Walking through the halls of the London Bay Homes corporate office with a small on his face and a sincere greeting for all who cross his path, Mark Wilson isn’t the type of CEO and president that one would expect in a company with the success of London Bay Homes.
As a luxury home builder in Florida for nearly 30 years, London Bay Homes has built some of the finest luxury custom homes and achieved success through a signature Private Label Living process that allows for the true luxury of a tailored fit home and a seamless, luxury homebuilding experience for every client. This specific blueprint has earned the company more than 300 awards, including America’s Best Builder by Builder Magazine, and solidified its position as one of the top builders in Southwest Florida.
However, when you run into Mark Wilson in the hallways of the office building or at Sea Salt on Fifth Avenue South (one of his favorite restaurants), you do not meet a man with the weight of a successful company on his shoulders. You meet a kind, respectful, and hardworking fitness enthusiast who faces challenges head-on, who is open to new ideas from whomever introduces them, who upholds his values in every aspect of his life, and who is greatly involved in the Southwest Florida community, supporting numerous community organizations. These reasons are just a sampling of why he was chosen to be inducted into the Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s 2017 Business Hall of Fame, Collier County.
The Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida (JASWFL) is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Since 1988, the JASWFL has honored outstanding entrepreneurs who serve as roles model for our youth through an induction into the Business Hall of Fame, recognizing the dedication, hard work, and commitment these laureates display in both their professional and personal lives.
Mark Wilson exemplifies these specifications with a commitment to being a trendsetter in the housing market, taking calculated risks for great reward, and truly enjoying what he does. What started as Mark and his wife Gemma’s vision for success in the luxury home market in Southwest Florida in 1990 has evolved into a nationally acclaimed company with more than 120 team members lead by Mark and his brother, Stephen Wilson. For 27 years, Mark has been at the helm, building on the successes of the company and learning from the setbacks. In 2008, when the economic downturn in the housing and development market hit Southwest Florida, Mark skillfully guided the company, creating new opportunities for the company to grow, build assets, and expand its portfolio of services.
Andy Robinson, executive coach for London Bay Homes, explains what makes Mark’s success so simple: “Mark loves what he does. He loves the people that are in the organization. You can see it, you can feel it. He’s got this charisma when he walks into a room. You just feel that intangible quality that someone like that has. He is uncompromising and that speaks to the quality of the organization, the quality of their products, the quality of their processes, the quality of the experience that their clients are able to go through, and the quality of the people.”
Watch Mark Wilson’s nomination video from the 2017 Business Hall of Fame Gala (above) to hear more about the rise of London Bay and listen to what Mark’s family, friends, and mentors think about why and how he achieved success. You can also download our brochure to learn more about London Bay Homes, award winning custom home builders in SW Florida.