David Ballew
Dallas/FW
Summary
Dynamic construction industry veteran with 37 years of experience driving expansion and growth for multiple companies. Successfully built 125 complexes and over 1,200 screens nationwide in collaboration with five theater exhibitors and an architectural firm. Proven expertise in land development with a strong track record at Hamilton Commercial and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, where strategic partnerships facilitated the delivery of exceptional designs and superior guest experiences. Committed to leveraging extensive industry knowledge and relationships to contribute to organizational success. Dedicated to fostering growth and enhancing overall performance, ready to play a pivotal role in achieving future milestones.
Overview
36
36
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Vice President Construction
Hamilton Commercial LLC
01.2021 - 01.2025
- Company Overview: The company had acquired land over many years and was ready to turn to a growth phase. Build and develop the land into mixed use development. I was hired to oversee design and construction of mixed use developments containing multi-family apartments, townhomes, Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, and retail buildings. Industrial warehouse projects. Existing office buildings and office park developments capital expenditure upgrades.
- Oversees design architects, engineers, consultants, city permitting process, general contractors, and vendors.
- Provides strategic leadership, direction, coaching and mentoring to ownership by managing financial controls & accountability of development projects.
- Completed projects 1) 4 industrial warehouses, totaling 162.3k sq ft. $18M; 2) 1 multi-family expansion, 68-units, 4-buildings, 66k sq ft, $8M. 3) 1-office interior build out for GSA-VA, 14k sq ft, $700k. 4) interior office build-out in a shell warehouse, 2.5k sq ft, $4k. 4) 1-Poker card house, building renovation, entertainment, kitchen and 2 bars, 31.1k sq ft, $4M.
Vice President of Construction
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
01.2018 - 01.2021
- Company Overview: While the company continued its growth, my job as the Vice President of Construction was to oversee and manage the construction business, manage contracts, projects and operations functions of the construction department. I managed project teams, third party consultants, project managers and general contractors. I negotiate, review, and execute all construction business contracts, ensure that bid documents and contracts encompass the complete scope coverage, and as well as ensuring compliance with company’s policies, safety program, procedure and federal, state and local regulations. I also maintain forecasting for construction business financial results, evaluate opportunities for new business and explore ways to reduce costs and to streamline our processes.
- Oversee architects, engineers, consultants, general contractors, vendors & 3 direct reports.
- Provide strategic leadership, direction, coaching & mentoring to the construction team by managing financial control & accountability of development projects.
- Developed & implement policies & programs for performance goals & growth.
- Built & completed 8 facility projects within 5 states in 8 different cities totaling $53.5 million & 319,475 square feet.
Director of Construction
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
01.2015 - 01.2018
- Company Overview: Due to the growth and expansion of the company my job was to continue to review architectural drawings, coordinate with design engineers, FF&E manufacturers and installers. I continued contracting all design professional consultants, general contractors and purchased all furniture, fixtures and equipment. For Franchise projects I reviewed all plans and specs, provided mark-ups and comments, performed construction site visits to ensure the project was being constructed to meet the Design Criteria Manual and the architect’s drawings.
- Managed 2 direct reports.
- Grew the construction department, hiring a Project Administrator & Construction Project Manager to continue to track all construction costs & provide monthly reports to the CEO & CFO.
- Recruited & hired staff of Project Managers, Designers & Purchasing Agents to successfully initiate an $82.3 million with 206,397 square foot corporate expansion & development growth program nationwide.
- Spearheaded projects in New York & Los Angeles in multi-level downtown high rise buildings & a Historic Preservation of a 1920’s movie palace in San Francisco as well as projects in Raleigh, Austin & Denver.
- Led build-out of 6 new corporate locations in 5 states and 6 cities, reviewed and oversaw 15 franchise projects in 6 states and 14 cities completion of 21 locations during this time period successfully managing capital construction programs across the nation.
Director of Construction & Presentation
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Company Overview: Hired to develop and implement construction standards and design requirements for a national rollout which includes franchises project compliance of these standards. Upon reviewing and approving all products to be used in this Design Manual and working with suppliers to create custom design elements, my job was also to provide the best projection presentation in the industry by ensuring auditorium size to match the 4k projection resolution standards. For corporate projects, I contracted all design professional consultants, general contractors and purchased all furniture, fixtures and equipment. For Franchise projects I reviewed all plans and specs, provided mark-ups and comments, performed construction site visits to ensure the project was being constructed to meet the Design Criteria Manual and the architect’s drawings.
- Developed & Implemented processes, procedures, standards & expectations to expand a small company nationally. During this time successfully built & completed 5 corporate sites, $20.5 million & 219,354 square feet. Reviewed, advised & oversaw 5 franchise projects in 2 states & 5 cities completing a total of 10 locations during this time period.
Director of Purchasing & Facilities
iPic Entertainment, LLC.
01.2011 - 2012
- Company Overview: Hired to research and purchase all furniture, fixtures and equipment (including: IT equipment, seating, carpet, kitchen Eq, fire, projectors, sound Eq furniture). I coordinated the maintenance and repairs of the facilities (including: elevators, escalators, HVAC, Kitchen Eq, Order any operation’s needs, landscaping and any repairs needed) and project managed all close-out project manuals and warranties.
