K & B Forms Office of Chief Executive

Kaufman & Broad Inc., the Los Angeles-based housing and insurance company, has formed an office of the chief executive “to formalize the executive management roles of its three key officers,” the company said Friday.

The office will comprise Chairman and Chief Executive Eli Broad, 52, who was additionally elected president, and Bruce E. Karatz and Norman J. Metcalfe, who were named executive vice presidents.

Karatz, 40, has served as president of the Kaufman & Broad development group, and Friday was named chief executive of the unit. Metcalfe, 42, had most recently been senior vice president and chief financial officer of the parent company.

“In less than three years, Kaufman & Broad’s asset base and revenues have doubled, in large part due to the significant management roles played by Messrs. Karatz and Metcalfe,” Broad said in a statement. “The office of the chief executive formally recognizes their policy-making roles and creates an executive team capable of continuing the ambitious growth and expansion plans envisioned for our company.”