KB Home
Company: KB Home
Company Description: KB Home is one of America's premier homebuilders with operating divisions in some of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S. The company's majority-owned subsidiary is one of the largest homebuilders in France. KB Home, a Fortune 500 company also operates a full-service mortgage company. Founded in 1957, KB Home was the first homebuilder to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Chairman
Nomination Title: Bruce Karatz, Chairman and CEO of KB Home
1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
Considered the true voice and leader of the homebuilding industry, Bruce Karatz
serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KB Home. In 2004 Karatz was ranked the top homebuilding executive on Builder Magazine’s list of the most
influential people in homebuilding, coming in sixth behind Alan Greenspan, Franklin Raines, President George W. Bush, Jerry Howard and Andres Duany.He transformed the homebuilding industry with his revolutionizing KBnxt concept of
building homes only after they have been sold, reversing the traditional, yet
vulnerable, model of building inventory to sell. As a result, KB Home delivered over 31,646 homes in 2004 compared to under 4,000 when he became CEO in 1986 and less than 7,000 when he was named Chairman in 1993.
Karatz often refers to homebuilding as the core American business, and KB Home as the core American company. From the time he joined the company as an in-house attorney over 30 years ago, to the point soon thereafter when he made the career-defining leap to the operations side, Karatz has brought a fresh and innovative approach. Whether he was identifying and acquiring land in California in the mid-70’s, or running French operations in the late 70’s, he was creating and contributing to dramatic growth levels.
In a little more than 10 years, Karatz has taken the company from building in
just 3 states to 13 states, combining organic expansion and strategic acquisitions in
36 of the top MSA’s in the nation. In 2004, the company reported $7.05 billion in revenues (up from $5.03 billion in 2003).
In addition to operating one of the best performing companies in the country,
Karatz is renowned within and beyond the industry for his marketing savvy. Described in USA Today (11/22/04) as bringing “flourish to the formerly staid industry,” in 2004, he led KB Home to become the largest homebuilder to date on ABC’s hit Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, building a new two-story home in less than a week for a deserving Las Vegas family. Karatz went above and beyond the construction obligation and paid off the family’s mortgage and associated taxes, as well as providing gardening, housekeeping and pool maintenance for life. During that same week, he rang the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Closing BellSM on Election Day celebrating the company’s 35th year on the NYSE and the conclusion of KB Home’s companywide voter registration efforts. Previous high profile partnerships include building a life-sized replica of the home from Fox’s TV family ‘The Simpsons’, erecting a 3000+ sq. ft. home in the middle of Manhattan for ‘Live! With Regis and Kelly’ and building a home atop a French department store.
The 1992 inductee into the California Building Industry Hall of Fame has often been
recognized for his deep commitment to his business and civic communities. He is
currently a director of Avery Dennison, Edison International, and Honeywell
International. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RAND
Corporation, Vice Chair of the Board of Councilors of USC Law Center, and serves on the Board of Directors for the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth.
2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:
“Power Brokers,” Builder Magazine (December 2004)
http://www.builderonline.com/Industry-news.asp?sectionID=13&articleID=86433“KB Chief Builds on Creativity,” USA Today (11/22/04)
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/419/18024KBH.pdf“Rebuilding Trust,” BusinessWeek (9/27/04)
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/399/240923BWEPrint.pdf“No Road to Ruin,” Newsweek (9/20/04)
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/399/240923BWEPrint.pdf“Coming Home,” Los Angeles Business Journal (9/6/04)
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/397/16044_eprint.pdf“Building Quality,” Big Builder (June 2004)
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/386/1-5037243E.pdfRecent press releases:
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/421/ExtremeMakeover-041208.pdfKB Home to Ring Closing Bell on Election Day
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/413/NYSE_Bell_Ringing.pdfKB Home Provides National Voter Registration
http://www.kbhome.com/pdf/press/387/National%20Voter%20Registration%20release.pdfKB Home Acquires Dura Builders of Indiana
http://www.kbhome.com/PressArticle.aspx?id=381KB Home Makes BusinessWeek 50 List of Top Performers
http://www.kbhome.com/PressArticle.aspx?id=366
3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:
Under Karatz’s leadership of 19 years, KB Home’s mission has been to create highly personalized homes for a diverse range of homebuyers. During his tenure with the Company, over 400,000 families have achieved the American Dream in a KB Home. In 2004, Karatz was the top ranked homebuilding executive on Builder magazine’s list of the most influential people in homebuilding. He became KB Home’s chairman of the board in 1993. A graduate of The Blake School in Minneapolis and Boston University, Karatz earned his law degree from USC. Karatz serves on the Board of Directors of several US companies and organizations.