Ben Cohen To Serve as CEO and Nate Cohen CFO with Award Winning Company
Cohen Architectural Woodworking announces Ben Cohen and Nate Cohen have purchased the company from the previous ownership team and have assumed full operational responsibility for the business.
Ben Cohen will serve as CEO and Nate Cohen will continue to serve as CFO. The two were part of the prior group of family owners under the leadership of founder and former CEO, Phillip Cohen, who has transitioned into retirement and will spend more time with his 16 grandkids and ministry work.
Cohen Architectural Woodworking has won many awards for its work including the AWI Award of Excellence for six separate projects.
Phillip Cohen started the company in 1982 making wooden porch swings in a neighbor’s barn as a way to recover from a life of violence and drug abuse. Over time the company has grown and won multiple awards for architectural design, business practices, and personal achievement. Ben Cohen and Nate Cohen grew up in the family business and have earned increased responsibilities as the company has grown.
“Our father, Phil, laid a tremendous foundation in building Cohen Architectural Woodworking from scratch into a highly successful business. We believe our best years for growth are ahead of us, and we are redesigning our operational practices to meet higher levels of revenue and profits in both the short and long-term,” said Ben Cohen.
To facilitate growth, Cohen Architectural Woodworking is changing its business practices to focus on large projects and a direct-to-client approach for repeatable business. “Our goal is to work more directly with decision makers and in-house design and facility teams,” Ben Cohen said. “Since millwork usually requires the longest lead time in a construction project we can avoid many steps in the process, and improve workflow and efficiencies. Thus far clients have found this to be a real win-win model, reducing both red tape and cost.”
Cohen’s overall new organizational model also includes realigning divisions and management responsibilities. The firm has brought in Tim Bornemann, a former business executive and consultant with Fortune 500 corporations as COO to assist with the company’s realignment.
Nate Cohen said, “Tim has helped companies double and triple in size and done so with as few growing pains as possible. He also is well versed in Lean manufacturing and Lean Construction practices, something we currently practice and emphasize at Cohen. We believe Cohen Architectural Woodworking is strongly positioned for next level success. I’ve never been more excited about Cohen’s future.”
Cohen Architectural Woodworking is an architectural design/build woodworking firm headquartered in St. James, Missouri. The firm has won multiple awards including the Small Giants recognition from Forbes magazine, Architectural Woodwork Institute’s Award of Excellence for six separate projects, and the 2016 Small Business of the Year award from the Rolla Chamber of Commerce. For more information visit https://cohenwoodworking.com