Colorado Real Estate Journal - May 6, 2015
Blair Madden Bui is a new generation CEO. At the helm of her grandfather’s namesake John Madden Co., 38-year-old Madden Bui leads by collaboration. She is passionate about sustainability, the arts and holistic health, and she leaves home in the morning comforted that her stay-at-home husband, Tien Bui, a healer and artist, is caring for her young daughters, Lily and Willow. Trailblazing and determined, Madden Bui also is deeply respectful of her roots and grateful to be working alongside company Chairman John Madden Jr. “I’m really excited to be in the position that I’m in, and I’m passionate about carrying on the legacy that John Madden has created for designing and building timeless environments and spaces for people to live, work and play. Integrating the arts into everything we do is important at this company. It’s been an amazing blessing to work side by side with John Madden. I think he’s a true legend,” she said. As a child, Madden Bui walked vacant development ground with her grandfather, listening as he shared thoughts for what now is Greenwood Plaza office park. “He would talk to me about his vision and his dream,” Madden Bui recalled. “I think he’s always kind of seen me as his successor, even as a little girl,” she said, still awed that Madden can figure construction costs on a yellow notebook pad faster than most people can turn on a computer. Madden Bui’s life took many turns before she chose commercial real estate development and management. “I was off and exploring other options so I could really make a good choice about whether this was the path for me,” said Madden Bui, who as a 12-yearold growing up in Greenwood Village presented her mother with an accepted application for boarding school in Springfield, Massachusetts. She spent her junior high school years there, experiencing diversity that Greenwood Village, at least at that time, didn’t offer. “I got to explore living with girls from all over the world,” she said. Madden Bui studied theater performance at The Claremont Colleges, taught gifted and talented students at Logan School in Denver, earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of Denver, and taught second- and thirdgraders, each on an individual learning plan, in Denver Public Schools. “I loved it,” she said. “Then I realized I was in a system that wanted to squelch my creativity.” Madden Bui was offered a paid position as Broomfield’s ambassador to its sister city of Maruko, Japan, a “joyful experience” that uncovered her connection to all things Asian. Returning home, she headed up programs for the Museum of Outdoor Arts, founded by her grandfather and her mother, Cynthia Madden-Leitner. “The arts are heavily integrated into our family and our business,” said Madden Bui, noting Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre and sculptures placed throughout the office park are just some of the ways the company has made art part of people’s daily lives. Madden Bui joined John Madden Co. in 2011 as a receptionist – the person who sets the tone for visitors and callers and “has to know anything and everything in every department.” Within eight months, “John Madden started inviting me into every single one of his meetings. I think it was a test,” said Madden Bui, who worked her way into business development before being named CEO last year. That appointment, she said, was a family decision involving John Madden, herself and J. Madden, her uncle, who co-chairs the company and also is heavily involved in the renowned Greenwood Athletic and Tennis Club and Pura Vida Fitness & Spa in Cherry Creek North. “I couldn’t have found a better person,” said John Madden, who characterized his granddaughter as an exceptionally bright, hardworking woman who is not afraid to take a risk, even if it means making a mistake once in awhile. “A lot of times, you have a relative in the business and it doesn’t work,” he said, indicating a synergistic relationship with his granddaughter. “It’s very heartwarming. I couldn’t have planned it any better,” he said. “We work so well together. Sometimes we have to put the boxing gloves on and duke it out, but that’s only healthy,” said Madden Bui, who added that once a decision is reached, it’s time to move on. “I don’t have time to hold onto stress. There’s too much to be done.” John Madden Co. has developed more than 10 million square feet of Class AA office space since Madden founded the company in 1966. It currently owns and manages a trio of 100 percent-leased buildings in Greenwood Village, including Fiddler’s Green centers I and II, and it has about 520,000 sf in two buildings remaining to be developed. Madden Bui, like the elder Madden, believes the southeast metro area is just as hot as downtown, and they’re looking forward to bringing new product out of the ground this cycle. “A lot of people are announcing that they’re developing spec, and I think that’s great. But for us, we’d like to have an anchor tenant,” she said. While all of John Madden Co.’s buildings are LEED certified and Energy Star rated, Madden Bui is looking to push the sustainability envelope. The company also is exploring a bike share program for tenants. For Madden Bui, gender never has been an issue, but the leader in her has made it difficult for her to work for others. “I’m not going to let something get in my way. If you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to find a way to do it,” she said. “I’m very caring, but I’m also very determined.” She dislikes seeing deals fall apart due to analysis paralysis. “Definitely, it’s important to look at all angles. But sometimes you’ve got to pull the trigger. Look at what he (John Madden) has created by being that way. I have that in me. “I have an incredible tenacity and strength, but I also have a calmness about me where I’m able to handle it all,” said Madden Bui. Madden Bui said she feels a tremendous amount of responsibility for carrying on the legacy her grandfather has built, but, “I don’t look at it as stress. I really love it,” she said. “I love every aspect of my job. It’s what I’m meant to do.”