In a recent leadership shake-up, Kettler Management Corp., a McLean, Va.-based property owner and manager, announced that executive vice president Andrew Buchanan will replace Rick Hausler as president of the company.
The decision was made after Hausler left Kettler to pursue a career in nonprofit government, a field for which Hausler has expressed great passion. After 23 years at Kettler, Hausler will remain a minority stakeholder in the company. Buchanan will assume his new position immediately.
Founder and CEO Bob Kettler says the transition is expected to be smooth going into the future. “We hope to continue the traditions established here at Kettler, and I think Andy will be able to do that,” he says.
Buchanan is looking forward to the transition as well, though he says his shift to company president is not a dramatic one. “The staff has reported to me for the past two years, so the transition hasn’t been dramatic at all. However, I look forward to stepping out more as president,” Buchanan says.
The new president will oversee the company’s three large development and management projects. Kettler recently landed a management deal for Trammell Crow Residential’s Alexan CityView, a 544-unit apartment complex in Bayonne, N.J. Buchanan will also be busy with two mixed-use development projects, Village of Leesburg in Leesburg, Va., and Metropolitan Park at Pentagon City in Arlington, Va. He and Bob Kettler say the company is also looking forward to expanding by developing more mixed-use properties in the future.
Although Kettler is optimistic about the change in leadership, he will miss Hausler’s presence at the company. “Rick will certainly be missed here. He is a very bright guy. The projects we developed in the past were mostly my brainchild, but Rick provided a lot of input and outlook on the projects,” Kettler says.
Hausler will be focusing on his new career at Lorton Arts Foundation, a charity that supports art programs in the Lorton, Va., area. Hausler may also seek a position in the Obama administration, though no official plans exist as of yet. The Kettler staff, meanwhile, says it couldn’t be happier for Hausler.
