Melissa Cantrell With CDH Partners

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:23] Welcome to this very special edition of Cherokee Business Radio Stone Payton here with you this morning and today’s episode is brought to you in part by Bagshot shot video and photography. Of course, they specialize in real estate and architectural video and photography. Reach out to talk with Randall Beck at info at Bagshot or give him a call at five one six five zero nine six nine four three and tell them Stone since you, you guys are in for a real treat this morning. It’s our first broadcast of 2022. It’s our special design series and we have with US President and CEO of CDH Partners Miss Melissa Cantrell. How are you?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:01:06] I am great. Thanks for having me here, Stone.

Stone Payton: [00:01:09] Well, it’s absolutely my pleasure. And of course, we owe a debt of gratitude to Courtney Shand. Is that the right best saying that right chantry? All right. We owe a debt of gratitude to Courtney because she’s the one that coordinated this thing and put this thing together. But I’m looking forward to this for weeks. You’re the president and CEO of Seed Partners. Tell us a little bit of mission purpose. What are you out there trying to do for folks?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:01:33] Yeah, absolutely. So we are an architecture and interior design firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. We specialize in health, health care facilities, education worship and then also live work, which is corporate and some light industrial projects. We were established in 77

Stone Payton: [00:01:54] And we were five.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:01:55] Well, thank you. I was three

Stone Payton: [00:02:00] Seconds ago, you did good,

Melissa Cantrell: [00:02:05] But over the years have just allow the company to grow and mature. We have a great legacy that we carry with us and looking forward to a tremendous future.

Stone Payton: [00:02:15] So how does one find themselves in the position of president and CEO of a firm like this? Tell us a little bit about the backstory in the path.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:02:24] Sure. Well, for me, I became an architect because of a long history there. The family legend has it that we’re related to Buckminster Fuller, and I don’t know who who all out there knows who Buckminster Fuller is, but he developed the geodesic dome. So I grew up as a young child hearing about Buckminster Fuller and these amazing structures that he created. But I also had a tremendous influence from my mother. So not only is architecture and engineering in my blood, but my mother was a residential builder. During the the 80s, which was really unusual at that point in time to have a woman, a woman in construction, much less to own her own construction company. So I grew up on the job site, stepped on many nails over the years, so I carry my scars with me. But that’s really what allowed me to develop my love for the built environment. So growing into that, knowing that from a young age, I wanted to be an architect because I knew construction wasn’t for me.

Stone Payton: [00:03:32] That’s the value of experience like that. I knew I didn’t want to be a school teacher. I didn’t know what I was going to be, but I was going to be a basketball coach or a school team. There you

Melissa Cantrell: [00:03:39] Go. But really, knowing that I wanted to make an impact and architecture was a way for me to do that. So I went to Georgia Tech, grew through the program there, graduated and I was looking for a company that was going to allow me to fulfill my ambition and my desire to make that impact in our society and our communities. Talk to many firms, but seed age really encompassed everything that I was looking for. The the company itself was very family oriented. All the market sectors are ones in which we touch human lives. We impact them health care. We we, you know, heal the body worship, we heal the mind and spirit. And then in education, we really begin to develop the young souls that are going to really drive our society’s moving forward. And then even within our corporate environments, I mean, think about everything that you’re experiencing in the studio today. The acoustics, the lighting, everything impacts the way you thrive in your environment, in your business. So that really spoke to me. So developing within the company as a young intern, watching the ups and the downs and the ebbs and flows of the market and our communities really just began to build in me, and I began to take on more leadership roles within the company.

