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Mary Mercurio - CFO of the Year

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6/5/2009

St. Louis Business Journal 2009 CFO Awards: Small private companies
St. Louis Business Journal - by Lisa R. Brown

Winner
Mary Mercurio
Gundaker Commercial Group

Both in the forefront and behind the scenes, CFO Mary Mercurio has helped build Gundaker Commercial Group into one of St. Louis’ largest commercial developers.

Mercurio is front and center, working with municipalities to establish escrow accounts and prepare financial documents for multifamily developments throughout the St. Louis region.

Behind the scenes, Mercurio manages a team of seven in the accounting and human resources departments, and she oversees 60 tax returns annually for Gundaker Commercial Group’s four divisions: brokerage, asset management, construction and development. She provides construction accounting expertise and financial oversight for the company, which has more than 100 ongoing projects with a market value in excess of $1 billion.

“She conducts an exhaustive review every month with a financial statement on every entity in our company,” said President and Chief Executive Mike Hejna. “It’s a huge task.”

Tightening in the credit markets has added to her work. Mercurio said she’s spending more time with bankers today than in her 23-year history with the firm. “Because of the economy and tightened credit markets, banks are looking much closer at change orders midstream instead of just at renewal time,” she said. “It takes a lot more working with the lender to make the deal work, a lot more hand holding.”

Mercurio started at the company as an assistant controller and now is chief financial officer and senior vice president-finance. Hejna said Mercurio is an integral part of the executive team.

“Her expertise, particularly in the volatile economic climate of the last several quarters, has allowed Gundaker Commercial Group to remain on solid footing and provide stability for the organization’s projects and employees,” Hejna said. The company has 132 local employees.

“Many CFOs are not known for their gregarious nature,” Hejna said. “Mary is a warm, inviting person with a great sense of humor.”

Mercurio’s husband, Paul, is an assistant fire chief in Clayton, and they have a 23-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter. Mercurio is the treasurer at her church, the Church of the Good Shepherd in west St. Louis County, and volunteer treasurer of Friends of Kids With Cancer, a nonprofit group that provides recreational and educational opportunities for St. Louis-area children battling cancer.

Mercurio has a degree in business and accounting from Fontbonne University and is an active member of the Construction Management Association and the Philanthropic Educational Organization.

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