William ‘Will’ Armstead
CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County

William “Will” Armstead was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, along with his seven brothers and sisters. A veteran of the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, he served 16 years that included deployments during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. He received more than a dozen awards and medals for his outstanding leadership and retired as a sergeant 1st class senior noncommissioned officer.

As a civilian, Armstead’s career soared as a regional general manager for Aramark – a publicly held $16 billion worldwide food and uniform services company. He successfully managed $26 million in annual revenue in the Southeast division and increased revenue 12% year after year.

His career continued to excel at A’viands, a privately owned $140 million services management company. As director of operations, he managed $65 million in annual revenue at 126 locations in 26 states.

Armstead’s personal life mission is to serve people in need, especially disadvantaged children. Even while working for large corporations, he has always been a community-based leader, serving multiple nonprofits including Big Brothers Big Sisters, PACE and Safe Space. For eight years, he served on the Boys & Girls Club board and also as board president. He also serves on Global Vision Citadel Ministries and Alzheimer’s Community Care, just to name a few.

Although he is a busy executive, Armstead makes time for family. He and wife, Rachel, have six sons and four daughters. They also are foster parents, which is how they came to adopt brothers Nathyn and Marcus in 2018. The family attends First Baptist Church of Lake Park where he serves as a deacon.

In 2015, Armstead became chief executive officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County – a nonprofit organization that serves more than 15,000 children yearly with 166 employees and an annual budget of more than $5 million. He is clearly dedicated to the club’s mission of helping children reach their full potential. His outgoing, friendly manner attracts people who may have never experienced the Boys & Girls Club. He believes that people sincerely want to help kids – especially those who need it the most.

In his rare spare time, he enjoys fishing, golfing and quality family time.

His passion and strongest attributes are his compassion for people and his ability to lead by example. He pushes people to be the best version of themselves and he wants that more for others than for himself.

Whom on the Treasure Coast do you most admire and why?

One of the many people on the Treasure Coast that I admire most is Elizabeth Barbella, CEO of The Community Foundation Martin – St. Lucie. Under her leadership, the foundation has grown from a quiet organization to a robust organization serving philanthropists and nonprofits in Martin and St. Lucie counties. She’s a visionary leader, a mentor and valued adviser.

If given $50,000 to start a new business, what type of business would you start and why?

If given $50,000, I would open a day-care. There are not enough day-care businesses on the Treasure Coast, which is a problem for working families and their employers.

If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room for the rest of your life, what song would you choose and why?

In 1991, I was stationed in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. I remember vividly the first time I heard Lee Greenwood’s hit song, God Bless the USA, blaring full blast over the loudspeakers on base. That song gave me chill bumps then and still does today.

Shane Mullan
COO Aluma Tower Co.

Shane Mullan, chief operating officer, joined Aluma Tower Company in 2006. He began his journey with Aluma as a welder/fabricator and quickly rose through the ranks as shop lead, production manager, vice president of sales and vice president of operations.

As production manager, he was successful in reducing overtime by improving workflow and implementing proven work procedures on the production floor. As vice president of sales, he developed Aluma’s first outside sales team and implemented many of the company’s sales processes that are still used today.

And as vice president of operations, Mullan led the company through record-breaking revenue growth, which resulted in the company making the INC. 5000 list in 2020. He has also assisted in the development of new products, such as Aluma’s skid system, the Scorpion trailer model and Aluma’s un-guyed tower systems.

Since becoming COO, Mullan has been able to leverage his experience and vast knowledge of the products to become a well-respected and important element of Aluma’s leadership team. His current focus is on the growth of the business, both in volume and margin, while maintaining quality, efficiency and on-time delivery.

In addition to his role at Aluma, Mullan is also on the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce board and sits on multiple community committees. He has an associate degree in business administration and management from Indian River State College and a Master Welder Certification from Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville.

Mullan moved to Indian River County with his family in 1986 from Yonkers, New York. He resides in Vero Beach with his wife, and dog, Louie. His daughter is a student at the University of Miami. He spends his free time traveling with his wife and doing DIY projects on their home.

What leadership skills do you find most useful?

Relationship building/nurturing and decision making are the leadership skills I utilize most on a day-to-day basis. This applies to both internal and external relationships and activities. Building relationships and nurturing them are two different, highly important skills. Decision making, specifically knowing when and how to make decisions is a key skill I utilize every day. Recognizing situations that require a rapid decision, being able to make the right one and being conscious of the impacts of that decision are critical.

How do you think people would communicate in a perfect world?

Verbally. We have lost the critical intimacy of face-to-face communication. We all get caught up in technology at times, sometimes I will be typing an email and then have to remind myself the recipient is right down the hall. When I catch it, I will walk down for the discussion and memorialize it in writing if necessary.

Have you ever watched a movie and gained a new perspective on life? What movie was it and what did you learn?

Braveheart. It was always a favorite of mine as a young man. It taught me to be selfless and always be willing to stand on the front lines no matter how far I make it in life.

Chad Olson
managing director of the South Florida Region for Benchmark Hospitality

Chad Olson joined Benchmark in October 2015 as general manager of Costa d’ Este Beach Resort & Spa and Cardozo South Beach. He was promoted to managing director of the South Florida Region in 2019 with direct oversight of four hotels.

Prior to joining Benchmark, Olson worked for more than 25 years in California for companies such as JRK Hotels, Joie de Vivre Hospitality and Woodside Hospitality.

What was the first leadership role you can remember being in and how did the experience shape how you lead today?

Assistant front office manager at a resort in Arizona. I was a complete failure in my approach on how to interact and lead a team but through lots of failures and the open mindedness and humble pie, I learned.

What is your favorite spot on the Treasure Coast to grab a bite to eat?

Depends on the mood but in either case, I enjoy patronizing the independent restaurants. From the casual end of the spectrum, Little Jim’s in Fort Pierce, to my favorite, Fire and Wine in Vero Beach.

What leadership skills do you find most useful?

Servant leadership, humility, risk taking and overly communicating.