Meet the Team at Five Star
Charles A. Hendricks – Chairman
chuck@fivestarstorage.biz
Chuck has been involved with investment real estate development, property management and project management for over 35 years. Chuck holds the prestigious CPM® (Certified Property Manager®) designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management. Chuck began his real estate career in the late 1970s while he and his father, Melvin Hendricks, developed multi-family housing units throughout the rural Dakotas and Montana. In the mid-1980s he became President of the family business and purchased the management company, what is now Five Star Services, in the mid-1990s. In addition to self-storage development and management, Chuck remains involved in multi-family housing management. Chuck has developed, constructed and/or managed more than $70 million of real estate investment property to date. Chuck is primarily responsible for overseeing new Five Star development projects, acquisitions, and assisting in the day-to-day management of operating facilities. Chuck originally attended North Dakota State University (Fargo) where he played collegiate basketball. Chuck later transferred to Montana State University (Bozeman) and obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Zoology.
Chuck is married to his wife Patty, who was also involved in the management company as an executive assistant for almost 15 years until she retired in 2009. Chuck has 4 sons – Jake, Ben, Sam and Will plus two daughters-in-law and five grandchildren. His four sons have worked with the company in varying capacities along with many other family members. While not working, Chuck enjoys playing golf, hunting, fishing, going to his lake home in Minnesota and watching his sons and grandkids participate in their various events. One of Chuck’s most treasured accomplishments is watching the family business move on to the third generation.
Jacob Hendricks – President
Jake has worked with Five Star Storage in some capacity since the company’s portfolio consisted of only one facility with four buildings. Jake has been instrumental in the growth of the business and, over the last fifteen years, has been involved with the acquisition, management, and development of over 1,000,000 rentable square feet of space across more than twenty different facilities. Jake attended the University of North Dakota, and subsequently transferred to Concordia College (Moorhead) where he graduated with honors and degrees in Business and Economics. Jake was a pitcher for the varsity baseball teams at both UND and Concordia. Jake then obtained his law degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minneapolis) and practiced law with the commercial law firm of Felhaber Larson in downtown Minneapolis for over ten years. Jake’s legal practice focused on providing advice and counsel on complex real estate, finance, and commercial transactions.
Today, Jake is the President and an acquisition and development specialist for Five Star Storage. Jake is the lead officer on all new acquisitions and development projects and is responsible for identifying new properties, negotiating terms and financial underwriting, obtaining entitlements and government approvals, and handling closings. Jake also assists with Five Star’s long-term planning, asset management, and overall business strategy.
In addition to his work at Five Star, Jake also sits on the Advisory Board of the Minnesota Self-Storage Association and was previously on the Board of Directors for the MinnDak Chapter of Certified Commercial Investment Members (CCIM®), a national commercial real estate association. Jake also leads the private investment firm Endurance Capital, which focuses on operating business acquisitions and investment.
Jake is fortunate to spend most of his days doing what he loves — chasing and structuring deals. However, in his spare time, Jake can be found hopelessly chasing his ball around the golf course with friends and family, on the waters of Pelican Lake, coaching and watching his kids’ youth sports, spending time outdoors, and getting involved in a variety of charitable organizations.
Benjamin Hendricks – CEO
Alongside his brother and father, Ben began with Five Star Storage at the very beginning on a part-time basis assisting in the maintenance and management with their very first two facilities located in Fargo, ND. Ben came on board full-time with Five Star becoming the manager of all 5 facilities located throughout the Fargo & West Fargo, ND community in early 2009. Through his years as manager, Ben played a critical role in the exponential growth of the facilities’ net operating income, in turn, driving up their value. These results were achieved through strategic revenue management, effective marketing, and superior customer service. Additionally, while still in the role as manager for the Fargo area, Ben played an instrumental part in the expansion of Five Star’s portfolio beyond the boundaries of the Fargo community.
Currently, Ben is the Chief Operating Officer for Five Star Storage and oversees the management operations, sales, marketing, revenue management, and onsite management staff for the entire portfolio of over 1,000,000 rentable square feet. In addition, Ben is involved in the production of feasibility and market studies for new developments and acquisitions to continue the growth of the Five Star Storage portfolio. Within new developments or expansions of existing facilities, Ben strategically applies the knowledge gained through his industry experience to maximize the efficiency of facility layouts and unit mixes to match the market demands and maximize revenue. Ben has served on the board of the North Dakota Self Storage Association (NDSSA) for almost 10 years and sits as the current President. More recently, Ben has been invited to partake in numerous educational sessions at industry conferences and events, sharing his knowledge and expertise with others in the self-storage industry.
Ben attended the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) and later transferred to North Dakota State University (Fargo) where he graduated with honors obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. While obtaining his undergraduate degree, Ben competed for the track & field teams at the U of M and NDSU as a sprinter. When not working with his fellow Five Star Storage team members with continuous efforts to help grow the business, Ben enjoys spending time with his family and friends pursuing many of his life passions. Whether enjoying a day on the water in Minnesota helping untangle his kids fishing lines, being in the saddle on a rocky mountain adventure, or watching his beloved Minnesota Twins and Wild struggle… the outdoors and sports have always been his passions… even more so as he and his wife are able to watch their love for the outdoors and sports continue to grow in with their kids.
William Schneider – Vice President
Bill is a skilled senior executive with experience in publicly traded and privately held organizations. Bill has demonstrated extraordinary leadership during challenging economic times, with focused cash management and asset realignment. He is well connected with Wall Street analysts, large associations and government leaders. Prior to joining the Sponsor, Bill had 39 years of experience in construction materials and contracting business development beginning as a laborer and ending as Chief Executive Officer. Bill successfully led a large multi-state construction company during the great U.S. recession, keeping the organization within the Top 10 aggregate companies nationwide. Bill led growth in the North Dakota Bakken oil fields for a publicly traded organization focused in oil/gas development, construction, electricity generation and contract services. He oversaw the effort to fully revamp corporate safety culture and drastically reduce accidents and incident rates for a company with more than 7,000 employees. Bill led the consolidation of 70 different company names under the umbrella of one new bold national brand, creating better business strategies throughout the 14 states of operation, and developed a successful strategy in employee communication through traditional and social media outlets.
At Five Star Development, Bill is focused on managing the company’s and its affiliates’ finances, as well as strategic consulting on new acquisitions, developments, and asset management.
Bill and his wife Karen have 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren who all currently live in their hometown of Bismarck, ND. Karen was a nurse practitioner for over 38 years and served as the head of the St. Alexius renal dialysis unit before retiring in 2013. Bill and Karen’s main passion is supporting poor people throughout the world through the Kansas-based Christian organization Unbound. They primarily sponsor elderly people as well as the handicapped and children. Each year they travel to a different country to spend time with the people they sponsor in that country. They feel truly blessed to be partners with the Hendricks family in the Five Star Development organization.