BELFOR USA
Tukwila, WA 98168
Locations
BELFOR USA
Chief Executive Officer
Key Contacts
Owners, Principals & Senior Executives
Michael Yellen 's Bio
Michael Yellen joined Inrecon, LLC, the predecessor company of BELFOR USA Group, Inc., in 1990 as a salesman in Michigan. Utilizing his savvy business sense, he successfully opened the Macomb, Michigan office in 1994 where he served as the General Manager. Mike was a Regional Manager for the Midwest and was then promoted to COO.
Michael is an active member in several industry associations including the Risk Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB). An active member in the community, Michael volunteers with the local American Red Cross, Holiday Meals on Wheels, JARC – one of the nation’s largest providers of community-based Jewish residential services and JVS – which helps people build skills and find jobs to achieve self-sufficiency.
Prior to his career with BELFOR, he earned the No. 1 position in the International Racquetball Tour for five consecutive years beginning in 1982. In 1997, Michael was inducted into the United States Racquetball Association (USRA) Hall of Fame - an honor maintained to recognize athletes who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in competition or in the development, leadership and advancement of the sport.
Sheldon Yellen's Bio
Sheldon Yellen has built himself a robust reputation for his unconventional management style. As CEO of BELFOR Holdings, Inc. - a $1.5 billion entity which operates a number of companies including BELFOR Property Restoration, the global leader in damage restoration and recovery services - he carefully watches every penny spent yet doesn’t hesitate to hop on a private plane to visit a sick employee or customer. His rationale? BELFOR is his family.
Abandoning traditional business proceedings in order to put more stock in his greatest asset—people—Yellen admits hating meetings, committees, and layers of corporate hierarchy, preferring instead to constantly grow the business in order to expand his family, which today includes over 7,000 men and women in more than 300 offices spanning 21 countries.
Yellen received national acclaim for his deeply compassionate management style when he was featured in CBS’ hit series Undercover Boss, a show that provides corporate executives a glimpse into the inner workings of the companies they run. Yellen’s emotional journey through the everyday lives of four employees working on the front lines of his diverse business landed the series’ BELFOR episode an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Reality Program.
Widely recognized as a preeminent figure in the restoration industry, Sheldon Yellen has developed an influential following of decision makers who love his unconventional management style. His presentations reflect his management philosophies through his personal journey as a leader and his intense belief in people from all walks of life. Failure is not in his vocabulary.
Operations
Rusty Amarante 's Bio
Rusty Amarante, CR, has over 40 years of experience in the restoration industry. He is the Director of Operations for BELFOR Property Restoration, the global leader in disaster recovery and President of BELFOR Franchise Group, a leading national franchisor of service-brands including 1-800 WATER DAMAGE, DUCTZ International and HOODZ International.
Whether handling a loss that affected a family of three or a major catastrophe requiring teams of 3,000+, he knows every situation is its own unique challenge. Rusty is responsible for coordinating the BELFOR National Catastrophe Team's logistics, manpower, equipment and resources in the aftermath of national disasters on a daily basis.
Rusty was past-President of the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) and served as Vice Chair to the IICRC S500 and water damage standards guide. He is a sought-out speaker in the restoration industry and has conducted hundreds of training classes throughout his career to encourage passionate restorers for the future.
Business Development, Marketing & Sales
Theresa Williams's Bio
Theresa Williams is Executive Vice President of National Sales and Marketing at BELFOR. With more than 20 years of experience, Williams is recognized as an industry leader in commercial loss mitigation and business contingency planning.
Throughout her career, Williams has been focused on delivering programs, services and tailored customer solutions. From owning her own property restoration business to directing the disaster recovery efforts of some of the world’s largest corporations, Williams has approached every business challenge and every phase of the disaster recovery process with innovative thinking, creative problem-solving and goal-driven momentum to “get things done.”
Williams has directed numerous commercial disaster restoration projects following catastrophic events including most major domestic hurricanes, tornados, hailstorms and floods across the continent. She played a pivotal leadership role in recovery projects such as the Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, 9/11 in New York City, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, and Superstorm Sandy, as well as catastrophes in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Chile and Australia. Her leadership, persistence and unwavering support during the 2017 unprecedented season of major hurricanes – Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma – helped others rise above challenges and difficult issues during high pressure situations.
As the company’s global liaison with insurance markets and top corporate risk managers, she has been instrumental in developing and growing the company’s international business and presence in London, Germany and many other countries.
She has been the driving force behind the company’s highly successful RED ALERT® Priority Response Program which now provides premier disaster recovery services to some of the world’s largest corporations and institutions. She regularly directs and participates in disaster recovery planning tests for companies in all industry segments.
Williams is often sought out to share her expertise through speaking engagements and loss mitigation training seminars for a broad range of industries, corporations and insurance companies including:
Lloyds of London
Loss Executives Association (LEA)
Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB)
Property Claims Services (PCS)
Williams served for five years on the PLRB Claims Conference Committee and is a member of the PLRB Affiliate Advisory Board. She is also a member of Women in Insurance, Risk Management Society (RIMS), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), State Risk and Insurance Management Association (STRIMA), International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Worldwide Broker Network (WBN), Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA), Community Associations Institute (CAI), Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association (PRSM), Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA), and University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URIMA).
In addition to her leadership role at BELFOR, Williams is passionate about community service, mission trips and volunteers for organizations such as The First Tee, Habitat for Humanity, and Special Olympics.
Williams is based out of the BELFOR National Technical Service Center in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.