Highlighting our Leaders

Gerard Sanchez, New Mexico Division President

Gerard was born in East Los Angeles, California and lived there until the age of 14. His family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1984. Gerard attended the University of New Mexico and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting. Gerard worked as a CPA with Arthur Andersen for three years and was subsequently hired as controller by a client, Sivage Thomas Homes. While at Sivage, Gerard held positions of Controller, VP – Finance, CFO / COO until the acquisition by Pulte Homes in July of 2003. While at Pulte, he held the position of VP-Finance and was promoted to Division President in February of 2004. 

Why might it be a good time for minorities to have a career in homebuilding and more specifically at Pulte Homes?
A greater percentage of the household formations around the country are made up of minority households. As minorities are becoming more the majority in the Country, as homebuilders, we need to ask the question as to whether or not we’re properly serving all consumers. Are we missing additional opportunities because we do not truly understand all of the preferences, needs and / or wants of all ethnicities?

Pulte Homes truly embraces and supports the diversity issues that are upon us today, and has made it a top initiative at all levels to ensure the creation of a more inclusive workforce in all Pulte Markets.

What are one or two leadership characteristics that you possess that have helped you obtain a successful career?
Humility and Integrity are leadership characteristics that have helped me obtain a successful career.

• Humility
  No matter how successful you become, you need to stay humble and stay true to your roots. A lot of times we get caught up in our successes that we forget the time, efforts and more importantly, the people, that helped us achieve the success. Additionally, you don’t always have to have all of the answers and it’s ok to say, “… I don’t know”. Always remember that humility is strength, and not a weakness of a great leader.

• Integrity It’s about doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. We all know what’s right and what’s wrong. Honesty and consistent uprightness of character are non-negotiable traits of any leader.