Colorado Real Estate Journal - September 2, 2015
Jokingly referred to as the dirt and death group, it is exactly where Zane Dennis, CPA, wants to be. Dennis, tax partner and real estate practice leader at Richey May & Co., laughs off the less-than-flattering nickname for the real estate and estate/trust tax practice group as it's where he got his start in the tax industry more than 25 years ago and where he is delighted to continue to be today. “I don’t understand the idea of work as drudgery,” said Dennis, who attributes his success and longevity within the industry to his passion for it. “I love it. I spent the first 10 years not thinking it was a career. I freely admit I was and am a nerd but I’m interested in a lifetime of learning and improving. It’s fun, not work, finding solutions to a problem.” Raised on a cattle ranch in south central Texas, Dennis points to his first job, at age 14 at the Piggly Wiggly, as instilling in him a work ethic and willingness to get up and keep going from a stumble that still resonates today. As well, living in a small town, where his teachers saw something bigger in him than bagging groceries and so pushed him to excel at school, including a high school English teacher driving him hours to the nearest ACT test site, inspired him to always try his best. It was this foundation that Dennis took with him to college, graduating from Sam Houston State with a double major in computer science and accounting and landing his first job in the dirt and death group at KPMG’s Houston office before joining Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group in Houston, where he worked until joining the national tax practice office in Washington, D.C., then the tax practice office in Miami prior to the firm merging with Ernst & Young. It was then that he and his wife took an “accountant-like” approach to where they wanted to next live and work. Colorado was the first place they visited. It was also the only and last. Dennis joined Shenkin Kurtz Baker, where he worked in the tax department and led the formation of a real estate services group before joining BetaWest Ltd./DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, where he was chief financial officer for 14 years. Last year, he joined Richey May – a move he found stimulating. “It’s refreshing to be back in public accounting, helping clients of a public accounting firm,” he said of joining the firm. “Real estate tax planning can literally save millions of dollars for our clients.” Dennis also believes his background in both public and private sectors of the tax industry gives him a unique perspective in doing business. “It’s not just about being good at accounting but being good at real estate and understanding the industry,” said Dennis. “I know what it’s like to be the client and the service provider and what disappointed me on both sides. “I relish being able to provide a service to people every day,” he added. “My favorite part of my job is the birth of a creative idea, being able to look at a situation and see it differently than others, to solve a conundrum no one else could solve and the joy when it works.” The challenge of the conundrum also keeps Dennis coming back for more and puts his emphasis on how important numbers – basic accounting – are to the business of real estate. Over his career, Dennis has participated in the disposition, acquisition and financing of billions of dollars of real estate in the U.S. and internationally as well as projects such as the Stapleton Redevelopment Authority and Simon Property Trust’s real estate investment trust. Dennis is active with the Urban Land Institute housing committee, as he believes that the affordable housing industry lends itself to social change. “There is a lack of diversity, socioeconomic, thoughts, not just skin color, in our neighborhoods.” He also is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys backpacking, camping, mountain climbing, running and spending time with his wife and two daughters. “Enjoy it,” quipped Dennis, noting these two words are his guiding philosophy, be it for work or life outside the office. “I’m so pleased to be here and doing what I’m doing,” added Dennis, who dismissed thoughts of slowing down, ever. “I’m having too much fun doing what I am doing. I don’t understand retirement. Sitting on a porch would be punishment: You don’t rest, you just rust.”