SOUTH FLORIDA: Stiles
Stiles, which has developed more than 37M SF of commercial and residential in South Florida, has long called Fort Lauderdale home. Howard Stiles, father of current CEO Terry Stiles (right, with son Ken, who's also in the biz), moved to SoFla from Ohio after WWII on the advice of his doctor, becoming part of the local post-war boom. (Our doctor tells us to eat better and exercise. We want Howard's guy.) Howard started the company in the early 1950s as a contractor. Terry worked there part time starting at age 15, and in 1968 he joined his father's biz. While the firm's expanded across Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, South Florida has always been its core and a natural choice for its HQ, thanks to rising real estate prices in other areas around the country, consistent temperatures, and influx of foreign investment, he says.
