Family Ties: Josh Ramirez

Big brothers often play significant roles in the lives of younger brothers. That’s exactly what happened to Josh Ramirez. As a young father fresh out of high school, Josh knew that his fast food job wasn’t enough to support a suddenly growing family. He needed more, so he quickly took advantage of an opportunity to increase his income by working as a drywall installer. 

That job, while enjoyable and lucrative enough for a young man, lacked an upward trajectory. Josh’s older brother, John, a building engineer with Action Property Management, could see the writing on the wall and encouraged his younger brother to branch out and try something new. Josh, however, was content in his field. He was good at what he was doing and wasn’t ready to make a change. 

Then the construction industry took a dive and work slowed. Eventually, Josh was laid off and out of work. He filled a few days by shadowing his older brother around the high-rise building where he worked and became intrigued by the idea of becoming a building engineer himself. 

Ultimately, Josh took a job with a company that provided building engineering services in the commercial sector. While on the job he was mentored by accomplished leaders and was given the chance to attend HVAC school. The foundation he built over the next four years proved to be exactly what he needed in order to pursue a career at Action. 

With some gentle prodding from his older brother, Josh decided he was ready to advance his career again. In 2014 a position became available at a brand new Action low-rise community in Newport Beach. After interviewing, Josh was offered the job. 

Given the smaller size of the property, only one person was needed on-site. While Josh desired to lead a team, he knew this was a step in the right direction. Early on, he determined he would stay for three years, then move on to a bigger building, but sometimes plans change. 

Seven years later, Josh was still running the one-man-show. He loved the community and the people and was reluctant to leave. His own family, however, was growing and the need to pursue other opportunities pressed hard on him.

About that time, another brand-new building became available in West Hollywood. This one, a 10-story high-rise that required two employees, was another step in the right direction. Josh applied and was offered a supervisory position working with and overseeing the other employee. 

This time, he stuck with the three year timeline before moving on to the 45-story luxury high-rise, Century Plaza North Tower, with the new title of Chief Engineer. Though the building had been completed for five years by this point, only about one-third of the units were occupied. Today, occupancy sits around fifty percent which allows Josh to oversee a crew of two other engineers. 

A family man at heart, Josh keeps his at-home crew active working on classic cars. Together they enjoy attending car shows with his 1939 Packard and his wife’s 1963 Chevy Impala convertible. His grown daughter even has a 1953 Chevy and his oldest son is planning to start a build soon. Not wanting to be left out, Josh’s eleven-year-old son cruises around the shows on his low-rider Schwinn.

Off the job, family drives him. On the job, teamwork is the driver. With a leadership style focused on the Action value, “We Are a Team,” Josh enjoys working side by side with his team, just as he shares his love of cars with his wife and kids. 

As he climbs the proverbial corporate ladder, Josh is intentional about planning his route. Always desiring to improve his skills and learn as he works, he continues to prepare his path for the next step, wherever that may be.