Jim McClelland

Co-Founder & COO, MACK Companies

Although I have been partner with my Dad for over fifteen years, I did not start my career in Real Estate. After earning my degrees in environmental science, I held an associate professorship at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. After two years of teaching, I decided it was time to come back to Chicago to pursue a career in Real Estate. I began my life in Real Estate as a general contractor who specialized in scattered site, affordable, single-family homes throughout South Suburban Cook County. While we were very successful in this sector, it proved to be the training grounds for not only new construction, but for our eventual entry into the world of existing home redevelopment. Eventually the demand for existing rehabilitations eclipsed that of new construction, which was a fateful turn of events for our future. As we began the redevelopment of existing homes, I was in a fortunate position to play an active role in every part of the business: acquisition, legal, redevelopment, finance, sales, property management, closing, suppliers and staffing.

When the crash of 2008 hit, we were in a unique position to take advantage of a confluence of factors, allowing us to grow at a tremendous rate, which we have sustained since that time. Fast-forward to today: we have grown to be the largest provider of single family homes in the Midwest and we have never strayed from our core values. As co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, I am charged with making sure that we continue to operate the business by the same formula, which has made us so successful. Although we now have a department for each area I described above, I still have daily interactions with our directors so that I can make certain that MACK continues to be the gold standard in our industry.