Diessner’s appointment to the top leadership role is a transition and natural progression of many years of planning for the family-owned company.
“This third generation of leadership comes at a time of continuing prosperity at Kraus-Anderson,” said Engelsma, who joined KA in 1975 and has served as Chairman and CEO for 27 years. Engelsma’s father, Lloyd Engelsma, led the company from 1937 until his death in 1997.
In his new role, Diessner will join and lead the executive leadership team at KA Construction, a commercial general contractor and construction manager, as it continues to strategically grow and expand. The company has operations in nine cities, including the opening of new regional offices this year in Fargo, North Dakota, and Phoenix, Arizona. Managing $1.4 billion in construction, its portfolio in numerous building sectors comprises education, health care, commercial, hospitality, offices, retail, housing, and mixed-use developments, as well as buildouts and special projects.
Diessner will serve as CEO and continue to serve as President of KA Realty & Development. KA Development provides comprehensive development services for KA’s real estate portfolio and third-party owners. In the past five years, KA Development has completed over 700,000 square feet of development and multi-family housing, including 1,275 apartment units.
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KA Realty owns and manages a portfolio of 5.73 million square feet of more than 70 commercial real estate properties throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.
As CEO, Diessner will also oversee KA Insurance, the fifth largest privately held insurance brokerage in Minnesota and a national leader in risk management services; and KA Financial Services Group, which manages over $300 million in financing related to KA Realty’s portfolio of properties and provides treasury management for all the KA entities.
Diessner, an attorney, joined KA Financial Services Group in May 2018 as Director and was named Vice President in February 2019. In April 2019, he became President of KA Realty & Development to provide oversight of the company’s existing and prospective portfolio of real estate, as well as financial analysis for KA interests and partners. He was named COO of KA Companies in March of 2023. Prior to joining KA, Diessner was a Twin Cities real estate attorney first at Fredrikson & Byron and then at Speeter & Johnson. He focused his practice on transactions and disputes involving real estate.
Diessner received his Juris Doctorate from the William Mitchell College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in financial economics from Gustavus Adolphus College. He is on the board of the Children’s Theatre Company.
“Kraus-Anderson maintains an extraordinarily high level of collaboration and innovation throughout our companies and teams,” Diessner said. “I’m excited about new geographic horizons as we continue to grow and the opportunities for our people to engage in personal and professional development.”
