Russ Streett possesses every element of a flourishing project manager: He maintains meticulous project files and could teach a master class on organization, keeps his composure when high-stakes situations arise, has a stellar reputation for fostering collaboration and has earned quite the fan club when it comes to response time and problem-solving skills. 

Photos by Kaylinn GilstrapWhat really launches him into a singular stratosphere, earning him the title of FE&S 2025 DSR of the Year, is how he conducts himself with colleagues and clients alike. Teammates describe him as always willing to take time to explain the vision, as well as the tactics; clients say they appreciate his straightforward approach and responsiveness.

Streett also has an impressive sales track record. In the past six years, he has built a book of business that is on track to hit $16 million this year, and he has made a significant contribution to the success of Boelter’s Southeast division, which has tripled its sales in that timeframe. That territory includes Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Companywide, Waukesha, Wis.-based Boelter has grown both organically and through acquisition. The company reached $391 million in annual sales for 2024 compared to $186 million in 2011, according to the FE&S Distribution Giants study.

Atlanta by way of Chicago

Streett transitioned from Chicago to Atlanta in 2019, after working in Boelter’s Windy City showroom for roughly two years. It was a fast ascent to project manager, made possible by not only the strength of his work ethic but the five years he spent cooking at a high-end restaurant and later bartending. This operator background proved a rock-solid foundation on which Streett continues to build his career. While he got his first taste of sales at cash-and-carry store Restaurant Depot, it was the job in Boelter’s showroom that moved him away from retail and opened the door into what would evolve into a project management and design career.

Streett has truly carved his own path. He credits Boelter’s leadership team with championing him early on. “They believed in me,” he says of owners Rick and Eric Boelter, along with Eric Chaplick, vice president of operations and design, who hired him. “They gave me every opportunity. It’s nice to be empowered by your company.”

Part of setting Streett up for success in Atlanta came with the addition of Manny Alvarez, now vice president, contract sales. Alvarez was first brought in by Boelter to help develop the dealer’s Southeastern territory. Alvarez and Streett arrived in Atlanta within a couple of months of each other and the two have since marched in lockstep in their shared mission to build the region for the company. Both men share a strong work ethic, competitive spirit and a no-bull approach to business development that stems from a place of authenticity intertwined with knowledge and grit. Their relationship grew quickly to one that each describes as a mentorship, with Streett the eager-to-learn novice salesperson and Alvarez the business development veteran.

Alvarez describes Streett as a phenomenal student. “He reminds me of myself when I started. He has adopted everything that I have shared with him,” he says. Some of those secrets shared? Alvarez points to tried-and-true business practices that are not followed as often as they are preached: Be straightforward and transparent with clients; deliver on what you tell them you are going to do; under promise and over deliver — never over promise and under deliver.

After working closely together since the beginning, Alvarez now confidently passes Streett large jobs without any hesitation or concern that his mentee will execute these at anything less than the highest level. “I may have coached him along the way, but the great thing about Russ is that I only have to say things once. He asks for advice when he runs into something new on the site, and we walk through it together.”

Alvarez adds that Streett’s competitive nature and drive give him an edge. “He has a fire in his belly unequal to most people,” he says. “What we’ve built here the last six years has been a credit to his desire to succeed. We knew we had great talent with him from the beginning — he just needed the runway and support.” 

That proved correct. During the early days when Streett was managing Boelter’s Chicago showroom, he expressed a clear desire to learn and had the drive to ask for more opportunity. “He came in kind of raw but he’s one of those rare people who kept asking questions about projects,” Chaplick says. 

Before Alvarez came on board, Atlanta fell under Chaplick’s guidance. Streett’s relationship with him in Chicago prompted Streett to ask if there was an opportunity for him in Atlanta. There was, and Streett made the move down South. The duo continues to work together, with Chaplick offering Streett guidance and cross-training more on the design side of the business. “He continues to aspire to get better and hone his craft,” Chaplick points out. “Did I teach him as much as I could? Yes. But a lot of his success come from his drive. You cannot teach the attention to detail that he has — I take no credit for that.”

Chaplick nurtured Streett throughout those early days in Atlanta to ensure the transition to project manager went as smoothly as possible. “He went from the frying pan to the fire,” says Chaplick of the shift from the showroom to project manager.