- Built & completed 1 facility project within 1 state in 1 city (Mizner Park, Boca Raton, FL).
- Saved $600K in furniture, fixtures & equipment negotiations, allowing ownership to add more flash to the exterior of the building.
- Managed & Implemented Repairs & Maintenance criteria, vetted, hired, contracted subcontractors to provide facilities maintenance for 9 sites in 7 states.
- Developed & implemented a purchasing, invoicing & contracting system with the CFO. Which allowed the company to accurately track the P&L’s.
- Reduced Facilities downtime during first year in position, planned & forecasted additional 20% efficiency for the following year.
Project Manager | Cinema & Entertainment
Hodges & Associates Architecture, P.L.L.C.
01.2006 - 01.2011
- Company Overview: Hired as a cinema projection, sound, furniture, fixtures and equipment expert for Hodges & Associates Architecture. My job was to infuse my expertise into the architectural drawings for cinema projects providing better quality and lower costs. Furthermore, I provided Technical Audio Visual specifications and details to the Architect, AutoCAD Drafting of details, Source FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment) manufactures, products and items, procure vendor quotes and bid negotiations, vendor selection, contract negotiations.
- Proud to say I was able to source, draft detailed CAD drawings, negotiate, contract & bring VIP Cinema Seating & Recliners into the cinema industry for the Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinema national roll out.
- Built & completed 8 facility projects within 4 states in 8 different cities.
- Managed & directed planning of projection audio & visual systems drafting complete equipment, mountings & wiring details incorporated into project drawings for bid & construction.
- Sourced & negotiated furniture, fixtures & equipment from around the world. Designed & developed an in-seat call button system, sourced manufacture & delivered a UL certified system to the project.
- Decreased the amount of General Contractor change orders due to the FF&E equipment was now integrated into the construction set, which saved the owners money & time.
Director of Technical Services
Wallace Theater Corporation II (d.b.a. Hollywood Theatres)
01.1999 - 01.2006
- Built & completed 12 facility projects within 11 states in 19 different cities.
NW Technical Supervisor
Regal Entertainment Group
01.1997 - 01.1999
- Supervised sixteen west coast projection engineers, scheduled projects & work hours, resolved conflicts & determined salaries.
- Built & completed 4 facility projects within 3 states in 4 different cities.
Director of Technical Services
Act III Theatres, Inc.
01.1989 - 01.1997
- Supervised 8 projection field engineers & 5 warehouse employees, scheduled work hours, resolved conflicts & determined salaries
- Built & completed 43 facility projects within 5 states in 30 different cities.
Education
High School Diploma -
Grant High School
Portland, ORSkills
- Architecture & Planning
- Construction
- Entertainment
- Food and Beverage
Affiliations
Society of Media Professionals Technologist and Engineers (SMPTE)
Board of Directors 2021-2026 (ICTA - International Cinema Technology Association)
American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
Certification
- Awards
- Awarded the “Interior/Tenant Improvement Best Project” - South: Alamo Drafthouse & Cinema at The BLOC - Issued by ENR (California 2020 Regional Best Project winners 8/2020
- Organizations
- Society of Media Professionals
- Technologists and Engineers (SMPTE)
- Board of Directors 2021-2026 (ICTA)
- International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA)
- American Society of Composers
- Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
- Frisco Baseball and Softball Association (FBSA)
- Licenses & Certifications
- Sony SRX R515P/R320 System & Maintenance, STI - Sony Training Institute
- Factory Training for Strong Cinema Equipment, Ballantyne of Omaha, Inc.
- Installation and Maintenance of Dolby Cinema Products, Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
- Software
- Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Adobe Acrobat-Pro, Projectmates, AutoCAD, Slack, Gmail
Hobbies and Interests
Guitar & Drums, During the 1990’s, I was involved with a band that performed throughout the Portland area. I have working knowledge setting up and running live sound (P.A. systems), Par lighting fixtures and dimming systems, DMX controlled intelligent lighting and controllers., Amateur Luthier, Repairs and builds guitars., Baseball Coach, Hitting and Pitching Instructions., Physical Activities, Daily workout at the gym., Coffee Connoisseur, To seek out the greatest cup., Wiring sound & electrical equipment., Dolby Laboratories, How things work, I’m a big fan of the word “WHY”?
Timeline
Vice President Construction
Hamilton Commercial LLC
01.2021 - 01.2025
Vice President of Construction
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
01.2018 - 01.2021
Director of Construction
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
01.2015 - 01.2018
Director of Construction & Presentation
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
01.2012 - 01.2015
Director of Purchasing & Facilities
iPic Entertainment, LLC.
01.2011 - 2012
Project Manager | Cinema & Entertainment
Hodges & Associates Architecture, P.L.L.C.
01.2006 - 01.2011
Director of Technical Services
Wallace Theater Corporation II (d.b.a. Hollywood Theatres)
01.1999 - 01.2006
NW Technical Supervisor
Regal Entertainment Group
01.1997 - 01.1999
Director of Technical Services
Act III Theatres, Inc.
01.1989 - 01.1997
High School Diploma -
Grant High School