RICH主管部门, Va. — In a significant leadership transition for one of the Southeast’s most prominent privately held real estate and homebuilding firms, HHHunt has announced that Chief Financial Officer Ann Kelly will succeed Buck Hunt as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2027.
The meticulously planned succession marks a historic milestone for the family-owned enterprise. Buck Hunt, who has helmed the company as CEO since 2013, will transition to the role of chairman. In his new capacity, he will pivot his focus toward the company’s long-term strategic vision while spearheading an ambitious new hospitality venture for the firm.
At the same time, the company announced that Steve Brant, currently serving as senior vice president of finance and treasury, will step into the role of chief financial officer on the same date. Alongside Chief Operations Officer Steve Fritz—who will remain in his current post—Kelly, Brant, and Fritz will form the core of HHHunt’s incoming executive leadership team.
The planned transition places a seasoned corporate executive with more than two decades of company tenure at the helm. For HHHunt, the move ensures operational continuity and financial discipline at a critical juncture for regional homebuilders, who face mounting pressures to scale efficiently, navigate volatile housing cycles, and manage increasingly complex capital requirements.
Chronology of Leadership and Corporate Evolution
The path to the 2027 transition is built on decades of institutional knowledge, strategic growth, and steady navigation through changing economic landscapes.
Founded over six decades ago, HHHunt has grown into a diversified real estate powerhouse developing, building, owning, and managing master-planned communities, single-family homes, and multifamily apartments across Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.
Buck Hunt—the son of company founder Harry H. Hunt III—grew up immersed in the business. Over his 13-year tenure as CEO, he successfully guided the company through major milestones, including strategic divestitures, key acquisitions, and the formalization of the enterprise’s core vision, mission, brand promises, and corporate values. By moving into the chairman role and taking charge of a new hospitality arm, Hunt ensures that family oversight remains an anchor for the firm while unlocking an entirely new vertical for long-term growth.
The leadership pipeline has been carefully cultivated over many years:
- 2001: Ann Kelly joins HHHunt, spending her formative decade with the company as controller for HHHunt Homes. This foundational role provided her with granular, frontline exposure to homebuilding operations, supply chains, and construction cost management.
- 2013: Steve Brant joins HHHunt as controller for HHHunt Communities, aligning his deep financial expertise with the company’s large-scale land development operations. Simultaneously, Buck Hunt assumes the CEO position, beginning a transformative era of modernization and brand expansion.
- 2015: Steve Fritz joins the firm as general manager of HHHunt Homes of Raleigh, bringing with him a wealth of experience from senior divisional and regional roles at some of the nation’s largest publicly traded homebuilders.
- 2017: Fritz is promoted to president of HHHunt Homes, steering the homebuilding division through a period of regional expansion.
- 2019: A major executive realignment takes shape. Kelly is elevated to CFO, overseeing corporate finance and accounting across all core divisions—HHHunt Homes, HHHunt Communities, and HHHunt Abberly Apartments. Brant is promoted to senior vice president of finance and treasury, and Fritz is named chief operating officer.
- July 1, 2027: The effective date for the formal transition, bringing Kelly into the CEO seat, Brant into the CFO role, and cementing the executive triumvirate alongside Fritz.
Supporting Data: Executive Backgrounds and Industry Expertise
The incoming leadership team possesses a rare blend of financial acumen, operational mastery, and deep-rooted familiarity with the Southeast housing market.
Ann Kelly, Incoming Chief Executive Officer
During her more than 20 years with HHHunt, Kelly has been instrumental in shaping the company’s financial strategies. Prior to becoming CFO in 2019, she served as vice president of finance and accounting, as well as senior vice president of finance and risk management. Her comprehensive oversight of HHHunt Homes, HHHunt Communities, and HHHunt Abberly Apartments has given her a 360-degree view of the real estate ecosystem, from land acquisition and horizontal development to vertical construction and property management.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Kelly is deeply embedded in regional civic and educational leadership. She serves on the boards of directors for the Goochland Education Foundation, GoochlandCares, and the prestigious Virginia Tech Blackwood School of Real Estate, connecting her corporate insight with academic and community development.
Steve Brant, Incoming Chief Financial Officer
Set to assume the CFO role in July 2027, Brant has spent nearly two decades managing HHHunt’s balance sheet, capital allocation, and financial planning. After starting as controller for HHHunt Communities in 2006, he advanced to vice president of finance and accounting in 2013 before stepping into his current role as senior vice president of finance and treasury in 2019. Brant holds an undergraduate degree in economics from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Averett University, equipping him with the analytical rigor required to navigate capital markets and land financing.
Steve Fritz, Chief Operations Officer
Fritz has served as COO since 2019, bringing rigorous operational discipline to HHHunt’s portfolio. Before joining the company in 2015, Fritz built an extensive career leading divisions for some of the country’s largest publicly traded homebuilding entities. His background gives HHHunt the public-builder scalability paired with the agility of a private regional firm. He holds a civil engineering degree from the University of Maryland, underpinning his technical approach to master-planned community execution and construction management.
Official Responses and Perspectives
The transition announcement has drawn praise from both outgoing and incoming leadership, emphasizing a shared commitment to the company’s foundational values and future expansion.
Reflecting on the legacy of the firm and his confidence in the future executive team, Buck Hunt stated:
"Ann and I are aligned on what the future holds for HHHunt. She has a passion for pushing the company forward, challenging the status quo and holding us accountable for the high standards we have always met. I have nothing but confidence in the new executive team’s leadership and they will have my full support in leading HHHunt forward."
Expressing her vision for the company as it approaches its seventh decade of operation, Ann Kelly remarked:
"I am deeply honored to be entrusted with the CEO role. HHHunt has built an incredible legacy over the past 60 years based on values-driven success, quality, and innovation. Alongside Steve Brant, Steve Fritz, and our incredible team of associates, I look forward to building upon this strong foundation and guiding our company into its next chapter of growth."
Industry Implications: What the Transition Means for Regional Homebuilders
For trade partners, financial lenders, land sellers, and competing developers across the Southeast, the announcement of a planned transition with a long runway offers clear strategic visibility.
1. Seamless Continuity in Capital Allocation
For financial institutions and capital partners, the elevation of longtime CFO Ann Kelly to CEO—paired with veteran finance executive Steve Brant stepping into the CFO chair—signals unwavering stability. In an era where interest rate fluctuations, supply chain pressures, and shifting consumer affordability index figures require tight fiscal control, HHHunt’s leadership pipeline guarantees that financial discipline will remain at the core of corporate decision-making.
2. Strategic Diversification and Scale
While private regional builders face intense competition from national publicly traded homebuilders, HHHunt’s leadership structure is custom-built to address these challenges. By keeping Buck Hunt engaged in long-term strategy and a new hospitality venture, the firm is deliberately opening up adjacent revenue streams. Meanwhile, COO Steve Fritz’s background with national builders ensures that horizontal and vertical operations will continue to scale efficiently.
3. Predictability for Trade Partners and Land Sellers
Announcing the succession timeline more than two years in advance provides trade partners, subcontractors, and land sellers across Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia with immense confidence. There will be no abrupt policy shifts or sudden operational pivots; instead, the transition represents an orderly handoff rooted in decades of shared corporate culture.
As HHHunt looks toward July 1, 2027, the company stands as a model of thoughtful generational and executive succession—balancing the enduring legacy of a family-owned business with the sophisticated governance demanded by modern real estate development.
