Russ Kathrein is the president and CEO of Alexander Lumber Co., based outside Chicago. He was raised in his family’s lumber business, but despite getting his degree in finance from Michigan State and then working at NCR and United Airlines, he returned to the building materials industry, where he has worked for industry leaders, such as 84 Lumber, BMC West (now BMC), and ProBuild (now BFS). Russ is passionate about the art of leadership and the people side of business. He has successfully turned around many operations by first getting the people part correct and aligning the team, then focusing the team on the fundamental issues.