Craig Ausrud
Co-Owner and Finance Director
Craig Ausrud brings more than 35 years of combined commercial and residential experience to Wealth Built, including over 200 completed projects ranging from high-efficiency commercial HVAC systems to structural installations and custom cabinet and countertop design. He holds a General Contractor license in Structural Shapes, along with Six Sigma and Operational Excellence certifications and OSHA training — credentials that reflect a career built on precision and process. Before joining Wealth Built, Craig led engineering teams in the commercial HVAC industry, managed factory process projects across a range of industries, and founded a commercial installation company before acquiring franchise territories in a growing residential market. He is a member of NARI and a recipient of the President’s Award for his work as an Engineering Manager. Craig is known among clients for his follow-through, his generosity of time, and his ability to truly listen before offering solutions. What drives him is people — and the work of designing processes that make complex projects run cleanly. His approach is straightforward: understand what you’re trying to build, design the right solution, and execute the plan with care.
Tim Gunnels
Co-Owner, Technical Director & Professional Engineer
Tim Gunnels is a Professional Engineer licensed in 25 states with 37 years of experience across industrial construction, manufacturing, and engineering — including more than 1,000 projects and a resume that spans site management of a $160 million gas plant in Wyoming to a patent for a wastewater product. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Engineering Management, along with OSHA 30 certification. Before joining Wealth Built, Tim founded and led an engineering firm, a travel agency, and an equipment installation business — a breadth that reflects not just technical depth, but a sharp instinct for how organizations actually operate. Clients describe Tim as responsive, clear, and relentlessly solution-oriented — and he’d agree that’s the point. He loves being able to see the finish line before a project begins and then helping clients get there with confidence. At Wealth Built, he brings that same engineering discipline to every client conversation: understand the problem, map the path, and deliver.
Deb Fillman
Director of Operations & Procurement
Deb Fillman brings a rare combination of cross-industry operational depth and firsthand design-build experience to her role at Wealth Built. She holds a B.A. with Honors and Distinction from Colby College and an M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, and has spent her career building systems that make complex operations run cleanly — across financial services, digital agency work (where she led seven teams on a large-scale Estée Lauder e-commerce platform at Razorfish), education, hospitality, and her own independent media operation. Her introduction to the design-build world came through working as a personal assistant to Beth Conant of Lucy & Company, an award-winning Charlotte interior designer — managing household operations while gaining a close-up view of how design and construction projects move from concept to completion. At Wealth Built, Deb translates that experience into the processes, coordination, and procurement systems that protect clients from the chaos renovation projects can become. She’s known for thoroughness, responsiveness, and the kind of proactive problem-solving that resolves issues before clients ever see them. Her goal is simple: she wants the renovation experience to feel manageable, not stressful — and she’s built her entire role around delivering that.
Jenny Hassid
Creative Director and Architect
A fourth-generation architect with nearly 20 years of experience spanning commercial design, residential brokerage, and brand strategy, Jenny brings a rare dual lens to every project. She holds a Master of Architecture and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Houston — a combination that informs not just how she designs spaces, but how she understands the people who live in them. Her career has included roles as a project designer at Shook Kelley and Odell Associates, and brokerage leadership at Keller Williams, Rinehart Realty, and Savvy + Co. Real Estate, where she served as Managing Broker. She holds Broker in Charge licenses in both North Carolina and South Carolina, and her work has been recognized with a Total Prestige cover story, WSOC-TV features, and a panelist seat at Invest Charlotte’s 2022 Residential Real Estate & Construction forum. What clients consistently say about Jenny is that she listens — and then delivers. She has a gift for translating the feeling clients struggle to put into words into design decisions that actually reflect how they live. Her expertise sits at the intersection of design and value strategy, making her a trusted partner not just for aesthetics but for long-term outcomes. A mother herself, Jenny brings a grounded, practical sensibility to every collaboration.
Kristen Jones
Senior Interior Designer
With 21 years of experience in residential design and over 100 projects to her name, Kristen Jones specializes in the spaces that matter most: kitchens and baths. She earned her Associate’s Degree in Interior Design from the Art Institute and holds ProKitchen and DC Pro certifications — training that keeps her at the leading edge of design specification and space planning. Before joining Wealth Built, Kristen spent 14 years as a Regional Design Manager overseeing more than 10 design studios across the East Coast, where she was responsible for staffing, operations, and the build-out of eight new studio locations. She got her start at a tile and stone showroom, giving her hands-on material knowledge that continues to inform her design decisions today. Clients consistently point to Kristen’s attention to detail and clear communication as what sets her apart. For Kristen, the measure of a successful project is simple: the client’s vision comes to life exactly as they imagined it.
Josh Diaz
Director of Project Development and Project Manager
Josh Diaz brings 34 years of lending industry leadership to his role at Wealth Built, where he oversees project development with the same discipline he applied to managing teams of up to 27 people throughout his finance career. A Charlotte resident since 2003, Josh watched the Queen City grow from the inside out — and quietly built a parallel passion for residential construction along the way, renovating homes on the side before taking on the challenge of building three custom homes from the ground up. When he stepped back from the lending world in 2024, he channeled that experience into a new chapter doing work he’d loved for years. At Wealth Built, Josh applies a financial operator’s eye to the complexities of project management — keeping timelines tight and budgets honest in the same way he once ran high-performing business teams. When he’s not on a job site, you’re likely to find him with a trombone in hand, deep in the rhythms of Jazz, Salsa, and Latin Jazz.
