Carl Koelbel Named President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelbel and Company
Buz Koelbel Will Continue to Serve the Company as Chairman
Koelbel and Company, a 70 year-old family-owned real estate company with deep roots in Colorado, announced today that Carl Koelbel will officially be named President and CEO of the company—taking the reins from the highly respected and venerable Buz Koelbel who has served in the role for more than 47 years. Buz Koelbel will continue to offer oversight and leadership to his three sons and the broader Koelbel team from a macro level in his new role as Executive Leadership Advisor.
“It has been my greatest reward in life to serve as the President and CEO of Koelbel for the last four decades and I truly relished the complete journey, whether it be the tumultuous downturns or the unprecedented growth and change,” said Buz Koelbel. “But the time has come to take a step back from the day-to-day operations and hand that responsibility over to Carl and the highly capable next generation to lead Koelbel into the future.”
Buz has been a pillar of Colorado’s business and real estate community for decades. He continued the family real estate development tradition when he joined the firm his father founded in 1976 and became president in 1985. Since that time, he has shepherded the development, management and investment activities that produced many of Koelbel’s premier residential, commercial and retail projects in the Denver metro area and in mountain resort communities. More recently, he established Koelbel as a leader in affordable housing/workforce housing for low- and moderate-income Coloradans. As a business leader committed to serving the communities where we live, work and play, Buz’s past and current service with community service organizations includes the Urban Land Institute – member and past trustee of the Recreational Development Council; Denver South Economic Development Partnership, member and past chair of the Board of Governors; vice chairman of Economic Literacy Colorado; and board member of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
“Timing is everything in business and in life and I am confident this is the right time to pass the baton. The future of Koelbel and Company is bright… Denver is one of the most exciting, innovative, and vibrant communities in the entire country,” said Buz. “Having three members of the third generation of Koelbel working at the company certainly provides the opportunity for a far broader and longer-term horizon to build on what has been established during the first 70 years.”
First born son, Carl Koelbel, who joined the team 14 years ago, will lead the company as President and CEO. In 2010 Carl helped Buz launch the Koelbel Urban Homes platform and managed several major projects for Koelbel and Company. Like his father and both paternal grandparents, Carl is a graduate of the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business with a Master of Business Administration degree in real estate. He also has a bachelor’s degree in economics and international Relations from the University of Southern California. Carl was instrumental in adding new dimensions to Koelbel’s commercial division. Under Carl’s leadership, over the last decade Koelbel and Company has been responsible for numerous high profile commercial projects including collaborative office spaces like Catalyst and Watershed in RiNo; mixed use developments like The Point at Nine Mile Station in Aurora; Sloan’s Lock Block 3 and Lincoln Commons in Denver; and many more. Carl has also been instrumental in building hundreds of units of affordable housing throughout the region.
“Koelbel is proud of its 70-year history but is even more excited about what the future brings for the company,” said Carl Koelbel. “The values we’ve created over the past seven decades will ensure we maintain our legacy well into the future. For Koelbel and Community, a focus on building legacy communities means defining ‘community’ in the widest possible terms. Community exists in the places where we work and play as well. Understanding that is a key insight to creating timeless communities of all types.”
The Koelbel family have always been very active in the community and given back through a myriad of ways. Carl plans to continue this tradition and ensure the company continues its long tradition of charity. He sits on the Advisory board of the Salvation Army where he helps to consolidate their real estate holdings throughout the city of Denver. Additionally, he helps oversee the Koelbel Family Foundation, which was established in 1996, and has supported numerous worthy causes, including the Sewall Child Development Center, Economic Literacy Colorado, Rocky Mountain Public Media, Goodwill Industries, The Denver Zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the Colorado Conservation Trust that was created as an open-space advocate for the State of Colorado. They believe that education, at all levels, is the singular most important foundation for the future of the state and country. This year alone, they gave a million-dollar endowment to Rocky Mountain Public Media for the Koelbel KUVO Jazz studio which will help continue the tradition of jazz in the community. A large focus of their philanthropic activities has been in multiple areas of the education arena including the central library facility for the Arapahoe County Library District, the Koelbel Building at CU Boulder and the Sewall Child Development Center.
“Carl’s leadership style appeals to the older generation of our team members as well as the millennials. His collaborative manner instills trust and allows team members to build on their individual and collective strengths,” said Tom Whyte, CFO of Koelbel and Company. “Carl carries forward the rich tradition of his grandfather and his dad of developing projects that honor Denver’s history but embracing new standards and styles. He provides team members opportunities to expand their roles but still provides the team direction and a sense of patient urgency.”
About Koelbel and Company Founded as a residential brokerage company in 1952 and now a full-service developer and real estate company with developed commercial and residential properties spanning from Vail and Winter Park to Louisville and Denver, Koelbel and Company have helped change the face of the Centennial State. Now in its third generation, the family-owned Koelbel and Company continues to place its indelible mark on the Colorado landscape with innovative concepts and developments that blend ageless values with pacesetting design. For more information, visit www.koelbelco.com.