WICHITA, KS—WaterWalk Hotel & Apartments has just hired three more people for its management team as it prepares to expand throughout the US. The Wichita, KS-based venture was founded last year by Jack DeBoer, its chairman and chief executive officer, who has already started several well-known hospitality brands, including Residence Inn, Summerfield Suites, Candlewood Hotel Group, and Value Place. It plans to eventually build dozens of two-building, 116,000-square-foot, $11.5 million developments for temporary residents that combine apartment living with hotel services.
Kay Auer joins WaterWalk as chief financial officer. Most recently, Auer was the chief financial officer of Quality Solutions, Inc., a facilities management firm. Prior to that position, Auer was the chief financial officer at Value Place.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Kay join our team at this pivotal moment in WaterWalk's aggressive growth plan,” says David Redfern, president of WaterWalk. “Her long history of success and extremely valuable skills in strategic planning and operations are important assets as we ensure that we're meeting customer expectations and developer demand during this important time of growth.”
Redfern has worked with DeBoer for many years and recently was president of Value Place. He became the president of WaterWalk in July and will lead the expansion effort. In 2015, the company will begin construction on eight new WaterWalk complexes in seven cities: Louisville, Charlotte, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, St. Louis, and two in San Antonio.
Julie Olson has also joined the company as its new director of franchise development. She has over 20 years of sales, training, and marketing experience. Olson will put the procedures in place for franchise expansion. Prior to WaterWalk, she worked for the pharmaceutical company Teva Respiratory as an executive sales accountant. She also worked as a national sales director for DeBoer's third national hotel brand, Candlewood Suites.
Finally,WaterWalk hired Erica Weishaar as its new business analyst. She will manage market research for the development of WaterWalk's apartment properties. Weishaar joins WaterWalk from Koch Industries where she supported Koch Methanol as a trade support analyst. Prior to Koch, Weishaar managed the new property marketing analysis and site selection process for Value Place Development Services LLC while she attended Wichita State University.
“Each one of these hires brings a unique skill set and their own flavor to the WaterWalk team at a time of enormous growth for the company,” Redfern adds. “I welcome them aboard as we continue to build the WaterWalk brand and prepare for rapid expansion in the upcoming months.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
