KENDRICK BALLANTYNE

President

Kendrick is one of those people that just lives for genuine relationships. He enjoys knowing people really well, understanding what makes them tick and then working toward a goal. Something that echoes from his time as a former NFL football player. He saw the power of camaraderie, and what good relationships could accomplish.

“I like to bring genuine straightforwardness to people. When I know someone, and know how they operate, I can anticipate exactly how to work well with them. I like the challenge of doing this with the entire spectrum of personalities I get to interact with.”

Not surprisingly, Kendrick is the champion of Plain Talk, an Optimum core value. Telling the whole truth to bring clarity and direction is the most efficient path to get from an idea to the completed project. A straight conversation is the shortest distance between two points, putting an end to confusion.  Kendrick focuses his energy on knowing people, because he believes that every person operates with a set of expectations. As President and Owner, it’s his job to know what these are and create alignment. His responsibilities cover the gamut of operations, but this is the essence of his role, aligning people’s skills and expectations to get shit done.

Kendrick was a Receiving Tight End for the Baltimore Ravens, then took a job as Construction Project Manager for Northeastern University. Upon leaving this role, he founded Optimum Construction in 2009. Note: Kendrick has a habit of intellectually defending his frequent consumption of Michelob Ultra and tends to get far too wordy on the topic of Birdhunting, his obsession.