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Jeffrey T. Mezger serves as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Board of KB Home.
A 30-year veteran of the homebuilding industry, Mezger is recognized as the driving force behind KB Home's core KBnxt business model, the engine powering the company's growth. KBnxt shifted away from the industry's tradition of pre-building homes without buyers to an innovative and disciplined build-to-order approach grounded in fact-based, survey-driven market and land acquisition strategies. Reflecting the achievements of KBnxt, Mezger brings a strong emphasis on operational excellence to KB Home's well-known reputation for innovation. He believes a successful homebuilding business combines customer-focused, personalized home design with operational efficiencies and economies of scale that help the business take advantage of market changes.
Prior to being appointed President and CEO in 2006, Mezger was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of KB Home from 1999 to 2006. In this role, Mezger was responsible for U.S. homebuilding operations, overseeing 36 divisions operating in 40 markets in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Under his watch, KB Home grew from a $3.8 billion business delivering 22,460 units in 1999 to a $9.4 billion business delivering 37,140 units in 2005. From 2001 to 2004, he directed an aggressive diversification and acquisition strategy that doubled the number of the Company's major markets from 17 to 34. He also oversaw the expansion of the Company's traditional product line of entry-level and move-up single-family homes to cover a broad range of products that meet the demands of today's homebuyers, including higher density infill and luxury residences.
Mezger has been instrumental in creating KB Home's culture of operational excellence and has transformed the Company into a quality and customer service leader. Believing that the KB Home team is critical to the Company's success, Mezger has fostered an environment where employee innovation is recognized and rewarded and where each employee promotes the brand in every interaction with customers. Mezger has also spearheaded major quality initiatives, including KB Home's participation in the National Housing Quality certification program. Under Mezger's leadership, KB Home became the first national homebuilder to implement the rigorous training and education for trade partners required by the certification program, resulting in increased quality construction for customers. He also drove the development of the Company's "Say Yes" approach to customer service that ensures homeowner needs are addressed before and after a home purchase. The "Say Yes" commitment embodies KB Home's approach of total focus on the customer and sets the KB Home brand apart from the competition.
In 2005, Mezger helped launch a ground-breaking joint venture between KB Home and Countrywide Home Loans, Countrywide KB Home Loans, a unique partnership between a major homebuilder and one of the country's leading mortgage lenders. Countrywide KB Home Loans gives KB Home a core advantage over other homebuilders by offering KB Home customers hundreds of financing options. The partnership has also allowed KB Home to focus on its core expertise: putting the customer at the center of the homebuying process to ensure the strongest customer satisfaction and highest quality homes.
Mezger joined KB Home in July 1993 as President of the Company's Antelope Valley, California division and, following his strong performance there, became President of KB Home Phoenix, where he quickly distinguished himself in leading division operations. He launched the Company's Tucson division with the acquisition of Estes Homes and became President of the newly expanded KB Home Arizona, overseeing the fast-growing Phoenix and Tucson markets. He then brought this operational expertise to the entire region as Senior Vice President and Regional General Manager of the Company's Southwest region, overseeing all Nevada and Arizona operations, including the integration of Lewis Homes, the largest privately-held builder in the U.S.
Before joining KB Home, Mezger spent 15 years with U.S. Home, where in 1983 he was promoted to President of the company's Central California division, which expanded under his watch to include Bakersfield, Fresno and the Antelope Valley.
A recognized opinion leader in the homebuilding industry, Mezger holds a seat on the executive board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and is on the Policy Advisory Board for the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. He is also a member of the NAHB High Production Builders Council and has served as an officer on numerous boards of the NAHB. | 