Our
Story

With over 30,000 units completed, Fortune-Johnson is the premier contractor for building multifamily projects in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Our construction projects showcase a wide range of product types, including garden-style apartments, assisted living facilities, student housing, and high-density mixed used developments. Fortune-Johnson has successfully finished every project undertaken. We take pride in our industry leading record of completing assignments on time and within budget. Through long term relationships built on mutual trust and our standard of excellence, our goal is to become your preferred contractor.

Our Values

Do

What You Say

Be

Honest

Treat

Others As You Would Be Treated

Be

Fair

Do It

Right The First Time

Work At FJ

Our Leadership

Brett Fortune

CEO

Bio & Experience

Education

Stetson University
Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration

Brett Fortune

Manager & Chief Executive Officer

Brett Fortune has been actively involved in the construction industry for over thirty-five years. He has supervised the construction of more than 30,000 multifamily units since creating Fortune-Johnson General Contractors in 1991. Brett holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Marketing from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. Prior to forming Fortune-Johnson, Brett was a Senior Project Manager with the Calibre Company of Georgia for nine years.

Brett has extensive experience in all phases of construction operations, including estimating, scheduling, site development, building construction and business development. He is a licensed general contractor in the states of Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Brett is Chairman Emeritus for the Associated Builders & Contractors of Georgia and sits on the Construction Management Advisory Board for Clemson University, as well as Kennesaw State University’s Construction Management Advisory Board, of which he is a past Chairman.

Karen White

CFO

Bio & Experience

Education

Valdosta State University
Bachelor’s Degree of Business Administration in Accounting Education

Certification

Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants
Construction Financial Management Association

Karen White

Manager & Chief Financial Officer

Karen White is a Certified Public Accountant with over thirty years of professional experience in the real estate industry. Karen graduated from Valdosta State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting. She has held accounting positions in many areas of real estate, including development, construction and property management.

Karen served as Fortune-Johnson’s Chief Financial Officer for more than twenty-five years. Karen oversees accounting, finance, contract negotiations, strategic planning, risk management and cost management for the company. Karen is a member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Construction Financial Management Association. Her previous experience includes working as the Controller for Julian LeCraw & Companies, Director of Financial Accounting for Calibre Companies and Accounting Supervisor for Days Inns Management Company.

Jason McIlvain

COO

Bio & Experience

Education

University of South Florida
Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Jason McIlvain

Manager & Chief Operating Officer

Jason McIlvain graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He joined Fortune-Johnson General Contractors as a junior estimator and within eight years rose to manage the Preconstruction Department. He now oversees Preconstruction, Business Development and Talent Management.

During his 19 years in the Preconstruction Department, Jason became responsible for the daily management, supervision, coordination and successful completion of the Preconstruction phase for all projects. He oversees resolution of constructibility issues during design, reviews pricing of design concepts and prepares value engineering analyses. Jason diligently monitors the design progress for compliance with defined cost, schedule and quality criteria to ensure that the client’s objectives are accomplished. In addition, he is responsible for expanding Fortune-Johnson into new markets and product types such as student housing and senior living.

Jeff Carroll

VP Construction

Bio & Experience

Education

United States Military Academy
Bachelor of Science in International Strategic History
Columbus State University
Master’s Degree in Business Administration

Jeff Carroll

VP of Construction

Prior to joining the construction industry, Jeff Carroll served 5 years active duty as an Armor Officer in the Army. After the Army, he sold Rebar in the Atlanta market before he moved into commercial construction and eventually multi-family. He spent 5 years as a contractor for the Army, first managing the Army’s armored vehicles into and out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. He then worked on managing the product development for armored vehicle capabilities. In addition, Jeff holds a BAS in International Strategic History from the United States Military Academy.

In 2015 Jeff joined Fortune-Johnson as a Project Manager. He was quickly promoted to Senior Project Manager and was responsible for all facets of three projects and their teams. He was recently promoted to VP of Construction where he will extend his talents to oversee additional project teams. Additionally, Jeff has been instrumental in implementing Procore, our project management software, and setting process standards across our region.

Chris House

VP Construction

Bio & Experience

Education

North Carolina State University

Chris House

VP of Construction

Chris House has been active in the construction industry for over twenty years. Chris is an effective communicator with excellent organizational, analytical and problem solving skills. He has personally been involved in the construction of multifamily units consisting of condominiums, apartments, student housing, retail and commercial construction including medical buildings, restaurants, commercial centers, and institutional projects. His experience includes pre-cast parking decks and elevators, tilt-up cast in place construction, structural steel structures with panelized wall systems and complex high-density wood frame over concrete structure. He is accomplished in all aspects of each stage of construction from site work to project turnover.

Jim Dunn

VP Construction

Bio & Experience

Education

Bridgewater College
Bachelors Degree of Science in Business & Economics

Jim Dunn

VP of Construction

Jim Dunn has more than thirty years of experience in the construction industry. Over twenty years of his career have been in multifamily construction, with the past twelve years at Fortune-Johnson. Prior to that, Jim held positions at Wood Partners and Summit/Camden. In the initial stages of his career, Jim worked as a superintendent and project manager building high-end custom homes, as well as the production of single family homes throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Jim has extensive experience, both with builder-developer and with general contracting organizations. His leadership skills have resulted in the successful completion of more than 30 multifamily projects and 7,500 units. Jim’s expertise spans all phases of the construction cycle, including, conceptual budgeting, design development, procurement, personnel and project management. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in both Busines and Economics from Bridgewater College.

Michael Mitchell

VP Precon & Business Development

Bio & Experience

Education

Auburn University
Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Building Construction

Georgia Institute of Technology
Master’s Degree in Building Construction

Michael Mitchell

VP of Preconstruction & Business Development

With a 15-year tenure in the construction industry, Michael is passionate about working in preconstruction and building client relations. During his 13 year tenure with Fortune-Johnson, Michael has shaped the preconstruction department and expanded Fortune-Johnson’s Mid-Atlantic footprint. His many years of experience have contributed to over 7,000 units with a construction value of more than $1 billion. Michael’s responsibilities include pursuing new deals, constructing new client relationships, creating strategic client development opportunities, and managing subcontractor relationships.

Ryan Schlender

VP Scheduling

Bio & Experience

Education

Southern Polytechnic State University
Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Construction Management – Land Development Concentration

Ryan Schlender

VP of Scheduling

Ryan Schlender has over 15 years of practical, managerial and planning experience in the construction industry; 11 of which are specific to large-scale multifamily construction. Ryan began his construction career as a carpenter, salesman and project manager in his father’s residential remodeling business. In 2006, Ryan joined Fortune-Johnson’s preconstruction team as an Estimator, later acting as Senior Estimator on a variety of mixed-use, high-density urban & garden-style apartment projects as well as student housing and senior living developments. Since 2013, Ryan has directed Fortune-Johnson’s Scheduling Team, which provides in-house consulting to all projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. He currently manages the development of project schedules and actively participates in job planning and site logistics in cooperation with field team members. He and his team facilitate regular onsite project coordination meetings to ensure a collaborative approach to project scheduling. He monitors schedules for compliance with company-wide best-practices and recommends changes to improve efficiencies in support of meeting and exceeding contractual milestones. His team also provides drone aerials for all projects.

Our Story

Our Values

Do

Be

Treat

Be

Do It

Our Leadership

Our
Story