The head of his own successful Des Moines commercial real estate development and restaurant establishment and management company, Bruce Gerleman has received honors such as Young Iowan of the Year and Iowa Restaurateur of the Year. Over the years, Bruce Gerleman has also earned a place among the Who's Who of the America Heritage Foundation and appeared on more than a dozen national television programs, including William Shatner's Moving America Forward and Your World with Neil Cavuto.

As a general contractor, Bruce Gerleman emphasizes the value of renovating and preserving buildings of historic significance, and has earned renown for reviving Des Moines’ Court Avenue District. As a restaurateur, he established the four-star Splash Seafood Bar & Grill and the restaurant chain Jethro’s BBQ. Under his leadership, Jethro’s supports eight locations throughout central Iowa, providing good paying jobs and benefits to more than 800 people and placing a number of minority and female employees in high-level management positions.