When several of Hubbell Realty Co.’s competitors were going out of business during the Great Recession, Jim Weber saw golden opportunities for growth. 

“That presented us with an opportunity to purchase some of those properties and projects and bring them to completion for the lenders,” recalled Weber, who has been chief financial officer at Hubbell Realty since October 2005. “That provided us with great opportunities for advancing our home building division.” 

For Weber, having a strategy in place and looking ahead for opportunities are essential elements of his role in guiding the company as its CFO.  

“From my perspective, the most important thing is not looking in the rearview mirror to see what has happened, but to be looking forward to see what’s going to happen,” he said. “It also has to do with looking at the team and making sure we have the right people on the bus.” 

As chief financial officer, Weber provides strategic leadership, planning and oversight of the financial resources of Hubbell Realty and its subsidiaries. He leads all planning, development and implementation of financial policies with respect to accounting, tax, internal controls and systems. 

In essence, the position is much more about strategic planning than number-crunching. 

During the recession, preserving cash became paramount, Weber recalled. 

“Developers don’t go broke because they don’t have assets; they go broke because they don’t have cash,” he said. “So we focused our efforts on preserving our cash and growing our cash during those times. That’s the strategy we have for any time there’s a downturn – to make sure we have adequate cash to weather the storm.” 

Weber skillfully manages Hubbell Realty’s relationships with more than 30 lenders – ranging from small community banks to major banks, insurance companies and governmental agencies. Under Weber’s financial leadership, the company has not only maintained its home building and development lines of credit; it has actually increased the number and amount of those vital funding sources, according to a nomination letter. 

Many of Hubbell’s projects require the use of complicated financial structures involving a variety of funding sources such as Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Federal Historic Tax Credits and Enterprise Zone credits, and Weber’s expertise has proved invaluable for the company, Rick Tollakson, president and CEO of Hubbell Realty, wrote in a recommendation letter.  

“He has provided a level of leadership and teamwork that is appreciated by the entire Hubbell team,” Tollakson said.

Prior to joining Hubbell Realty, Weber was CFO and chief counsel for R&R Realty Group for 18 years. He began his accounting career with Deloitte after earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Marquette University and a law degree from Drake University. 

“Early on as a college student, I expected to practice law,” Weber said. “However, I clerked during my law school career and found that I didn’t enjoy practicing law as much as I enjoyed the business. Rick Tollakson calls me a ‘deal junkie.’ I love making the deal. Frankly, lawyers spend a lot of their time papering the transaction. I didn’t find that as challenging.” 

His first job after law school – in the tax department of then-Big Eight accounting firm Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Des Moines – provided a good opportunity to practice dealmaking and learn that part of the business. After moving to Houston and working there for five years, Weber and his wife, Johanna, opted to return to Des Moines, where they had lived for three years while he was in law school. 

“Neither my wife nor I were raised in Iowa, but we actually chose to live in Iowa,” Weber said. “My wife was born on the East Coast and grew up on the West Coast. I grew up in Ohio. … We decided (Houston) wasn’t the quality of life we wanted for our kids. So we looked around the country and made the conscious decision to move back here.” 

In his off time, Weber enjoys playing golf, and he and his family also like to spend as much time as they can at their lake home in southern Iowa. 

Weber has been married to Johanna for 35 years and they have three children. Their youngest daughter is now a junior at the University of Northern Iowa, which is where their other daughter and son graduated. Weber and his wife recently celebrated the arrival of their first granddaughter.

Although things are looking relatively good right now in the real estate industry, Weber is keeping his sights firmly out the front windshield. 

“Real estate is cyclical. … The challenge is to be looking forward to see what risks and opportunities there are,” he said.