AUGUSTA, Mo. — David Hoffmann, the Florida-based entrepreneur who has invested $150 million in turning Augusta, Missouri, into a wine tourism destination, on Monday said he is stepping down as CEO of the family business he founded and replacing himself with his sons.
Geoff and Greg Hoffmann will serve as co-CEOs of the Naples-based Hoffmann Family of Companies while their parents, David and Jerri Hoffmann, continue in an advisory role. The transition took effect May 1, the company said in a news release.
The company is a conglomerate of 85 companies and brands and more than 200 real estate holdings. It is anchored by DHR International, a Chicago-based national executive recruitment firm with a Clayton office, while its commercial real estate holdings include the Moneta Building and the 8000 Maryland Ave. office tower Clayton, as well as an arena in Fort Myers, Florida, and the minor league hockey team that plays in it.
David Hoffmann said his sons have been operating the company in these leadership roles "unofficially" for the past few years.
"I have thought for a long time about making these moves as my sons navigated and were drivers of the growth of the company," David Hoffmann said in the news release.
The Hoffmann brothers are credited with growing the company to $3 billion in assets, with Greg Hoffmann leading Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate and Geoff Hoffmann leading DHR Global.
Geoff Hoffmann has 20 years' experience in the business and an MBA from the University of Chicago, while Greg has 14 years of experience with an MBA from Northwestern University, their father said in the news release.
The elder Hoffmanns said they will continue to consult on projects "near and dear to their hearts," which includes their remake of Augusta, which began in early 2021.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.