Key People

The next seventeen years saw greater and greater responsibilities as a foodservice executive specializing in turnaround situations, including various executive positions with Heinz Foods, the world's largest ketchup producer and McCain Foods, the world's largest manufacturer of frozen French fries with annual sales in excess of $5 billion.

With the establishment of Select Real Estate, life has truly come full circle. After semi retiring to San Miguel de Allende, Richard noticed Real Estate agencies offering less services yet charging U.S. commission rates in a Mexican economy. After several months of cost analysis, it was determined that a new way of doing business was in order and Select Real Estate was born.

Bryan Townsend moved to San Miguel from Montreal to get away from long, cold winters. Since moving he has been involved with investment groups, built a house and now is one of the new owners of Select Real Estate. He is a retired classical musician and occasionally gives benefit concerts. In his previous life he taught at McGill University and the University of Victoria, made recordings, published books and toured Europe. Here in San Miguel he focusses on working with buyers to help them find their Mexican dream home and with sellers to help them find buyers.

Larry Castriotta has more than 30 years of senior management experience in marketing and manufacturing with Fortune 500 companies such as Target, (Dayton Hudson) and Jewel Companies, Inc. He has also run companies that wouldn't make that list if it were expanded to 5000. Assignments included IPO's, start-ups, and turnarounds. Larry received his BS degree from Boston University and his MBA from Harvard in 1973.

After completing his degree work Larry worked for Jewel Companies, (Osco Drug Stores, Jewel Food Stores) and was then recruited by the Dayton Hudson Company, now called Target Corporation. When Target decided to sell the division that he served as V.P. of Merchandising it became a crossroads for him. He declined an offer to transfer to the Target Stores at a senior level in favor of an opportunity join a group that eventually purchased the division from Target.

That entrepreneurial venture solidified the path for the rest of his career. Small to medium companies with small but lucrative niches. Exploit the niches by executing consistently and extraordinarily.

Two months after his third retirement started he found another company that fills those criteria: Select Real Estate. Along with his wife Martha, Larry has joined the company as a principal.

Martha Castriotta received her BS degree from Brenau College, a MS in Early Childhood Special Education, from Mankato State, (MN) and an MS in Speech Pathology from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. Throughout her 30 plus years of teaching she worked with all kinds of special needs children including Downs Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Attention Deficit Disorders, ADHD, and most and for the last 5 years she was a specialist in Autistic children.

Martha played a major role in the development of the nationally recognized Early Childhood Special Education department for the Hopkins Minnesota School District.

While she was a consistent contributor to the development to the evolution of this department she regularly refused promotions that would have taken her out of the classroom and lessened her contact with the children.

She is an avid hiker and adventure oriented traveler. Martha's favorite saying describes her to a tee: If your not living on the edge you're taking up too much space!