BUILD Magazine has named our founder, Michael Cocozza, to the Advisory Board of BUILD CONNECT, its invitation-only leadership summit for the high-end residential design and construction industry. The summit runs October 1 and 2, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The board is seven people, and it is complete. Mike is the only Florida builder on it.
What BUILD CONNECT is
Most industry events are large by design. BUILD CONNECT is small by design. It is built around peer-led roundtables, sponsor breakout sessions and scheduled one-on-one meetings between the builders, architects, interior designers and manufacturers who shape the luxury market. BUILD’s founder, Ted Bainbridge, described the intent as bringing the right people together rather than the most people. The Advisory Board sets the programming and the conversations that make that possible.
Who is at the table
Brad Leavitt of AFT Construction. Grant Bowen of Peak Projects. Jaque Bethke of JAQUE Design. Brian Humphreys of Kohler Co. Daniel Ralls, Principal and Owner of Olson Kundig. Ted Bainbridge of BUILD Magazine. And Michael Cocozza of Trinity Custom Homes.
Why it matters to the people we build for
We are candid about this: a board seat does not make a home better. What it does is put us in the room where the standards for this work are being argued out, with people who build at the top of the market in Scottsdale, Jackson Hole, Seattle and beyond. The problems are the same ones we work on in Sarasota. How do you hold quality when material lead times move. How do you keep a client informed without burying them. How do you build for a coastal climate that is getting harder every year. Hearing how other serious firms answer those questions, and being asked to answer them ourselves, sharpens how we build here.
It is also a form of proof. Trinity was named 2025 Builder of the Year by the AIA Gulf Coast Chapter and has taken three national Best in American Living Awards. Being asked to help shape a national summit is a different kind of recognition: it is peers saying the perspective is worth having in the room.
What comes next
Mike will be in Scottsdale on October 1 and 2. We will share what we learn, where it is useful to the people planning a home on Florida’s west coast. If you are weighing builders and want to talk about how we work, the door is open.
Meet the full Advisory Board at buildmagconnect.com/advisory-board. Read the BUILD Magazine announcement.
