David Behnke
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Within the last 15 years of David Behnke’s direction, Founders 3 has branched into industries such as Healthcare Real Estate Management, Aviation Management and Marina Management. Officially recognized by the Institute of Real Estate Management, Founders 3 has earned the industry’s most prestigious award: designation as Accredited Management Organization.
Mr. Behnke graduated with a degree in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career as an auditor with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Company, the forerunner of accounting giant KPMG. He developed his Real Estate philosophy among global leaders of the industry, including JMB, Jones Lang LaSalle, Jacobs Brothers Group and COMPASS Management & Leasing.
At Jacobs Brothers, he had an integral role as part of the development team. He was a consultant on design and operations management of the Key Corp. Building in Cleveland, Ohio – a multi-faceted project, which featured a 63-story and 1.3 million-square foot office tower, a 454-room hotel, an historic 10-story bank building, a 909-car parking garage, and a city park. At COMPASS, he managed a number of premier high-rise office towers in Chicago, Illinois. These include the 1 million-square foot Madison Plaza, the 900,000-square foot tower at 333 Wacker Drive, the 750,000-square foot tower at 401 North Michigan Avenue, as well as the 1.1 million-square foot U.S. Bank Building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Mr. Behnke has sat on boards for the Boy Scouts of America, the Catholic Archdiocese, the Building Owners and Managers Association and the University Club of Milwaukee.