William A. Saks & Co. specializes in residential, commercial and industrial real estate development.

Like many young adults graduating from high school, Bill Saks wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. “When I was a kid, I envied people with obvious talent that were terrific in art or math or fluent in another language,” he recalls. “I thought they were lucky because they had an opportunity to drill down in an area they were obviously skilled at. Nothing held my interest.

“I dreaded finding myself pigeonholed in a particular profession,” Saks continues. “So, I asked a fellow – who became a professional mentor of mine – and he said you can be whatever you want to be in real estate. You can manage apartments, you can be in industrial real estate or high rises, you can sell homes, you can sell taco stands or five-star restaurants; you can do whatever suits you. You are limited only by your own creativity and your own skills.

“Being a generalist turns out to be a real asset in this profession, and it suits me,” he adds. So, in 1987, he established William A. Saks & Co., a St. Helena, Calif.-based real estate investment and development firm that specializes in residential, commercial and industrial properties.

“We approach real estate in an unusual way in that I look at the highest and best use on a particular property,” Saks explains. “We’re constantly looking at what opportunity exists and what’s wanted and needed in that community.