Stephanie Plante Purchases Family Business
Third generation of Bramante family now sole owner
SAN RAFAEL, CA – Stephanie Kirby Plante, granddaughter of the late Martin Bramante, has purchased Cal-Pox, Inc., the San Rafael-headquartered real estate management and development company her grandfather founded in 1967. Plante, along with her aunt and cousins, has operated the family owned business since 1999. With the purchase from the other family members, Plante assumes sole ownership and will continue in her current role as president and CEO of the company that has operations in Marin, Sonoma and San Francisco counties.
“The purchase of Cal-Pox is a dream come true for me,” said Plante. “My grandfather was 94 when he passed in 2014. He spent a half century building a business and teaching his children and grandchildren about it. I am honored to be able to continue that tradition.”
Martin Bramante founded Cal-Pox, Inc. in 1967, when he acquired San Quentin Disposal, San Rafael’s former landfill. Bramante operated the landfill for 20 years, closing it in 1987 to develop Shoreline Center. His daughter, Susan Kirby, helped transform the land into a buzzing business center that included Sonnen BMW and Home Depot. When Susan passed away in 1999, her daughter Stephanie Kirby Plante assumed the presidency of the company.
In 2011 under Stephanie’s leadership, Cal-Pox, Inc. added Marin Honda to Shoreline Center and received San Rafael’s approval to develop a Target store next to Home Depot. The Target store opened in 2013 and has been one of the corporation’s top sales performers.
Marin native Plante is a graduate of San Rafael High School and University of California, Berkeley. She and her husband, Chris Plante, are parents to two school-aged children. Plante is an active volunteer at her children’s schools. She also serves on the board of directors for the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and the Marin Economic Forum. She is a part owner of the San Rafael Pacifics, a professional baseball team and a charter franchise of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs.
Plante says she is especially proud to guide the company in its mission of being a leader in sustainable land and business development, a tradition that began with recycling a former brownfield landfill into a contemporary commercial use. As for day to day operations, she has one immediate change in mind for the business: she is simplifying the company name to its initials, CPI. “I think my grandfather would agree it is time to modernize a little,” she said.
