Rock Stars Among Us
Jonathan Zanger, President of MIA and Walker Zanger
Tom McNall
Special Contributor
Anyone in the stone industry who deals with high-end projects and materials has heard of the Walker Zanger brand. There is no company that has been doing what they have done for and with natural stone for as long, and in their unique way.
I first met Jon while serving on the board of directors for the MIA. We had spoken through emails previously, but from the first time we sat down together, I knew that he was a dynamic individual. He is wise, direct, has a sense of humor and is an all-around down to earth guy. Jonathan presently serves as President of the Marble Institute of America as well as the President of the company that carries his last name.
Humble Beginnings
Jonathan’s father, Leon, was born in Belgium and fled with his family in 1940 after the Nazis invaded. As they travelled South through France, Spain and over to Portugal on their way to America, Leon noticed the abundance of natural stone being used everywhere, to pave streets even, considering it was a luxury item back in his home country used only in museums and palaces.
After the war, Leon and a friend from work, Marvin Walker, decided to start a business importing marble. With the support of their wives they went to work, first offering to supply marble table tops for a furniture company that had been previously using glass.
They sold out their first (sizable) order within 2 hours. From there, they approached the big-named retailers of the time: Macy’s, Gimbles and Sears-Roebuck. By the end of their first year, they had $1 million in the bank!
No Free Ride
Although Jonathan Zanger was born into what had become stone royalty in America, he was not just given the key to the executive men’s restroom as soon as he could walk. He will tell you stories of visiting Italian quarries with his father as early as the age of 5, but when he finished college with a minor in economics and a history major, he longed to backpack through Europe as so many of his peers were doing at the time.
Once again, his life was drawn to Italy. Desiring to stay there for some time, he needed work. He first attempted to gain employment by offering to teach English, but fate pulled him back to the stone world.
It was there, while working in stone shops that were low-tech by today’s standards, that he not only learned how to speak Italian, but also the ins and outs of the quarrying, production and fabrication of marble and natural stone. And not one to rest on his father’s laurels, Jon did manual labor in these shops, earning his blisters by lifting slabs without the aid of essential shop tools we take for granted today.
During his time in Italy, Jon learned much from mentors like Armando Santucci and Gigi (Luigi) Pedroni, who were generous with their knowledge and experience.
When the time came to come back to the USA, Jon chose to head out to Walker Zanger California instead of the New York office that his father ran. On the West Coast, he focused on the distribution and architectural disciplines of the trade, while working with one of his mentors, Ian Kerr, who taught Jonathan how to read blueprints and estimate project work.
Shortly after, Jon returned to New York, but not straight to the penthouse, although you could hardly say that he wasn’t qualified. Jon wanted to continue to learn the business from the ground up. Over the next year, he worked in the order, traffic and accounting departments among others, getting an idea of how projects work from start to finish. By now, Jonathan Zanger had become a respected stone man, not only in his own house, but around the world.
His first big large project was in Boston, where the former Federal Reserve Bank was being renovated into the Meridien Hotel (now the Langham Hotel, Boston). It was just after this job that Jon met the Petrillo family, who became his partners in a joint venture that was called Westchester Marble and Granite. It was a company that stocked and distributed stone slabs and tiles in the Eastern U.S.
After 10 years, and some restructuring, this business was folded into Walker Zanger New York, which ultimately merged with the West Coast operations as well.
The rest, my friends, is as they say, history. The Walker Zanger brand has grown to be a household name for any luxury stone project. From the Getty Villa in Malibu to The Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Walker Zanger provides not only products, but architectural support as well, worldwide to any project that needs to be done right and with solid stone.
Jon says that they are essentially fashion designers for buildings.
Rock Stars Among Us
Over the years, Jon learned much from his valued mentors listed above as well as from Frank Savoca, and of course his father, Leon. Of his father, Jon says that he always appreciated that he would let Jon make mistakes so that he could better learn from them. It was this principle that Jon believes helped him grow and love the stone business so much.
It is always a joy speaking to Jonathan Zanger and the Marble Institute is in safe hands with him at the helm for the next year.
Best Advice
When asked what the best advice that he could offer to our readers, Jon responded, “This is a difficult business, and people need to be open about the problems they will certainly encounter. Stone is unique, and you are dealing with nature. You cannot fully control the product, or the expectations of your clients.
“If you keep a problem to yourself, you make the problem all your own. If you share it with your colleagues, it becomes everybody’s challenge, and together the best solutions are devised! Being open gets you ahead of problems,” Jon said.
He illustrated this advice in a project in Charlotte, NC. From 1989-1992, Jon worked on what then was called The Nations Bank Corporate Tower. This job, he related, incorporated around 40 different types of natural stone from 8 different countries.
And while construction can often be a confrontational profession, Jon went on to say that the numerous contractors who came from all over the country for this monumental task, all worked together and communicated effectively. It was his first assignment where owner, C.M., installer and supplier, worked as a team to overcome every challenge, with no fighting or finger pointing, and it turned out beautifully. An amazing feat considering all the variables involved.
An Interesting Story
While in Italy, Jon learned how a word in the local Carrara dialect, “Auf,” which means “for free,” links the early Roman Empire and the stone industry today.
There is a practice in Italy when buying blocks from a quarry or yard, where the company will put its mark on the stone to signify that they’ve purchased it. You could liken it to branding cattle.
So, if Walker Zanger buys a block, they mark that block with a “WZ” to let anyone else shopping know it is sold. Every company has their own initials, mark or brand. Thousands of years ago, the Roman Empire used to mark blocks that they wanted for a specific project with “AUF.” Because the Empire rarely paid for the stones, the term took on the meaning “for free.”
So what did the AUF stand for? “Ad Uso Foro” which translates to “For the Use of the Forum.” They began marking blocks with a term which became synonymous with free because they were used in building the Forum, simply expropriated from the quarries in Carrara. As of the time of this publication, Jon confirmed that Walker Zanger still has to pay for their blocks, even if used on government buildings.
Getting to Know Jonathan Zanger
What are you reading?
- Race for Relevance – It’s a book on governance of trade organizations, which I need for
my current M.I.A. responsibility.
What are you listening to on your radio/iPod?
- I am hooked on National Public Radio. It makes my commute interesting. I like all
music, but classic rock (The Who, Stones, Beatles, Santana) is probably what I listen to
most.
Do you have a favorite vacation location?
- Italy, of course, Brazil and we’re about to visit The Grand Canyon. And I love to go
anywhere that’s exotic and off the beaten track.
Dream vacation?
- Australia/New Zealand, Russia, and Namibia.
Favorite Movie?
- The Godfather, Casino, Casablanca, Pulp Fiction.
Where do you go to think? To escape?
- That’s easy – The local poker room to play some “hold ’em.”
Do You Know a Rock Star?
If you know of any outstanding individual(s) in the stone industry you feel should be interviewed for our Rock Star column, please send us an email letting us know who they are and why they should be featured.
Tom McNall is founder and owner of Great Northern Stone, an Ontario-based stone cleaning and restoration company servicing Ontario and Chicago, IL. Tom also offers corporate and private consultations as well as speaking at conventions. He can be reached at tom@greatnorthernstone.com.