From the small town of Newberry, part of the Gainesville, Fla., metropolitan area, to leading the National Apartment Association (NAA) Board of Directors, the journey for Alan King has been one of enrichment and compassion. Through his personal and professional growth, King has made connections within the rental housing industry that span decades, going back to his time as a part-time leasing consultant while attending the University of Florida—and prior to that, working for a landscaping company that provided services to apartment owners and managers.
Of his 40-plus years in the industry, he has—so far—devoted 24 years to volunteer leadership. His service includes time with the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas (AAGD), Atlanta Apartment Association (AAA), Texas Apartment Association (TAA) and NAA.
“In each opportunity to serve, it was a great learning experience in industry challenges, the many leadership dynamics of each board member, the Executive Committees or leadership of each association, both as volunteer leaders and the professional staffs and the AEs,” said King during his November installation at NAA’s Assembly of Delegates in Atlanta.
Since his beginnings in the industry, King has crafted a sense of direction that doesn’t point north; it points forward. Within this direction are growth, connection and empowerment. King has gleaned certain industry knowledge, and through his love of people, passed on this insight to others in search of their own growth, which in turn has provided the opportunity for others to continue this cycle of empowerment.
“The greatest joy we have in our careers is to look back at the people we have hired, what potential we saw in them and the courage we had to give them a chance,” closed King at his installation.
Finding a Groove
Not many rental housing professionals wake up one day and decide to pursue it as a career path. The same is said of King, who, like many, “fell into the industry.” This “falling into the industry” repetition has become a record that continuously skips; the tonearm just needs a little help by lifting and replacing the needle in the correct groove. King experienced this firsthand and has himself been helping records find their groove ever since.
King completed his two-year degree at a local community college before transferring to Florida and working 20 hours per week as a part-time leasing consultant. Despite no bonuses or commission, King was happy to have one perk: A free one-bedroom apartment, which “was a big deal back then,” he said.
King dropped out of Florida to move home after a family tragedy. In time, King was offered a full-time position by the CFO and was ultimately out of school for about five years before returning. Within that time, King became the General Manager of the company—officially “getting the bug” for multifamily housing.
King eventually graduated with a business degree with a major in finance. He was able to secure a position with a salary about 40% higher than the average banking and finance salaries coming out of college during this time, resulting in the start of his rental housing executive and part-time turntable technician career.
The Florida-grown Texas and Georgia transplant is now Head of Property Management at Berkshire Residential Investments, which as a company, manages more than $28 billion in real estate assets. King used his people-first approach to build a foundation for himself that would eventually expand to others, and this love of people and connections continues to contribute to his growth as a leader.
People First
While the industry focuses on the management of properties, it is a people-first business. And King believes in this philosophy wholeheartedly, even with the 21st century push in technology. “The people side of the business at the site level was always fun and engaging. Sometimes it got stressful. It was not nearly as sophisticated as it is today,” said King referring to the industry being paper-oriented in the 1980s and ’90s. Computers weren’t omnipresent at the time, so the complexity was nonexistent. “It’s mostly how you engage with people.” As he progressed in his career, King realized how important people would become.
“I grew up learning how to treat people, and I saw firsthand how to not treat people. That helped mold the way I engage with people, and I’ve always focused on the human capital side of the business—that’s been the most rewarding part for me,” King said. “Having the opportunity to hire somebody as a leasing consultant who at some point becomes a property manager, at some point becomes a regional manager, and then ultimately AVP and running their own company, and I’ve had quite a few people make great progression in the industry that I gave a chance as a leasing consultant or as a bookkeeper. That’s what is rewarding to me.”
While connections with people are the most rewarding part of the industry, it is also one of the most challenging segments. This is potentially the reason behind those records who “fell into
the industry.”
“The industry itself has struggled for years to attract people. Up until probably the last 10 years, we were not good at promoting ourselves as an industry, you’d have people that fell into the industry and did it for a part-time job, and some of them stayed and some of them moved on.”
King cites a change in salaries, scheduling, bonuses and other benefits as the new frontier, compared to the ’80s and ’90s when onsite positions were typecast rather than with a career path in mind as the industry is today. “The most difficult part has always been hiring and recruiting quality people and retaining that talent.”
King’s mentality has allowed others to “trust him” in his decisions. “Alan King has been a pivotal figure in shaping careers and fostering growth within the industry,” said Tom Rucker, Managing Director and COO of Property Management with Berkshire Residential Investments. Rucker recalled a conversation from 2018 about a number of topics related to the industry. “This conversation, unbeknownst to me at the time, was part of a larger plan involving my career path and future growth at Berkshire and within the industry. Alan’s encouragement and belief in me led to a significant career shift for me from an operations role on the East Coast to my current position.…Alan’s simple request to ‘trust him’ was a turning point, and I have never looked back.”
Leadership
Education is important to King, coming from a largely rural, uneducated background that includes being one of eight people from his graduating high school class of 100 to attend college.
“I would not have gotten where I am today had not a lot of people taken a chance on me and given me a shot,” King said. “Getting my degree was clearly the right thing to do, and quite honestly, staying in the property management business [was as well. It was a] path which I didn’t originally plan on doing, but it clearly has worked out extremely well, and I’ve had a very successful career. I’ve been blessed to have had the opportunity. I’m eternally grateful for the many opportunities I’ve been given and for the people that have helped me along the way.”
Former NAA Board Chair Rick Graf identified King as a “quiet leader” during his installation; one who speaks after formulating a thoughtful response. This was one of the traits that helped elevate King in Texas, Georgia and now on the national level.
“His leadership has been instrumental in the success of many, and there is no doubt that he will achieve great things as NAA’s 2025 Chair,” said Rucker.
Through his guidance, NAA will continue on its path as a thought leader organization, one that has been in place for many years as serving on the Board is a six-year commitment that concludes as Immediate Past Chair for King in 2026.
“We must recognize that it is the body of work by a collective group of leaders that have set aside their personal and professional biases and responsibilities to collaborate on solutions to protect our industry and our members, both owners-managers as well as our supplier partners,” said King during his instillation.
King became a sponge as he continued his growth professionally and in his volunteer leadership roles, gaining as much knowledge as possible to help him continue his growth-connection-empowerment cycle.
Others in the industry witnessed this and recognized the industry leader King had and will become, earning him positions on the AAGD, AAA, TAA and NAA boards and executive committees. King does not live with regrets but does reflect on not being able to lead TAA because of his promotion and move to Atlanta, culminating in his positions on NAA’s Executive Committee.
“Alan’s passion for the multifamily industry and helping advance everyone around him is his trademark,” said Jim Fowler, President of the Atlanta Apartment Association. “A tireless advocate, mentor and visionary, Alan is the first to always share his knowledge, contribute his time and help wherever help is needed. The word ‘no’ is not in Alan’s DNA. Simply put, he is the consummate volunteer leader who will do a phenomenal job chairing NAA in 2025.”
The Path Forward
King has a successor in place at Berkshire, knowing that his multifamily housing executive career is nearing a close in the years ahead. Yet, King will remain invested in the company and the industry. He’s been in rental housing for more than half his life—nearly twice as long as recent college graduates have been alive. Within these more than 40 years in the industry, King has experienced more than some could ever imagine. He hasn’t had much time to look back, had he not fallen into the industry. During this time, King has grown, shared his knowledge and allowed others to flourish.
“Maybe in my retirement I’ll be a part-time professor at a community college,” said King. If not, there’s always the local record store.
Michael Miller is NAA’s Managing Editor.