Stone Payton: [00:05:10] And voila, here you are. Here I am. So we do some work and you may be aware of this. We do at DC Radio. We haven’t been down there in a while with all the COVID craziness and all that we’ve. On some virtual stuff, we’ve continued to do that, but with their accelerator programs, we’ve got a few folks in that in that Georgia Tech, where what is it about Georgia Tech that is that produces such marvelous, successful, not just talent, but it seems like the people that I’ve had the good fortune of, of getting to know over the years that come from that ecosystem. They just they’re very invested in the community and the business community, the community at large, the most, they’re all. Everyone I’ve met is very successful, but they’re they’re very committed to this. This impact you speak of, aren’t they?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:05:58] We really are. And I say we because I do feel that the College of Architecture, specifically with the influence and emphasis on social impact, but across the board, I mean, we’re we’re trained, we’re taught the technical nuances of our specialties, but we’re also taught that everything we do has that impact and we’re taught different ways to contribute to our communities, whether that’s in our businesses, within political aspirations or even within the social giving that we’re we’re trained to participate in.

Stone Payton: [00:06:36] So what do you like the most? Well, let me back up, what did you like most about the I don’t even know what to call it, the rank and file work of being an architect, I guess. And then what do you like most about what you’re doing now?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:06:47] Yeah, absolutely. What did I like most about the rank and file would probably be touching those individuals working with our clients to to really establish what is their vision for what they look for at the end of the project. So they come to us with ideas. They don’t know really how what that looks like and to be able to take those thoughts and the aspirations that they have for those spaces and carve and shape it into something that really begins to establish their work environments or their their learning environments, their worship environments for the next 50 years. And then to see them the day that that facility opens, especially the students, the kids, when the doors open and they flood the space and just the oohs and ahs and the tears and the joy that they feel, especially in disadvantaged areas where schools are their safe place or worship facilities are their home, or even where the health care facilities really heal not just their bodies, but their families is just so impactful. And that is what brings me to work every day. It’s what drives me to do more and to do better. And then for me and my role today, it’s seeing that not just with any one particular market sector. My focus, my specialty is education. But to see as as the CEO and president to have that influence over all of our market sectors is really impactful. And to to be able to develop the leaders within our firm and the leaders in our communities is really soul fulfilling

Stone Payton: [00:08:42] The skill sets. This happens to me a lot. I get surprised more than I should, but I’m always surprised that people who have extreme technical competence and whatever their craft is. And then I find that that is there’s so much more that is required to that has brought them to where they are. I’ve seen that in other domains, people who who manage wealth, people who help you organize businesses, and it’s it’s occurring to me. I have to confess, I didn’t think of it that in your line of work. Yes, there’s the technical competence because there must be a thousand and one things that you should take into consideration if you’re trying to create an environment that’s conducive to educating a child. But there’s also this whole other side of things that you’re talking about to bring whomever’s vision to the to the for the first, well, maybe do individuals often possess both? Or is it a matter of finding individuals that possess one or the other and putting them together?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:09:44] So what we look for in our talent is those individuals who have those technical competencies, which I’ll be honest with you, that’s a given for

Stone Payton: [00:09:55] First like table stakes, its table

Melissa Cantrell: [00:09:57] Scale. It really

Stone Payton: [00:09:58] Is. You’ve got to have that

Melissa Cantrell: [00:09:59] Right, right? But when we look for employees, whether they’re in the production realm, where they’re going to be working with our clients or even in our operational aspects like Courtney here, we’re looking for individuals that seek a higher purpose where what we do means more than just. Creating a building because we have people we do have the the more technically geared individuals where. That is their love and their passion, and we need them, right? But the the individuals that are really going to take our firm and our buildings, our projects and our clients to that next level are those individuals that have that passion and that desire to to make an impact, to bring a building to a higher level and to provide spaces that are really going to drive success for our clients.

Stone Payton: [00:10:55] So the recruiting and development for you is critical. I mean, recruiting people that fit that fit those characteristics and then keeping them engaged motivated. But I mean, this is this is part of your job.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:11:11] It is. It is. And that’s been a huge part of the last few years for us. So I became president in 2019 and we went through a series of changes, not to mention this pandemic that we live in, that really actually in many ways escalated or expedited what my vision for the company was moving forward, allowing us to have a hybrid work environment, allowing us to provide more transparency to keep our employees engaged, which was admittedly relatively difficult in the pandemic. But we were one of the first in the industry to bring our employees back in a safe working environment a couple of days a week while allowing them to work in a hybrid environment outside of that. And we’ve continued that, but we’ve also brought back different opportunities within our organizational structure to to drive that engagement and to keep them involved and motivated and together.

