Kaufman Unit Chief Moving to A-M Homes

Larry Webb, president of the Southeast Division of Kaufman & Broad Homes since 1987, has been selected president of A-M Homes’ Southern California division.

The 42-year-old executive’s appointment is effective May 8. Webb will fill the slot vacated in September by Thomas Hover, who left the upscale home-building company to start his own residential construction business.

Webb said Tuesday that the move to A-M Homes “is a good change. It’s a step up for me because I will run the entire Southern California operation.”

At Kaufman & Broad, Webb’s unit covered Orange and San Bernardino counties and most of Riverside County.

Los Angeles-based Kaufman & Broad, which builds in California and in the metropolitan region around Paris, France, is one of America’s largest home builders, with $1.3 billion in sales last year.

The company builds predominantly entry-level housing in the $100,000-to-$275,000 range; A-M specializes in move-up homes in the $300,000-to-$500,000 price range.

Webb said Kaufman & Broad’s southeast division built 350 homes last year with a median price of $225,000 and had sales of about $70 million. A-M’s Southern California division built 168 homes and posted sales of $112 million.

A-M, which also has divisions in Northern California and Arizona, is 80% owned by Jennings Group, an Australian development firm.

Webb will report to Bart Araujo, A-M’s chief executive officer, who is based in Santa Barbara.