Van Buskirk Companies is excited to highlight Kelly Boyd, who joined our leadership team earlier this year as Chief Operating Officer.
A native of South Dakota, Kelly brings decades of leadership experience from her career at Sioux Falls-based SONIFI, where she most recently served as general manager, leading strategic growth and client retention initiatives.
“After 30 years, I felt proud of what I’d accomplished and ready for a change and the chance to learn something new,” Kelly said. “The role with Van Buskirk resonated with my background in operations, so it was a chance to leverage my strengths, focus on what I enjoy, and also have an amazing opportunity to learn a whole new industry.”
As COO, Kelly’s work spans across all facets of the company. She partners with teams in accounting, marketing and human resources, while also supporting the residential and commercial business units — from construction and development to property management and brokerage.
“Essentially, my job is to make sure the people here can succeed in their individual roles,” she said. “Sometimes that means removing obstacles. Other times it’s helping to solve problems or temporarily plugging holes. We want the business to be operationally efficient enough to support sustained growth and operational excellence across all business units. We want our managers to be thinking strategically about the future and not bogged down in daily operations.”
Kelly is passionate about helping teams manage the “whirlwind” of daily tasks so they can stay focused on long-term goals. Her approach emphasizes standardization, coaching, accountability, automation and collaboration — all key to building a culture of operational excellence.
“Success in operations is typically characterized by lots of incremental improvements that collectively yield long-term outcomes,” she said.
Since joining Van Buskirk, Kelly said the transition has been both rewarding and energizing.
“I cannot say enough about the caliber of people in this company,” she said. “I have been overwhelmed by the knowledge in this company as well as the willingness of everyone to share that knowledge with me. I’m extremely proud and humbled to be working alongside this team. They have made learning fun and much easier than I could ever have expected.”
Adding a COO role has been an important step in supporting Van Buskirk’s continued growth, company leaders Steve and Mike Van Buskirk said.
“We’re committed to delivering on our vision of creating an extraordinary real estate experience that builds dreams and develops community,” they said.
“Kelly’s expertise in driving business transformation and large project management, combined with her leadership and collaborative ability, will play a key role in managing our daily operations and ensuring our long-term success.”
With this evolving leadership structure, Steve and Mike Van Buskirk have also become co-CEOs of the family business, founded in 1971 by their father, Myron Van Buskirk.
“This change reflects our evolving roles as we focus on strategic growth, corporate vision, and long-term direction,” they said. “While our titles have changed, we both remain active in the office daily, dedicating time to nurturing key relationships, managing investment portfolios, and pursuing real estate development opportunities.”
