Photo credit: EMBERBusiness
EMBER Promotes Jeb Kolby to President
EMBER, a real estate investment and development firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of Jeb Kolby to president. Kolby previously served as vice president of Acquisitions & Development, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the EMBER real estate portfolio and strategic growth since joining the firm in 2022.
With more than 20 years of experience spanning engineering, international community development, and large-scale residential land development, Kolby brings a unique blend of technical expertise, global perspective and leadership insight to his new role.
“Jeb’s ability and passion for leading teams and integrating design, construction and community planning has already transformed our trajectory as a company,” said Harry Masterson, one of the founding principals at EMBER. “As president, I know he will continue to lead with vision and purpose, aligning our team as we scale new projects and invest in our future.”
Among his recent achievements with EMBER is leading the launch of The Grand Prairie, the company’s first master-planned community, which debuted as one of the top-selling new communities in Texas and ranked nationally among the top five in sales in its first year.
“What drew me to EMBER is the opportunity to build a great company with people who share the same values and commitment to creating high-quality, iconic places for people to live,” Kolby said. “I’m excited to carry our momentum forward in this new role. We have an experienced team, strong investors, and visionary leaders. We’re going to be doing more of what brought us together in the first place.”
Before joining EMBER, Kolby’s track record includes serving as director of Land Development at Friendswood Development Company, where he led the development team in numerous communities across the Greater Houston region. His career experience includes design and construction management roles at the civil engineering firm Jones & Carter (now Quiddity), where he worked on projects within The Woodlands, Texas; design roles at the structural and architectural engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti, where he participated in the design of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and the Fairmont Hotel in Austin; and as a humanitarian worker with International Service Partners and WoodsEdge, which involved community development projects across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America. A licensed professional engineer, Kolby holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil and structural engineering from Texas A&M University, where he served in the Corps of Cadets.
“Our team incorporates our life experiences into our everyday workflow. We have a unique blend of professionalism, operational excellence, creativity, adventure, and life balance. For example, within the same week, I’ve presented at city council meetings, participated in design discussions with our consultants, helped troubleshoot construction issues in the field, met with our team to improve our internal operations, ran a 32 kilometer trail run through the mountains of central Mexico with our team, and involved our kids in the design of the next playground and community park,” said Kolby.
“As grateful as I am to work with our team at EMBER, I’m most thankful for the support of my bride and our four kids,” said Kolby. “Our value for local, small-town Texas charm, mixed with our global perspective, influences how we plan all our communities.”
Source: EMBER
