"On holidays and summer breaks my father had me nailing roofs. I was 5, 6, and 7 years at the time. It made me want to be a rebel!" says Erik Sundquist, Co-Owner and Managing Director of Sundquist Associates, about his fledgling years in the construction business. His father, George Sundquist, wanted his children to know what it felt like to build a house from the ground up. Erik dug ditches and hammered nails into floors and roofs – the basics of the construction trades – and he made a youthful vow never to do it professionally. At the same time he made the decision to stay away from his father’s business as well. What he didn’t realize then, was that he’d inherited the gene to build.

Erik was attracted to political science and math, and, being a bright child, he was placed in special classes for gifted children and even bumped up a grade. He was spellbound with soccer, however, having been introduced to the sport by his father at age four. Erik would go on to play on a junior college team, and in 1984 he went to Germany to pursue the sport professionally, there being few career opportunities in the U.S. for talented players.

On his return from Germany Erik entered UCLA and joined that university’s soccer team, staying on for the 1985 winning championship game. Erik fondly recalls being escorted by motorcycle police from the Seattle airport downtown to the team’s hotel before the match. "It’s the closest I’ll ever come to being treated like royalty!" he quips.

Erik returned to the San Francisco Bay Area, transferred to UC Berkeley to study political science in preparation for a degree in law, married Reneé, and graduated with highest honors, in that order.

While he was in school, he sold men’s clothes and set up snack bars in movie theatres around the state. The lure of his father’s business, however, with the sound of tapping hammers and smell of sawdust, was never far away. It tugged at his senses, but in a different way. "I envisioned I could make Sundquist into a company that handled multiple projects with more employees, rather than building one house at a time. At the same time I wanted to create something special that serves people, would leave landmarks and would make people better off when we’re done," Erik says. In order to get a new type of work experience independent of his father’s influence that he could bring back to the company and implement as his own vision, Erik worked with another contractor for a year, constructing owner/builder houses.

In 1999 Erik took over the running of the firm from his father, George. He is an excellent fit for the job. A people person, Erik is a born leader who helps bring out the best in his employees. He also is an expert number cruncher and manager. He has an inborn fear of mediocrity, and, like his father, will go to all ends to provide the best for his clients and all who come in contact with the company, no matter the nature of their business. His main objective is to give more than to take. To him, a central faith and belief are essential for staying grounded.

Erik is passionate about flying. He holds a commercial pilot's license with instrument and mulit-engine ratings, and was published under his own by-line in the on-line aviation publication "AV Web."