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Management Team
Beau Engman
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Engman has a strong track record in the industry focusing on key operational, financial,
and sales roles, with emphasis on entrepreneurial start-up companies and turnarounds. In this
capacity, he has been instrumental in developing corporate restructuring plans, creating product
and marketing strategies and positioning companies for divestiture. Mr. Engman has been with
BuildTopia as the Chief Executive Officer since 2003, bringing over 12 years of experience
managing software companies. During his tenure, the point solution modules and philosophy
were introduced, the business model was evolved to a subscription model and revenues have
grown 10X. Mr. Engman focuses on strategic initiatives for the Company, lends support to
sales and revenue opportunities, and manages selected large, strategic accounts. BuildTopia
represents Mr. Engman’s third software company in the homebuilding industry – a record which
is unmatched by any other executive in the construction management software industry.
Mr. Engman founded Engman Software, a company that provided enterprise solutions for truck
equipment manufacturing and direct marketing distribution companies. Mr. Engman also founded
HomeWrite, Inc., a venture backed Software Company, serving the homebuilding and home service
industries. At HomeWrite, Mr. Engman recruited a CEO from one of the top 5-homebuilding
companies in the US, which was a critical factor in negotiating an acquisition. Homestore
(MOVE) acquired the Company in 2001 at a significant cash profit for every investor.
At Homestore, Mr. Engman managed software operations for the homebuilding industry, including
Computers for Tracts, which at the time was the most widely used software CRM solution in
the Homebuilding Industry. Additionally during his tenure at Homestore, Mr. Engman acted as
project lead for the reorganization of the entire company with 2400 employees. Mr. Engman
is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Isaac Heimbinder
Chairman of the Board
Isaac Heimbinder has been an innovative leader in the housing industry for over 30 years.
Most recently he was honored by Builder magazine as one of the One Hundred Most Influential
People in America’s Housing Industry in the Twentieth Century. From 1972 until May 2000
Heimbinder worked for US Home Corporation, ultimately as president and Co-Chief Executive
Officer, one of the largest builders in the United States. Under Heimbinder’s leadership,
U.S. Home was the first builder to introduce value engineered, personalized homes at affordable
prices for first time buyers as well as move up and retirement buyers. The old concept of
build and sell was replaced with a building process initiated by individual home buyer
choices including the lot, plan, and elevation as well as the interior design. In
support of this innovative approach Heimbinder created the first national purchasing
program and introduced design centers for every U.S. Home buyer. During his presidency,
U.S. Home fulfilled the American dream of home ownership for more than 100,000 families
in 35 metropolitan areas in 11 states.
Mr. Heimbinder was recognized as Builder of the Year in 1995 by Professional Builder magazine.
Heimbinder was honored by Builder magazine for his contributions leading to innovative changes
in the mortgage lending industry. Heimbinder’s company was the first builder to issue mortgage
securities under its own name. Well known for his financial savvy, Heimbinder radically
changed financing for homebuilders with his innovative financing concepts, including
unsecured public financing, mortgage backed bonds and an unsecured bank agreement and
Euro dollar based facility.
After U.S. Home’s acquisition in 2000, Mr. Heimbinder joined an Internet startup company,
HomeWrite, as their Chairman and CEO. HomeWrite was founded by Beau Engman, BuildTopia’s
current Chief Executive Officer. His orchestration of the development of this Web-based
home management system for builders, realtors and other companies interested in maintaining
a strong relationship with homeowners made it the undisputed leader in the field and was sold
in 2001 to Homestore.com (MOVE). From 2001 until September 2006, Mr. Heimbinder served as
Vice Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer of Kimball Hill Homes, one of the
nation’s largest privately held home builder and among the top 25 homebuilders in the
nation. Mr. Heimbinder presently serves as a Trustee of the National Housing Endowment,
the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Homebuilders.
A graduate of New York University Law School with a Jurist Doctor degree (cum laude) and a
BS degree in accounting from American University, Heimbinder is a member of the New York,
Florida and Texas state bars. He was an Editor of the NYU Law Review, a member of the
Order of the Coif, and received NYU’s Founders Day Award for Outstanding Scholarship.
Heimbinder served as a law clerk to Judge Kenneth B. Keating on the New York State Court
of Appeals, New York’s highest court, following law school.
John Brodrick
VP of Operations
Mr. Brodrick brings over 11 years of professional experience in high technology companies
working with corporate and non-profit clients. He has extensive experience with the
implementation and development of customer relationship management software. Mr. Brodrick is
responsible for executing the strategic direction of the BuildTopia product development plan.
He also manages product development and customer support.
Prior to joining BuildTopia, Mr. Brodrick worked for Siebel Systems as a Senior Consultant
managing CRM implementation teams. Prior to Siebel, he was the technical director for AVECTRA,
an Association CRM provider, where he oversaw the development and technical implementation of
the products. Mr. Brodrick is a graduate of University College, University of Maryland with a
Master of Science in Computer Science, emphasis in application development. In addition he
holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and is a Seibel-certified consultant.
Michael Bellerose
Director of Product Development
Mr. Bellerose has been working with BuildTopia since 2004 beginning as a developer and
ultimately promoted to the Director of Product Development managing all of BuildTopia‘s
product development activities as well as the customer support team.
During his tenure at BuildTopia, Mr. Bellerose has been awarded the most outstanding
Contribution Award as well as the Leadership Award voted by all the employees of the company.
In terms of software development, Mr. Bellerose has lead the development efforts of BuildTopia‘s
most successful development initiatives, including BuildTopia‘s On Demand Reporting, House Plan
Management, Scheduling, Document Management, Bidding & Contracting, and most recently BuildTopia‘s
new purchasing module.
Mr. Bellerose graduated from the University of Maryland with degrees in Computer Science and
Mathematics.
Wendi Pannell
Director of BT Learning Center
Ms. Pannell brings over 10 years of professional experience in the technology field working
with corporate, non-profit, and government organizations. She has extensive experience with
project management initiatives, software specification development, and software product
implementation and training. Ms. Pannell manages the BTLearningCenter providing educational
services to both BT customers and employees. The BTLC provides learning tools in the form
of online curriculum, product documentation and demonstration materials as well as employee
orientation and our internal knowledge management system.
Prior to joining BuildTopia, Ms. Pannell worked as a Systems Analyst leading software
development efforts for Information Concepts. As a consultant with Hewlett Packard, she led
project management initiatives to successfully implement accounts across a diverse customer
base. She is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Erik Cofield
National Accounts Manager
Mr. Cofield has been in the housing industry for 7 years. His 24 year career has afforded him
the opportunity to provide business value as a Chief Operations Officer, Business Reengineer,
and Business Process Consultant. He is a proven self-starter with ability to analyze problems,
implement and manage solutions, people and programs, as well as build relationships.
Erik Cofield, CGA has leveraged technology and provided business management consulting for all
sizes and types of builders, developers and Remodelers since 2000, including volume, multi-family
and custom, to help them improve their business. As a long time advocate for education and
professionalism in the residential construction industry, he managed the education program for
the Greater Houston Builders Association for 2 years and holds the CGA (Certified Graduate
Associate) designation from the National Association of Homebuilders.