The ongoing new-build project at Northside Hospital Atlanta is keeping Russ Streett (right) busy to date as he functions as an on-site superintendent on the project. Project partners Greg Singh (left), facilities planning and development manager at Northside Hospital, and Andrew Bittle (middle), senior superintendent with Batson-Cook Construction, agree that having Streett as point person gives them confidence in the details.

Laser-Focused

Streett acknowledges he was initially a bit overwhelmed as he took on a new and broadened scope of work in Atlanta. His solution was to lean hard into organizational tactics and establishing pathways to every piece of information he might need to access quickly, especially while on the road. “You can manage any workload if you get organized,” he says. His system starts with a folder for every project, which includes every drawing, every spec and every deadline. He manages each piece of the puzzle from initial bidding to the final punch list — seeing projects all the way through, with some timelines extending into 2027.

Foodservice operations at casinos, universities, medical centers, hotels and corrections facilities are among Streett’s current project lineup. Most frequently he can be found on-site at one of these projects, acting as the eyes and ears for his clients during the construction process, providing design support in the field, assisting with modifications and measuring — always measuring. He makes it his mission to make the job easier for the general contractor, construction teams, kitchen designers, operators and every other partner involved in each project. “I am there from the beginning to the end,” he says. “I have a complete understanding of it.”

One of the first assignments Streett inherited upon his arrival in Atlanta was a renovation at Georgia Tech, designed by Ricca Design Studios. The project was in the midst of a major change when Streett entered the picture, as midway through the timeline, the stakeholders had shifted from their original plan to use a contract feeder to being a self-operated program. That change added to the complexity of the commons dining space. With Boelter as the kitchen equipment contractor on that project, Streett did an excellent job of helping with pivots, keeping things moving and coordinating details with all the vendors, says Chris Skretkowicz, Gilbane Building Company, who was also early in his career as a general contractor at the time. 

“Russ was really good at notifying us of any long lead times on equipment,” Skretkowicz says. “This was new to me, the restaurant side, and he was great at navigating the different intricacies. He made sure we had all the equipment ordered at the right time so it would arrive when we were ready to install.”

The level of detail Streett brings is the difference between merely selling a hood and executing all the details that happen after that point: taking the time to lay it on the ground so the installer knows where to put it, ensuring it arrives on time, etc. “I try to make it easy so that when the installer shows up to do that work, it’s ready and easy to install,” he says. “It’s a level of detail most do not do.” 

Submittals are ongoing for Streett; there are always new bids he is working on and existing projects in various stages of completion. While attending The NAFEM Show in February in Atlanta, he was juggling four active installs. Larger jobs can take three to five years to complete — he keeps them all under his wing as he continues to add new ones; his largely relationship-driven book of business continues to grow.

“As I develop relationships, I build trust,” Streett says. “They trust me with their projects, and it has just expanded from there.” He now has regular projects with a handful of general contractors and kitchen design consultants who turn to him for his quality and reliability.

Russ Streett and his Boelter Southeast division team (left to right): Courtney Conover, project coordinator; Manny Alvarez, vice president; Amber Blackley, project coordinator; Russ Streett, project manager; Rebecca Medlin, operations manager; Anais Argota, project coordinator; and Kyle Marbut: assistant project manager

Mentee to Mentor

When it comes to first impressions, Streett belies both his Midwestern roots and the Type A traits associated with someone inherently driven to focus on accomplishing tasks efficiently. He actually gives off more of a Pacific coastal vibe, right down to his man-bun hairstyle. When asked about off-work hobbies, his tales of beach volleyball competitions only add to his coastal persona. Streett’s easygoing nature and approachable manner serve him well with both clients and colleagues.

Indeed, his patience and willingness to share industry knowledge have made a difference for several Boelter staffers under his tutelage, among them Courtney Conover, a project coordinator with one year under her belt. “He’s willing to teach me not just the processes, but the strategies behind them,” she says. For example, not only will Streett explain the mechanics of the bidding process, but why quotes are handled in a certain manner. “He adapts it and explains things in a way I can understand,” she says, noting that a lot of the industry terminology is confusing in the beginning.

