NOAH BREAKSTONE

MANAGING PARTNER & CEO, BTI PARTNERS, FORT LAUDERDALE

BTI Partners is a real estate and land development firm in Florida with over 60 employees. BTI is developing numerous mixed-use projects in South Florida, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville with a focus on the reactivation and reuse of obsolete infill sites and the creation of commercial and residential developments. “I’m especially proud of transforming the iconic Hollywood Bread Building into a luxury mixed-use tower that’s bringing new energy to downtown Hollywood,” Breakstone says. “In Central and North Florida, our developments are adding much-needed housing near job centers.”

EDUCATION: Yale University (BA)

FIRST JOB: At 16, I began my first summer job as a door-to-door salesperson for Encyclopedia Britannica after responding to an ad in the Miami Herald.

MENTEE IMPACT: Fifteen years ago, I interviewed a recent college graduate, and I asked what mattered most to him. He answered, “work-life balance.” I abruptly ended the interview. When he asked why, I explained that after 25 years, I still hadn’t found this balance — what mattered most to me was hard work, grit, excellence and a passion for success. Five years later, we serendipitously reconnected, and he thanked me. He took the advice to heart, and we’ve built a strong mentoring relationship ever since.

SOMETHING SURPRISING: At age 10, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and was told to consider a vocational job path in the future. That evening, my parents told me, “Absolutely no one can decide what you can or cannot achieve except you.” Their words profoundly shaped my outlook. Though my mother passed 14 years ago, and my father is now 99, their unwavering belief in me — and in the power of unseen possibilities — continues to guide my decisions each and every day.