2020 Businessperson of the Year: John Kello

John Kello

BY SARAH KITTLE

John Kello attributes his success in business to surrounding himself with great partners and team members. He works to identify them and tirelessly pursues excellence. According to Sam Yaldo, Kello’s business partner on many ventures, “The best part about John Kello is he surrounds himself with knowledgeable people, and more importantly – he trusts his partners.”

Kello is a managing director and partner at Landmark Commercial Real Estate Services, one of the leading retail leasing brokerage firms in Michigan. His entry there is a great story, as told by Michael Lippitt, principal and co-founder: “In 1997, Landmark Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. was already 8 years old and growing fast. We specialized in retail site selection, land and property acquisitions and leasing agencies (we still do). At that time, we represented around 40 national retail and restaurant chains exclusively in the State of Michigan.  

“One day, in walks John Kello looking for a job; a fresh-faced young Chaldean man with zero experience in commercial real estate brokerage but with a winning smile and a charming attitude. We were not interested in training a ‘newbie’ at that time and suggested that he get some experience elsewhere and that when he was ready, and if he were still interested, come back and see us. Fortunately for Landmark, and for me personally, that is exactly what John did.”

After two years at Schostak Brothers, John came back to Landmark and began his brokerage career there. In the beginning, his primary focus was serving the growing and upwardly mobile Chaldean real estate community, primarily in the city of Detroit. His success was almost instantaneous. He was not afraid to tackle the most difficult and complicated projects. 

Kello quickly endeared himself to the brokerage staff and clients. His sophistication and business savvy grew exponentially.  Lippitt recalls, “Before long, as he began to be viewed as a peer, he deemed himself ‘management’ and took on some of those roles. This was before he became an actual partner!”

In 1998, Kello leveraged several of his retail relationships and started a development firm to build and lease sites in southeast Michigan for a handful of national tenants including Family Dollar and AutoZone. One of his primary focuses continues to be building single-tenant retail properties. Yaldo says, “Every time I pass by a Family Dollar, I ask myself, ‘Is that John’s?’” 

Kello has also had success in his personal life, marrying his wife Leila in 1994 and raising four children together. With two kids in college, one about to start college and another close to high school age, they have their hands full. He doesn’t like to rest on his laurels, however; after the economic downturn of 2008, he partnered with Gabe Zawaideh to create a web-based marketplace called MatchRX.

Kello and Zawaideh were golfing buddies for years before going into business together. Zawaideh is an independent retail pharmacist, and one day Kello called him with a business idea about connecting newly moved or transferred people with information on local medical professionals. While that idea never panned out, Zawaideh had an idea about how to solve a problem with prescription drug overstock at the pharmacy. Both had zero experience in the IT space. It didn’t matter. Match RX was born.

MatchRX is a marketplace for independent pharmacists to buy and sell overstock non-controlled, non-expired prescription medication at a percentage off the prevailing price. The company acts as a liaison between the buyer and seller, never touching the product but facilitating the shipping, compliance with state and federal law and the whole financial piece. Stores such as Walgreens and CVS transfer product under their own umbrella between stores but the independent pharmacists had never had their own network before. MatchRX now has more than 6,500 pharmacies operating in 33 states.

MatchRX is Kello’s proudest accomplishment and it continues to grow through membership adoption and horizontal platforms including MatchSquare, a marketplace for makers of unique items and niche retailers. Embracing the group concept, he and Zawaideh put in their due diligence and assembled a winning team for MatchRX. Incorporating the core values of integrity, innovation, and growth, Kello has built a reputation of getting the right people in the right place to get the job done.

Zawaideh thinks that Kello is the perfect business partner: “What makes John a perfect partner is that first he is a great communicator. We address each situation openly and honestly. Second, John has had to work smarter and harder than the next person, not growing up with a silver spoon in his mouth; this man must focus every day on getting tasks done. He is decisive which makes him a natural leader, a good listener when it comes to learning about a new topic, extremely organized with his daily lists of things to do and ethical in any and all areas of business, always trying to expand his territory in a way acceptable to our religious teachings.”

Lippitt considers Kello a blessing. “Jonny has great instincts. He knows when to work on an opportunity and even more importantly, when not to. If he is after something he thinks can succeed, no obstacle is too great. No problem too large. There is no quit in him. He is resourceful, exudes confidence to his clients and partners alike. He is not always right. None of us are. But his batting average is hall of fame caliber. His ambition and confidence know no bounds. He is extremely creative, clever and strategic. 

“John has been the truest friend, partner, advisor and competitor. He’s an honest person and expects the same from others. He sets standards and follows them too. He’s a team player in the true sense of the term,” says Lippitt. “He knows where he came from. He knows where he’s going. He knows what works and who he wants to be around daily.”

Kello’s business partners aren’t the only ones who admire him. His wife Leila, a true partner in every sense of the word, says, “He’s always been a very hard worker and a very driven and focused individual who puts God and family above everything. He brings out the best in everyone he works with.”