“Russ creates a space where I feel comfortable asking questions, and he has given me a much bigger understanding of what we do,” Conover adds. “He sets his own work aside and takes the time, even when he doesn’t really have it.”

Anais Argota, another project coordinator at Boelter, talks about the “teachable moments” that Streett creates. She works closely with him on many projects, including estimating — and he credits her with backing up his precision-focused organization system. When a hiccup does happen, Argota appreciates the way Streett redirects her, putting her at ease and helping her understand what to look for next time, rather than emphasizing a mistake. It’s this kind of subtle approach that earns him high praise from both Argota and Conover, who both credit him with making work feel enjoyable, even in high-stress situations.

Both Argota and Conover are quick to point out that Streett shares the end results with the team. “He credits us for all the work we do and really shares all his wins with us; they become our wins, too,” Argota says.

“When that comes from such a place of authenticity, it hits different,” adds Conover. A lot of that willingness to share and explain what he does likely stems from being around people who did the same for him.

This unity between Streett and his team helps him keep all the balls in the air. He has a lot of projects in play at the moment — 43 to be exact, nearly double what was on his plate a year ago.

Georgia Tech marked an early career project for both Russ Streett and Chris Skretkowicz, Gilbane Building Company (left). Reflecting on that project, both agree the challenges faced on that one, which included a redesign during the pandemic, gave them a lot of experience really fast.

Averting Mayhem

Among those 43 projects is Northside Hospital Atlanta, which is one Streett’s larger current jobs. The ongoing construction of a new kitchen, commissary and servery will mark the biggest kitchen among the five hospitals in the healthcare provider’s system, says Greg Singh, facilities planning and development manager at Northside Hospital. Scheduled for completion sometime in the first half of 2026, the new space will support room-service style dining for more than 600 beds, in addition to offering an expansive cafeteria space designed with multiple food platforms for staff and guests. Morrison Healthcare runs the foodservice program.

Streett’s hands-on approach to the project as an on-site superintendent has been exactly as promised, Singh says. “We’ve never really had someone do what Russ is doing from a kitchen equipment vendor before. To have a point person that we can funnel all of our requests and questions to has made a difference. What keeps standing out as we progress is his level of responsiveness and his attention to detail.”

The response time and detailed on-site attention Streett provides goes beyond what’s expected. “It’s just not what happens most of the time,” says Andrew Bittle, senior superintendent with Batson-Cook Construction. “Once I called Russ on a Saturday about a problem with a project he didn’t do, on a campus he was not involved in. The first above-and-beyond was just answering the phone, Bittle notes. Then Streett jumped through hoops to obtain the missing parts needed to get the cooler back up and running. “He’s built an extreme level of trust with me, which makes me want to advocate to have him on a project.”

Singh shares a similar story of a time when two plate warmers failed, which meant meals would arrive cold to patient rooms. “We do everything we can to satisfy patients and make their experience better. I emailed Russ on a Friday and by Tuesday the replacement warmers were delivered and installed. His response was immediate. That’s one of the big reasons why we’ve enjoyed working with him. When problems surface, he will act on them immediately.”

Streett’s attention to detail on projects has been “second to none,”  says Rickie Madden, associate AIA, senior project manager, Vision Builders Design. “And that has been refreshing.” He has worked with Streett on numerous projects and describes Streett’s approach as focused on the end-user. “He wants the best project for the end-user, and we don’t see that often enough.”

That translates directly to dealing with problems on-site. “We are not on-site as often as Russ. He is very thorough with the amount of information when we need to problem-solve during a project,” Madden says.

The high level of communication was readily noticeable for Jessica Aiello, lead foodservice designer on the Northside Hospital Atlanta project for Vision Builders Design. She also recently worked with Streett on an RFI (request for information) and says the amount of information he provided, including detailed measurements, made that RFI easier. “He really provides the detail we need to give an educated answer,” she says.

Part of the reason Streett can handle the sheer volume of projects he does stems from a new hire he took under his wing last year. Kyle Marbut works side by side with Streett as an assistant project manager, including on the Northside Hospital job. Marbut is eager to learn; Streett is happy to teach.

Streett relies on Marbut to be completely in sync on every detail of every project and be ready to respond to clients in the same manner he would. Such orchestrated cloning enables Marbut to learn quickly in anticipation of spreading his own wings while allowing Streett to focus on expanding his business.

