Abby Ward, 32

Divisional Director of Planning and Analytics, Flagstar Bank, Troy (Regional)

Employees: 4,764 (does not include NYCB)

Revenue: $2.9B (pro forma) College: University of Michigan

How competitive sail racing helped David, Mark, and Bobby Schostak helm and expand what is now a century-old business spanning real estate development, digital enterprises, and restaurants.

BY DAN CALABRESE | ILLUSTRATION BY RICARDO MARTÍNEZ

onventional wisdom says it won’t work.

Start with a multifaceted company that employs 7,000 people and is run by three brothers. What’s more, no one has controlling interest, so there’s no mechanism for two brothers to outvote the other when a decision needs to be made.

Not only does it sound like a recipe for gridlock, but considering the family element, it has the potential for some tense meetings.

But Schostak Brothers & Co. in Livonia hasn’t thrived for 102 years — through changes in markets, ventures into new lines of business (some planned, some not), and the natural challenges of growth — without figuring a few things out. While the company is celebrating its centennial two years late, due to COVID-19, it’s still enjoying the ride as a diverse, prosperous business focused on real estate development, restaurant operations, and venture capital.

Now based at the Laurel Park shopping and office complex the Schostak family developed in the 1980s, the company was headquartered for many years in Southfield. But it started in downtown Detroit — first in Cadillac Tower, a block east of Campus Martius Park, followed by the historic Guardian Building in the financial district.

When the brothers’ grandfather, Louis, started the company as a residential brokerage with his own two brothers in 1920, he certainly didn’t have a plan that would put the company in those specific lines of business a century later. That evolution has been a combination of careful plans and a willingness to seize an unanticipated opportunity when it was staring the family in the face.

Today, Brothers Bobby, 66; David, 65; and Mark, 60; each oversee an operation — Bobby leads the venture capital side, David runs the real estate portfolio, and Mark manages the restaurant group.

In tandem, 39-year-old Jeff Schostak (Bobby’s son) is president of Schostak Development, where he leads all new projects and acquisitions. He’s being trained by David to eventually take on the leadership role within the company.

The brothers operate by consensus, rather than democratically. There’s no such thing as majority rule. The consensus often takes the form of the brothers trusting the one who’s closest to the issue under consideration, and suggestions are always welcome.

“When David comes to me looking for input, I tell him, ‘You’re close to the action. You’ve got to go with