Stone Payton: [00:12:12] So am I just being old fashioned, uninformed or is my instinct right? Is it still at this point, a little unusual to have a female in a position of this high leadership in this arena, this architectural?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:12:27] It really is. So there’s only 50 percent of the graduates from architectural programs are women. Only 20 percent of those are licensed professionals, and only 17 percent of our industry are actually executives or principals in leadership positions in architecture. It is a very unusual situation to have a female in a leadership position. But I do believe that that actually allows us to position ourselves even better with our clients and within the industry. Not because I’m a woman, not because of any, you know, the WB, although that does allow us some some opportunities within the federal arena. But really, because I think as women, we manage differently, we we try to be more engaged, we’re more connected. And for myself, it really allows me to connect with my employees a bit better and with the team. I try not to look at it as a hierarchy, but more as a unified approach. We do have a leadership team which actually is more than 50 percent women and where more than 50 percent women owned as well across our shareholder. So we’re we’re very proud of that fact. Our clients like that. It connects with them as well and allows us to provide more diversity within our approach.

Stone Payton: [00:13:59] As you were speaking, I was thinking Business RadioX the brains of the outfit. Holly Peyton, my wife, Abby Cantor, my business partners. Why we need to formalize that, probably because we’re like 100 percent as far as brain work run by. There you go. And I do the fun stuff, right? We come into the studio and chat with you guys and that kind of thing, or go out and do these conferences and trade shows and stuff. But make no mistake about it is if there’s anything you like about the Business RadioX network, you can thank our Abby and Holly. So, so you spoke to about change a few moments ago. Tell us a little bit more about what have you learned or discovered or has surprised you about managing an organization through changes like that?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:14:45] Wow, that’s a loaded question. When I when I took the position in July of nineteen, I had no idea what I was in for. You know, the pandemic aside, just the leadership of the the firm itself, looking at how we as architects because we are a creative group, which also means that we are also a bit more emotional and emotionally engaged than than other industries might be very. As I mentioned, very passionate about what we do and the company itself. The way we’re structured within the market sectors, somewhat siloed us, and over the last two years, I’ve taken a tremendous, tremendous focus on de siloing of pulling our leadership team together, pulling our studios together and creating opportunities for each of them to have their own identity as subject matter experts. But for all of us to also learn from the synergies of this market sectors and allow that subject matter expertize to flow into other arenas, for instance, looking at how our worship centers are structured for children’s ministries and using some of what we’ve learned from the higher education or the K-12 market to bring that synergy into it or for health care, bringing our expertize there into our higher ed world to begin to inform spaces for the the health sciences industries or markets. So really, looking at how those different markets, that knowledge that expertize those skill sets can drive the business and make us more impactful for our clients and for their projects?

Stone Payton: [00:16:42] Well, I am curious to understand how the whole sales and marketing thing works for a firm like yours, but I got to believe I got. I got to believe that having this, this knowledge and experience base of having designed these spaces that must really carry a lot of weight in the process. Yeah, but how does the whole sales of marketing thing work for you guys?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:17:06] It’s all relationships. I mean, it’s just it’s the same as business to business. You know how you market there. It’s it’s just about relationships, developing interpersonal connections with people like yourself who maybe one day you want to build your own studio.

Stone Payton: [00:17:25] Over incidentally.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:17:26] Awesome. Well, remember CBH Partners?

Stone Payton: [00:17:29] All right, you got it.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:17:31] But working with our clients, I mean, the path to a project may take years to develop to develop that, that connection with that individual or that business, to really define what’s important to them and to their industries, find out what their pain points are and work on solutions to solve those. That’s what drives us to get that next project. Our understanding and our mutual respect for our businesses is really the key to success when it comes to that.

