CHICAGO, Illinois (January 10, 2011)

Prior to joining Leopardo, Tenuta was Vice President and Project Executive at Reed Construction. Previously, he spent 16 years at Clune Construction where he was Senior Vice President and managed several of the firm’s most prestigious projects. Earlier in his career, Tenuta worked at Pepper Construction. Some of Tenuta’s high profile, multi-floor interior projects include:

• The Quaker Oats Company (415,000-SF, 16 floors)
• A.C. Nielsen (205,000-SF, 9 floors)
• Transamerica Distribution Finance (190,000-SF, 3 floors)
• DDB Needham Worldwide (187,000-SF, 7 floors)
• Amoco Business Center (168,000-SF, 8 floors)
• WorldCom (164,000-SF, 8 floors)
• Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (147,000-SF, 1 floor)
• National Louis University – Chicago Campus (135,000-SF, 4 floors)

“Mike’s impressive multi-floor background and client-oriented approach sets him apart in our industry,” said Rick DuPraw, Senior Vice President of Leopardo. “He adds great depth and resources to our already strong Tenant Interiors market.”

Tenuta is a LEED Accredited Professional and serves as membership chair of the Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise. He graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a degree in Architecture.

Leopardo successfully completes more than 200 interior projects a year from smaller service work to multi-floor corporate headquarters relocations. Clients include American Hospital Association, CNA Insurance, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Intuit, Jones Day, Leo Burnett, Motorola, RR Donnelley, Thermos, Walgreens, Wells Fargo, Whirlpool, etc.

Leopardo is the frequent finalist and winner of the coveted Interior Contractor of the Year Award and successfully manages several of Chicago’s largest building repositioning projects with intricate infrastructure and building systems upgrades. For more information, visit leopardo.com.

“Most businesses champion a specific charitable organization or annually participate in an event or campaign to benefit a worthy non-profit,” the article reads. “Yet at Leopardo, it can truly be said that such endeavors are not merely on a yearly check-list, but are deeply embedded in company culture. From a house rock band that has raised $2 million in charitable donations through industry events to an employee initiated volunteer program that has donated more than 3,000 hours of service since 2008, Leopardo has proven it’s more than about writing a check. the firm has developed unique and creative ways to make a difference in the communities it serves.” Click here to download the full story (PDF 1.7MB).

Before the film “The Blind Side” became a box office hit and its story was familiar to millions, Jim Leopardo, founder and CEO of Hoffman Estates-based Leopardo Cos., was involved in a similar story that netted almost identical results.

Not everyone has a Hollywood-caliber story in their background, but Leopardo can make the claim through his experience with a young man named Otis Hudson.

Leopardo has always been supportive of youth sporting programs as a financial sponsor and a volunteer.

“In my early days, sports were my outlet,” said Leopardo, who played football at Western Illinois University. “They gave me confidence.”

Through his work with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball program Leopardo met Hudson, a young man from the west side of Chicago with immense athletic talents, but limited outlets to display them in the city’s notoriously rough area. Hudson spent as much time trying to avoid gangs as he did honing his athletic abilities.

The Leopardo family would eventually end up being a champion for his transition to a brighter future. Read the full story…

>>>CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS.<<<

Chicago (July 28, 2011) — On July 26, 2011, Leopardo hosted a casual get-together event for clients and industry friends at Chicago’s famous ROOF at theWit. Thank you to all those who were able to join us!

>>>CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS.<<<

A full-page, color Leopardo advertisement appears in today’s national edition of The Wall Street Journal, within the Money & Investing section. The ad speaks to the talented people who make our company stand out. Click here to view a web optimized version of our ad.

“Our clients say Leopardo is different. We tell them it’s because of our people. We believe our talent, professionalism and employee bond are the reasons for our success. That’s why hiring and retaining the right people are Leopardo’s highest priorities,” writes CEO Jim Leopardo and President Rick Mattioda in the ad. “If you’re interested in working with construction experts who care — as a client or as a part of the Leopardo team — we’d personally like to hear from you. It won’t take long for you to realize why Leopardo is different.”

