Effective leadership builds great culture (and we have both!)

Effective leadership builds great culture (and we have both!)

A strong culture is developed when your leadership cultivates positive connections with your team and your community. Oppidan excels at this. From inception, our CEO Joe Ryan has prioritized community engagement and a “work hard, play hard” culture. More than 30 years later, we continue to receive accolades for our work ethic, business acumen and community involvement.

Our Oppidan team has a lot to celebrate after racking up three major business and industry awards:

GlobeSt. Best Bosses Award: Joe Ryan

This annual award highlights one-of-a-kind leaders across the country who have had an indelible impact on their companies and the commercial real estate industry, despite navigating the unprecedented events of the last two years.

Joe is the epitome of a “Best Boss.” We described him as a servant leader with an infectious laugh who leads with humility and transparency. He believes loyalty goes both ways in an organization, and he showcases this every day with his team. Joe ensures our growing team, located in three offices throughout the country, is driven by our core values, such as community, accountability and respect. There’s a sense of urgency among the team, thanks to Joe. Because of his leadership, there’s a relentless obsession with customer value and respect, and he motivates us to work toward excellence. Our goal is to be best-in-class, and Joe is the perfect leader to guide us there.

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Most Admired CEO: Joe Ryan

This annual award recognizes top Twin Cities-based CEOs based on their professional accomplishments, outstanding leadership and community involvement. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal recognizes that these top leaders have faced the challenges of a global pandemic, supply-chain woes, labor shortages and more. But their work doesn’t stop when the day is done. These “most admired CEO” are also leaders in their industries and communities through board service and volunteerism.

Joe Ryan, once again, stands tall among his peers as one of the “most admired CEOs.” Joe founded Oppidan with the personal philosophy of always “delivering value.” This philosophy has been the key to his success in transforming Oppidan into a national real estate development leader, and one that has made its mark in all facets of the commercial development industry, from development and construction to project management.

Joe transforms the communities in which he builds and makes it a priority to give back to the community. One example of this is the Pillars Fund. Joe created the Pillar’s Fund, which is used for memory care programming to enrich the lives of the memory care residents who reside in Oppidan-built senior living communities. To-date, Oppidan has invested $500,000 in the Pillars Fund. Joe is showcasing his extreme passion for helping others and he’s doing what many developers don’t – invest significant amounts of money and resources into the communities they build even after the building is completed.

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Best Places to Work: Oppidan

This annual award recognizes organizations in the Twin Cities region that have created engaging, inclusive workplaces, which are a “must have” in today’s tight labor market. This award is unique in that it isn’t decided by outside judges. Instead, the Best Places to Work are determined by comments and rankings from employees. That’s why we’re honored to be on the list of “Best Places to Work” for the third consecutive year.

At its core, Oppidan is a family business and multiple family members work at Oppidan. In fact, Oppidan was one of the Twin Cities Business Family Business of the Year award winners in 2020. But at Oppidan, all employees are treated as though they are part of the family. This means leadership is always available for advice, counsel, and friendship. Our team is fiercely loyal and we care more about the personal side of the employee rather than the employee’s work production.

Oppidan is a philanthropic leader in the community, donating $200,000 to community initiatives in the past year alone. “Oppidan” is the Latin word for “investing in your city,” which is why Oppidan encourages its employees to give their time and treasure to community organizations. This includes building homes for Habitat for Humanity, fall yard clean-up for Southeast Seniors or creating a top-earning team for the Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics.

The culture of an organization is paramount to its success, and at Oppidan, we’ve created a culture in which our team thrives.Oppidan isn’t a real estate developer. Instead, we are an award-winning team that builds towns where residents can create a loving community. We come together to create value inside and outside of our organization, allowing all to thrive.