Stone Payton: [00:18:05] It’s amazing. I can’t draw a stick figure as my wife knows, she teaches art classes on the side. You know, she’s got her first watercolor painting class. She’s incredibly artistic. I couldn’t draw a square if I had to, but I’m from the professional services world a long, long time ago when I had black hair. You know, it’s something closer to a religion. I come from the professional services, the consulting, training, speaking world and what you’re describing. That’s what makes a really good consultant, trainer, speaker or or successful relationship oriented, not far less transactional, right? Much more, much quicker to invest in the ecosystem or the or the community and focused on trying to get inside kind of almost projecting themselves into the to the mind or the other person and really understanding, you know, how they feel and what their. And now what I’m hearing you say is that’s what it is. That’s why you guys are at the top of your field in the architectural arena.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:19:06] That’s exactly what’s fascinating. Yeah. Listening is the key, right? Understanding what they need, understanding what you’re looking for. It it it is the key to success, and it’s unfortunately not something that they teach us in architecture school. But a lot of it is God, given a lot of it is training and a lot of it is observation and watching our predecessors and then also teaching that down to those who are going to be our successors.

Stone Payton: [00:19:34] So where are you thinking about taking this thing, you and you and you and Courtney and crew, where are you going to take this thing?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:19:41] What’s next? What is next? We are looking at some emerging markets or emerging markets for CD and really developing going broader and deeper in the markets that we’re in. We, as I mentioned within the health care studio market sector, we we categorize them as studios. It makes up about 60 percent of our revenue. And I mean, look around you as we are in the midst of a pandemic, the way in which the health care arena is modifying and changing to accommodate that. And I mean, lots of lessons learned there. And there was a tremendous loss of revenue for the health care industry during the height of the pandemic, when all of this broke in 2020. They didn’t know what to do there their hospitals were. Flooded with patients, and they couldn’t they had to redirect all of their assets, all of their resources to deal with that. And now they’ve begun to find that balance. I say that as Omicron begins to to take its hold on our communities. But you know, that really defined the direction that they were going to go. So going broader and deeper within those understanding what our clients need, how do we take our technical expertize and hire a consulting team that’s going to support that mission, to drive success, to make them whether who, whoever them is to, to have more ambition within their their revenue streams? That is also ours. We intend to grow. We are growing. We grew 15 percent last year.

Stone Payton: [00:21:28] Congratulations.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:21:29] Thank you. Not just in revenue, but also in staff. We were strategically adding key members of our team. And you know, recruiting is difficult right now, but it’s even more difficult when when I talk to you about what we’re looking for in key individuals, so we don’t hire just anybody, but growth is where we want to take this. We’re looking for a five to 10 percent growth this year and then looking at different markets where that can occur, you know, put a plug in. We’re looking for a great interior designer, OK, who can really begin to define our corporate environments? You know, that is coming back. It’s going to come back a little bit differently. Not sure if that’s going to be larger square footages or smaller square footages, but it certainly is going to mean that we work differently in the future. Hopefully, it doesn’t mean that we’re all in cubicles again because I sure do enjoy having an open office environment. But it definitely means that the work environment is going to be different and more creative in itself.

Stone Payton: [00:22:40] So you spoke to this a little while ago, listening how important that is, and you strike me as an individual. Your organization strikes me as the type of of entity that would probably go to some lengths to get clients and even potential clients together in some fashion to just get their input, get their opinion. Have you had a chance to do a little bit of that in some fashion? And if so, what have you learned? The reason I’m asked a reason I’m asking is I could see a hospital administrator and an assistant superintendent of a school system having some very similar ideas. And maybe maybe they could cross pollinate, right?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:23:21] Yeah, that’s a great idea.