Behind our Wall Street Journal advertisement, Leopardo lives up to its every word about quality service and craftsmanship. Don’t just take our word for it, take our clients. Click the video below to watch a montage of Leopardo clients explaining their experiences building with us.

Video link: Client Testimonials – Leopardo Companies, Inc.

Video link: CANstruction 2011: “sNOw more hunger”

UPDATE 5/16/11: Leopardo and Eckenhoff Saunders won the coveted BEST IN SHOW, JURORS’ FAVORITE honor at the “aCANemy Awards”. Click here to see event photos published in RedEye.

While the great “Snowmaggedon” of 2011 has finally melted, Leopardo and Eckenhoff Saunders Architects teamed up to rebuild the iconic Chicago snow plow as part of the 5th Annual CANstruction Chicago competition. Just as all Chicago residents came to depend on this snow plow to clear their streets this past winter, we remember that the less fortunate depend on charitable organizations like the Greater Chicago Food Depository every day. We hope that our donation and that of our contributors will help make a difference in lives of those in need.

Our plow features a variety of can sizes and colors, and several distinctive structural ingenuities. For example, our wheels are bundles of cans turned sideways, bound together with tie straps, and kept circular by the outer tension. The plow face is a gently curving wall, made possible with selectively placed shims between layers of cans. Our plow is clearing a fluffy marshmallow snow cover, and dumping some Morton salt to keep the street ice free. An iconic Chicago-style “parking space saver” has gotten overturned in the process.

SHOPPING LIST (product used in sculpture)
Chili Man – No Beans
Le Sueur Peas – Very Young Small Sweet Peas
Starkist Chunck Light Tuna in Water
Starkist Yellow Fin Marinated Tuna, Roasted Garlic
Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore Tuna
Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna
Bush’s Grillin Beans, Black Bean Fiesta
Mortan’s Salt
Target Brand Mini Marshmellow
Rice

For the CANstruction 2011 event at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Leopardo Companies, Inc. (LCI) and Eckenhoff Saunders Architects (ESA) teamed up to create the “sNOw more hunger” entry.

The sculpture took nearly 4 hours to complete and was composed of over 4500 cans of food, all of which will be donated to the Chicago Food Depository.

Our entry is part of the 5th Annual CANstruction Competition, on display in the lobby of the Merchandise Mart, from May 13th – 31st, 2011. CANstruction features colossal structures from 19 different teams of Chicago architects, engineers, and construction companies. The event represents the Food Depository’s largest donation of the year.

TEAM MEMBERS
Ryan N. Haase (Captain) – LCI
Charles Arko – ESA
David M. Rutledge – LCI
Angela Spadoni – ESA

Additional LCI helpers:
Fred Lebed
Liz Ward
Mary T. Ward

Additional ESA helpers (either at practice builds or build night):
Charles Arko
Angela Spadoni
Maureen Blossfeld
Lee Ann Burkart
Samantha Duba
Sloan Lavery
Matt Linn
Jack Ratza
Travis Rich
David Schlecht
Angela Spadoni
Katie Stough
Greg Trzupek
Sue Whittaker
Matt Wylie

These are our owners who donated the money to buy cans, let us use the pool room and loading dock:
Walt Eckenhoff
Steven Saunders

Leopardo Companies, Inc. also donated money to buy cans.

Leopardo and Catalyst Group, leaders in construction and commercial real estate strategic planning, hosted a private VIP event May 2, 2011, at Chicago’s famous Vertigo Sky Lounge on the 26th floor of the dana hotel. The special event attracted 250 corporate real estate professionals who were in town for the CoreNet Global Summit Chicago.

During the evening, guests enjoyed a special acoustic performance by Jim Peterik, legendary musician, member of the bands Survivor (Eye of the Tiger) and The Ides of March (Vehicle), and songwriter for .38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon, etc.; Alex Ligertwood, best known as the lead singer of Santana; and singer/songwriter Lisa McClowry, who has performed on more than 25 albums.

Click here to see photos from the evening.