Andy Gutman
President, Farbman Group
Andrew (Andy) L. Gutman, President of Farbman Group and related companies, oversees the myriad of Farbman companies including those he created, its > 25,000,000 rsf of commercial real estate, and its 200 + employees. Andy worked for much of his career in the arenas of Accounting, Finance and Asset Management and previously held the title of Chief Financial Officer. He has spent over 27 years in commercial real estate working for international and family owned, multi- generational commercial real estate companies.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Andy has financed and overseen assets in excess of billions of dollars and has been an active part of the structuring of the ownership and financing of these assets. With a focus on client service, customer satisfaction and maximizing asset value, he derives pleasure from problem solving and finding opportunities that provide appreciated value, additional revenue and cost savings for the organization and its client. Andy Gutman cares about people, processes, community and is committed to the corporate vision of operating with ethics and integrity while cultivating a culture of inclusion, diversity and team play.
Andy is a song writer and an author. He has licensed numerous songs for commercial use and is the proud author of five (7) Children’s Books that include: Charlie the Caterpillar, Pop Lullaby, Even, Charlie the Caterpillar: What can I be Today, and Be Kind, Life Lessons from Brilliant Detroit, and Fish Bowl. Four of these books are winners of the prestigious Purple Dragonfly Book Awards. Andy is a member of Children’s Book Council, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Children’s Literature Association.
A strong proponent of, and participant in, community activities, Mr. Gutman served for over a decade as an advisor for BBYO, Inc. working with hundreds of youth group teenagers and now serves on the Board of Directors of BBYO International. He previously served as Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission and was Chairman of the Master Plan and Zoning Committee for the City of Novi. Andy served on the Michigan Chamber of Commerce Tax Committee, the Detroit Workforce Development Board, and served as Chairman of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Owners Advisory Council. He currently serves on Midtown Detroit, Inc.’s Board of Directors, the Detroit Chinese Business Association’s Board of Directors, the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, the Chaldean Community Foundation’s Executive Committee, Detroit Cristo Rey’s Work Study Committee, a member of EO Detroit, and a member of the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors.
He has received the Crain’s Detroit Business CFO of the Year Award, Crain’s Detroit Notable Real Estate Executives, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA Detroit) President’s Award, the American Business Award’s Financial Executive of the Year Award and Maverick of the Year Award, an inductee in the Midwest Real Estate News Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, he has been named to the Detroit 500 multiple times, a list of the 500 Most Powerful Business people in Detroit, he was named to Globe Street Real Estate Forum’s Commercial Real Estate’s Best Bosses, and has received BBYO‘s Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award.