Commercial real estate developer and community advocate Gary Grunau will receive the 2014 BizTimes Bravo! Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Award.
Grunau will join an illustrious list of past recipients of the award, including: Marquette Electronics founder and philanthropist Michael Cudahy; Sheldon Lubar, founder and chairman of Lubar & Co. in Milwaukee; Fritz and Debra Usinger of the Usinger family; Richard Pieper Sr. of PPC Partners Inc.; Stephen Marcus of The Marcus Corp.; George Dalton of Fiserv Inc.; Robert Kern of Generac; Joe Zilber of Towne Realty; and Harry Quadracci of Quad/Graphics Inc.
Grunau has demonstrated a life-long commitment to southeastern Wisconsin. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Cornell University, he returned to Milwaukee to begin his career in construction and development that now spans more than 40 years.
He has been instrumental in some of southeastern Wisconsin’s most successful and innovative urban projects, including the Hyatt Regency, Schlitz Park, the Wisconsin Center, Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin, the Milwaukee RiverWalk System, the Time Warner Building and ManpowerGroup’s world headquarters. His projects have won numerous awards including the Urban Land Institute Achievement Award and The National Council for Urban Economic Development Award for Schlitz Park.
Grunau has also shown leadership through his involvement with committees and boards such as the Alverno Board of Trustees, the Discovery World Executive Committee, the Spirit of Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the Milwaukee Riverwalk District Board.
Grunau currently serves as the president Grucon Group LLC.
Grunau will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2014 BizExpo, to be presented by BizTimes Media LLC on Wednesday, May 21, at the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Expo Center in Milwaukee. To register to attend or to nominate a company or corporate leader for a BizTimes Bravo! Entrepreneur Award or I.Q. (Innovation Quotient) Award, visit www.biztimes.com/bizexpo.
