The Musical Chairs of Building Products - Why Everyone's Changing Jobs (And What It Means for Our Industry)

The Musical Chairs of Building Products - Why Everyone's Changing Jobs (And What It Means for Our Industry)

Recorded Live at AIA 2025, Boston

Featuring special guest Michael Russo, National Sales Manager at Longboard Architectural Products

The Big Idea

The building products industry is experiencing a massive talent shuffle. From the Rockwell acoustic booth at AIA (where you can literally hear the difference good products make), to LinkedIn feeds full of job announcements—everyone's moving. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.

What You'll Experience in This Episode

We recorded this live from the Rockwell booth at AIA 2025—the first time any of us had been to the show in 6+ years. You'll hear the actual difference between being inside an acoustic booth and walking onto the noisy show floor. Because some things you just can't market—you have to experience them.

The Career Carousel: Where We All Landed

2019 vs 2025 - The Shuffle:

• Tim: Nichiha → Nichiha (leading Interiors Strategy)
• Carolina: Porcelanosa Facade → Nichiha → StoeCorp (leading VTECH team)
• Michael: Nichiha (13.5 years) → Longboard Architectural Products

We're all competitors now. Same customers, same projects, different products. But that doesn't mean we can't talk about what's really happening in our industry.

Why Everyone's Job-Hopping (And Why It's Actually Good)

The Family Decision Reality Moving companies isn't just a career move—it's a family decision. Michael's perspective after 13+ years at one company: the first 60-90 days define everything. You're not just learning products; you're establishing pace and direction.

The Win-Win Dynamic When experienced professionals move, both sides win. Companies get proven expertise. Veterans get validation and appreciation for their accumulated knowledge. It's not just about changing jobs—it's about leveraging your "body of work."

What We All Have in Common:

• Pumpkin spice lattes (Carolina always sends the first text)
• Fall season excitement
• 15+ years of relationship-building in a tight-knit industry
• The ability to spot our cladding systems on family road trips

The Long Game That Keeps Us Here

Why We Stay:

• Always work: Construction happens everywhere
• Making a difference: Helping architects, designers, building owners create better spaces
• The relationships: Small industry, long relationships, specification sales
• The payoff: Driving by buildings you helped create

The Industry Reality: People don't leave architecture to become builders. Builders don't become architects. Building products people stay in building products. It's hard to get out because once you're in, you see the impact.

The Talent Problem Nobody Talks About

Everyone discusses labor shortages on job sites. But what about us? Building products manufacturing, sales, and marketing face the same challenge. How do we attract young talent to careers they don't know exist?

The Solution:

• Have these conversations publicly
• Share the rewarding reality of the work
• Show the financial mobility possible
• Highlight the gratification of seeing your work built

Walking through AIA 2025, we saw plenty of young professionals asking questions and moving with purpose. The next generation is here—we just need to be more vocal about the opportunities.

The Experience Economy in Action

You can't print or market the acoustic difference you experience in the Rockwell booth. You have to be there. That's why events like AIA matter—not just for networking, but for experiencing what products actually do.

After a day of "constantly grinding" and networking, the unexpected reward: 12 genuine hugs from industry relationships built over 15 years. That's the human infrastructure that makes this industry special.

The Bottom Line

With $5 billion in commercial facades construction over the next 3-4 years, there's plenty of work to go around. The career mobility we're all experiencing isn't disruption—it's evolution. The industry is strengthened when experienced professionals bring their expertise to new challenges.

We might be competitors, but we're all trying to create better spaces for customers. And in a relationship-driven industry built on specification sales, collaboration makes everyone stronger.

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About Our Locations

Tim: Interiors Strategy at Nichiha USA 
nichiha.com

Carolina: Leading VENTEC team at StoCorp - High-performance building envelope solutions

Michael Russo: National Sales Manager at Longboard Architectural Products - Expanding into interiors and landscape architecture applications

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Sponsor Spotlight

Advancing Prefabrication: Unitized Façades & Panelization
June 9-11, 2025 | Dallas, Texas
Part of the Hanson Wade suite of construction innovation events
Use code BP10 for 10% off any Hanson Wade event registration
advancing-prefab-unitized-facades-panelization.com

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Build Perspectives explores the innovations, relationships, and career realities shaping construction. Sometimes recorded in acoustic booths, sometimes on noisy show floors—always authentic to the industry we love.

"Perspectives - something my dad says you can never have too much of."