Stone Payton: [00:23:24] You’re welcome. I’ll send you a bill. Thanks.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:23:27] Appreciate that. We we haven’t done that as formally. We do that with every project because it seems like every time we start a new project, there’s a new set of issues that we have to operate around opportunities within the design of that particular facility that we’re looking at, whether that’s a renovation or a new project. But no, we have not looked at that across the board as far as bringing those individuals together.

Stone Payton: [00:23:58] Well, I cheated a little bit. Those are two words that I have a little bit of on the periphery. My father was a school superintendent, a long, you know, four four. Well, they voted him in and then they voted him out. But my mom and dad were in the school system. And so anyway, I just thought about, Hey, you know, as like, I bet if he had any or he had any role in designing a new school, the so many of the considerations would not have even they would be thinking about a whole different set of things right now.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:24:29] They did. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, how large is a classroom? What’s the inner changes to keep that that positive airflow through the classrooms that came from health care? Right. So the the amount of air changes that a health care facility has to have to keep that air clean and ventilated and exhausted is now being input into the way schools are being designed within their mechanical systems. So again, that comes to the synergies between the market sectors and and to your point, how you know, the CDC has influenced the design of schools and OSHA as well.

Stone Payton: [00:25:14] Well, you’ll be delighted to know. I think the space we’re in, it’s so, it’s so new. We’ve got the gym jammie. I don’t know what to call it, but you’ll know what to call it, but the air scrubbing stuff or whatever, and they did that just, you know, because they, you know. This thing is only like a year old, so they built that out. Speaking of studios, I’ve enjoyed having this one. We’re in a co-working space called the innovation spot. I mean, right in the heart of Woodstock, like a mile from downtown, which I walk here a lot because I live on the edge of town. It’s a it’s a great space. I envision the innovation spot expanding like next door to the next building as well, and I love it. And one of our sponsors gave us this, this kind of wall that we’re looking at, and it’s got some of our community partners plastered plastered on it. We have studios all over the country here in the network, and I really love coming into this space. It’s just to me, it’s fun. You use the word studio earlier. What does studio mean in your world? Is it like a physical location or what is it?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:26:14] Well, so our the word studio in architecture actually comes from the bowel health movement back in the the 50s, actually before then. But it is just a group of individuals who are focused on a particular, in our case, market type. Ok, so we have we do cluster are team members in groups, but we also, as I mentioned, that open office environment have very low partitions, so everybody is really together. O ne allows for that collaboration, but for us, studio just specifically means that market focus

Stone Payton: [00:26:54] And what are they? Again, you mentioned them at the top of the show, but yeah, what are those those those major areas?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:26:59] So again, health and wellness, which is our health care facility, and that range is anywhere from small medical offices to new towers. We’re actually doing a replacement tower for well star right now. Oh, fun. Yeah, we’re excited about that. For our worship and community. It is everything from churches, so Mt. Power and Church of God apostles perimeter. We’ve done some work here in Woodstock and then also through community centers and actually working with some of the local municipalities, education and research. So we work with Kennesaw State University, Clayton State University, the local Cobb School System, Fulton DeKalb, Atlanta public, but then also in the research area. Adolescents, which is right down the road from here, did their new R&D facility and working with them right now on some warehousing space and some manufacturing area for them and then live work. So Walton on the Chattahoochee did an apartment complex for them. If you haven’t been down there as beautiful, do a lot of senior living facilities.

Stone Payton: [00:28:11] Oh, I didn’t even think about Wow, I bet that’s that’s not going anywhere.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:28:15] It is not going anywhere for a while there. It definitely slowed down. But the because the lending, but the lending is back and everybody’s building again, so.

