in a statement. “Dentinger is involved in our community, in many charitable causes and non-real estate businesses. This transition in leadership positions the company for future growth for the next generation and allows the founders the opportunity to balance their personal time and other business interests.”
Dentinger is already an investment partner with the McGuire family in many of the firm’s projects, and said he plans to remain involved in the company in a consulting and support role.
“I see myself as a long-term team member on the outside, helping McGuire continue their growth model with the younger experienced team members that we have,” he said in an interview. “We just developed such a good team here, and they’re more than capable of handling the day-to-day.”
At the same time, the 58-year-old executive says he’s not retiring, but wants to try his hand at other opportunities that don’t interfere or compete with McGuire. “I’ve got a few years to do something fun,” he said. “It’s a nice orchestrated transition. I get to tinker in real estate, but help grow other things.”
Shainbrown, 40, joined the firm in 2011, and is experienced in real estate transactions, project management, risk management and business efficiencies. She also led the company’s ownership representation and consultation practices for the past nine years.
Von Derau, 49, joined the same year as Shainbrown, and has led McGuire’s facilities and asset management divisions, where he and his team oversee more than $340 million in Class A office, medical office, educational, warehouse, industrial, commercial, residential and long-term care space. He is a 30-year veteran of operations and construction, including residential, commercial, heavy highway and complex healthcare projects.
Published by The Buffalo News
