In 1959, when his parents left Cuba for a new life in America, Miami managing partner Jeff Schneider of Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman life would turn into a battlefield. His father abruptly died, leaving Schneider’s mother—who didn’t speak English nor had a formal education—in charge of three young children in a foreign country.

Schneider and his brothers were forced to find jobs at a young age to help pay for the family expenses. However, it was in these crucial years that he learned how to be tough, independent and have a good work ethic.