Stone Payton: [00:28:26] So before we wrap, I’d love to get some council provides some counsel from you, if we could, on two fronts. And one is on any person, maybe particularly female. But I’m not going to confine the conversation to that. Who has an eye toward growing into a role of this nature, one that has this kind of impact, one that’s going to influence these kind of lives that maybe they want to be an executive, a leader of some kind. And I don’t know, maybe dos, don’ts lessons learned, you know, or any counts because because somewhere out there, whether it’s today live or, you know, they may hear this six months from now, you know, maybe if they heard a little something from from this Melissa Gal, who has accomplished so much and is getting a chance to play at this level. Any insight there on that front? Maybe.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:29:21] Oh, wow. I would say find a mentor. That was a really impactful move for me. My mentor, actually, I had several over my career and not all of them were in architecture. Of course, there was Bill Chetwynd, who was one of the founding partners of the company, who has made a tremendous impact on my career, could not be here without him and give a big shout out to him, but also to my my stepfather, Dennis Burnette, who was the CEO and president of a number of banks in our local area, and how he directed me from a non architectural perspective to really understand business and to make some key decisions also was very impactful. But finding that mentor that guide, I wish I had more female influence in my professional career growing through the industry. It just wasn’t set up that way, but that’s not the case today. There are so many talented strategic women out there that. These young women could could go to and lean on, but also for the young men not to exclude them.

Stone Payton: [00:30:41] Yeah, we can use a little help with the answer, but go find a woman, they could give

Melissa Cantrell: [00:30:47] You some, actually.

Stone Payton: [00:30:50] Look, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Payton.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:30:53] That’s right. But I do believe that that is key. Using your networks, I wish I had learned that earlier on or listened to that advice earlier on in my career and being not so humble as to accept help. Hmm.

Stone Payton: [00:31:13] Thank you. I’m glad I asked, because I think that’s marvelous counsel, and it’s a good reminder for people like me who have been blessed to have some mentors. And I don’t know that I really spent much energy seeking out that kind of support last year. And there’s no reason I shouldn’t continue to do that. Absolutely.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:31:30] I’m doing continuously every day.

Stone Payton: [00:31:36] And then from the other side of the desk advised on for a client or a potential client, what can what can we be doing so that we get the most out of our relationship? Well, I guess with any professional services provider, but particularly, you know, from somebody in your arenas, what could what could we be doing? What could we do to to get the most out of it and make it the richest experience possible?

Melissa Cantrell: [00:32:03] Yeah, that’s a great question.

Stone Payton: [00:32:05] It took me a minute to get it out, but I thought a fantastic question. That is a fantastic question.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:32:10] I think it really boils down to coming with an open mind. You know, bring your thoughts, your your vision, your dreams for what that project will be. Just vocalize it. But then also allow your architect or your designer to to shape that it may not be what you thought it was going to be. But more often than not, you’re going to be more pleased with the result. So allow the creatives to to do what we do. But but just, you know, come with that open mind that that thought process to really think differently. That’s what we’re trained to do. But it’s not always what we get to do.

Stone Payton: [00:33:00] What a fantastic way to launch our program for this year. Melissa Cantrell, President and CEO of Seeds Partners. I cannot thank you enough for coming in and visiting with us. Let’s make sure before we leave here that our listeners know where they can, where they can go. Learn more if they want to have a conversation where maybe somebody on your team or whatever you think is appropriate, the website, LinkedIn, whatever you think. Let’s make sure we have a way for them to connect.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:33:30] Yeah, absolutely. Our website is very simple. Its partners. That’s the best way to learn more about us. We’ll have a website relaunch here in the next few weeks, so

Stone Payton: [00:33:43] Courtney is nodding your head and smiling.

Melissa Cantrell: [00:33:45] It’s going to be amazing. We’re super excited about that. And then you can also call me. I’ll give you my direct line. Oh, my six seven eight seven eight four three four eight one. And you can reach out to me directly. I’d love to talk to you more about any projects you have, even help you with some thoughts and lead you in the right direction, even if that does not mean that you end up working with Seed H. My main goal is to make sure that our clients and prospective clients are successful moving forward.

Stone Payton: [00:34:17] What an absolute delight to have you in in the studio. Thank you so much for coming

Melissa Cantrell: [00:34:22] In and my pleasure, Stone. Thank you so much.

Stone Payton: [00:34:24] All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today and everyone here in the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you next time on Cherokee Business Radio.