The partnership has benefited each of them immensely. Marbut started as a field manager at Boelter before becoming an installer for a few years for another company. He bounced back to Boelter in 2024, specifically to work with Streett. Streett actually recruited Marbut to his current role. 

“It has been a great opportunity to train and work underneath Russ,” Marbut says. “I cannot think of anybody better to learn how to do this from. He brings a certain energy to everything — he’s never in a bad mood, even when we are having an issue on a project, we just work through it.” The two talk daily about projects to remain on the same page. “Whether a customer calls him or me, we have the same answer. We present as a team, rather than as individuals, and that helps things go a lot smoother.”

All Gas, No Brakes

Streett’s laser focus on project management serves him well, and he plans to continue to keep his foot on the gas. “I don’t think I’m maxed out,” he says. “I naturally keep winning projects, so I just keep going. I have a lot of repeat general contractors and architects I work directly with — those relationships keep building growth into my contract business.”

Even Streett doesn’t win every bid, however. Competitors do exist. Occasionally he has a sleepless night. No one likes a gut punch. But Streett holds his head high when it comes to the bidding process and working with manufacturers. “I don’t want to lose any bid, of course not. The bids that come through and business development efforts and relationships, those are the ones that mean the most,” he says.

The mutual respect between Boelter executives and Streett is hard to miss. “It’s an important thing that they trust me,” he says of Boelter senior management and the owners. “That level of trust helps me work faster and more efficiently. They trust that any financial decision I’m making is for the benefit of the whole company. I have a lot of freedom, and I’m not micromanaged.”

Perhaps most importantly, Streett says, “I am happy.”

Perhaps most importantly for Boelter, Streett adds, “I enjoy teaching the younger ones. That is how you grow into the future.” 

Russ Streett Close Up

Age: 39

Current backlog of work: $38 million, a number that runs through 2027

Number of active projects: 43

Lesson learned the hard way: “Once, I ordered water cooled ice machines, and the high-rise location did not have water loop. It was an expensive mistake — a vendor helped me get it corrected. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with that stuff. If everyone had someone they could tag along with for a while, I think the industry would be better as a whole.”

How he spends time away from work: Streett enjoys the outdoors; two favorite activities are hiking with his wife, Irina, and playing beach volleyball. He’s also committed to figuring out work-life balance and says he’s actually really good about not looking at his phone after 7 p.m.

Project Portfolio Standouts

Russ Streett has seen many different variations of kitchen designs during his short six-year tenure as a project manager. Each project’s unique scope has given him more experience in the bank to work with as he moves to solve whatever current challenge he faces. One item on his bucket list: a stadium project. “I really want to tackle the complexity of a stadium project, that’s on my wish list.”

Cane Bar at Sugar Beach, A Viceroy Resort

Challenges with this ongoing project start with its location — Saint Lucia. Coordinating equipment means shipping through Florida, passing through customs where every item is inspected, and then loading everything onto a pickup truck on the island. It’s a far less efficient process than in the U.S., says Streett. Clients look to him to ensure everything in the project is progressing. “I treat all the workers with kid gloves and take a lot of stewardship on this one,” he says. “This is a big job for the island and things run a little differently on island time.” His goal is to ensure the kitchen space, designed by Ricca Design Studios, functions well — things come up when on-site during the build that can impact design. Project completion is scheduled for October 2025.

Atlanta Falcons training facility 

One of Streett’s larger design-build projects, the strength and conditioning space for the NFL team includes a dining area with a variety of seating and action stations. “This is a large U-shaped counter that contains a refueling station with plenty of blenders and espresso machines.” The project was completed in 2024.

Meals on Wheels Atlanta

This design-build project encompassed a 7,200 square foot space — most of it walk-in coolers along with an extensive cookline. The walk-in cooler install presented a big challenge in that the slab was sweating and the thermal break did not match up, which continued to worsen, Streett says, until the decision was made to use spray foam and steel panels with insultation to resolve the issue.
“I cared a lot about this one because of the charitable aspect of the project, so working through to resolve the foundation issue, even though that might seem small, was important to me,” he says. The project was completed in 2022.