As children grow up, most parents attempt to instill in them that brothers and sisters need to share. It can be a complex concept to teach, and parents
often gauge their success when arguments over toys cease and the siblings reach agreement on their own.
That lesson is probably adequate in most families, but in the McMillin household, the instruction had to be designed with the idea that the two sons might
one day share the responsibility of overseeing one of California’s largest privately held real estate companies.
Today, Mark and Scott McMillin, co-CEOs of The Corky McMillin Cos., use their consensus-building skills daily. There’s been no time for sibling
rivalry since they assumed the top positions at the firm following the death of their father, Corky McMillin, in September 2005.
That’s because the brothers took the helm of a diversified company that was in the midst of an aggressive plan to expand outside of the San Diego
area. They had been in training for their respective CEO roles during the prior five-year period and were active participants in authoring and executing the expansion plan.
“I think that the biggest thing that we had to do coming in to the role was that we had to be unified in our leadership,” says Scott McMillin. “We stayed
strong, brought back the core principles that our company was founded on, and it’s been business as usual.”
The years they each spent in various positions learning the roots of the business helped the transition.
“We didn’t just step in to the leadership role; we earned it, along with people’s respect,” says Mark McMillin. “I worked extremely hard the first
six months because I thought that I had to be aware of everything that went on, and I have spent the last 10 months showing people that we can
keep this on track.”
It’s a large operation to keep headed in the right direction. The company started in 1960 with less than $100,000 in annual sales. Today, The Corky
McMillin Cos. is made up of five operating units, and the firm has constructed more than 20,000 homes, 16 mixed-use master planned communities, schools, shopping centers, business parks and 2,000 military residences in its 45-year history.