To say he’s a chip off the old block might be a revelation for Sean Cleary, president of Cleary Building Corp. Though his father, Tom, started the business in 1978, son Sean never thought he’d follow in his footsteps. “I never dreamt I’d be a part of this company,” he admitted. “My father and I didn’t talk about it.”
With degrees in accounting and economics, he assumed he’d be in accounting or law, but it didn’t take long to realize that a career in either was not for him. “I would have been miserable,” he said, looking back. “I’m a people person. I love seeing people develop. I love helping people develop.”
As a Mount Horeb youngster, Cleary’s dreams usually centered around being a professional basketball player – like Bill Walton, perhaps, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He learned his work ethic from his father, a businessman who also owned two hobby beef cattle farms where Cleary cut his teeth early in life. “[He’d give me] a list of things to do, and when he picked me up at night, we’d have an inspection. Most of the time I failed,” Cleary recalled.
It was all part of learning, and Cleary has learned other things from his father, too – specifically, how to prioritize and stay organized, how to be a leader, and perhaps most importantly, how to draw a line in the sand. “A lot of people in today’s society can’t do that,” he said, “and I think that’s a big differentiator.”
In 1985, after graduating from the UW, Cleary joined his father in the business. “We were a 7-year-old, single-faceted company coming out of a recession at the time,” he recalled. In short order, strategic goals were set, product lines increased, and an Appleton office was added. In 1997, Sean Cleary was named president.
Cleary Building Corp. now has 80 offices and 900 employees nationwide, including about 300 in Dane County. It manufactures pre-engineered buildings, from livestock housing and storage to horse barns, shopping centers, airport hangars, and churches. It makes nearly all of its own components, including trusses, and has its own transportation company and construction crew.
“This is a people business. With 900 employees, we need people, not robots,” Cleary said. “We’re going to need people no matter how great technology is, and we’re fairly cutting-edge. Computers can do a lot of things, but they also need proper input.”
Keeping his employees engaged is key. “Every person needs motivation at some point,” he said. “My example is Michael Jordan. He was arguably the best player in the NBA, but he still needed a coach. The team got better because they understood it was a team game.”
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Cleary describes himself as hard-driving and intense, so people might be surprised to learn that he loves to dance, mostly to rock, new wave, and New Age music. Finding the time to do so, though, can be a challenge. In his free time, he exercises regularly, works on his six-handicap golf game, collects cars, and loves spending time with his wife, Carla, and their two children, ages 19 and 17.
Family helped him through the economic challenges of 2009, when the company’s workforce shrunk and sales declined for the first time in 35 years (though the company remained profitable). The Cleary Building website claims the company is the only national builder that’s been debt-free since 1985.
“We’ve grown every single year except for 2009,” Cleary lamented. “It was the only time in my life, and I had a hard time dealing with that, but we came through.”
Cleary, 49, gets frustrated when politics affects his business. “You can deal with regulation and legislation because you know the rules. But these days, you can’t plan ahead because of Congress.” Still, he’s bullish on the country’s future. “We need educational reform and lots of legislation, but we’re still the country people look to in the world, and I don’t think that will go away.”
Meanwhile, his father remains chairman of the board at Cleary Building Corp. “The greatest thing for me was getting a chance to work with him, learn from him, and get to know him,” said his son, with shamrock pride. “We’ve become great friends.”
And he hopes he’s made Dad proud.
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