Management Team

Staying on the Cutting Edge of innovation! Housing International Gulf Coast Inc. has assembled a veteran management team. This experienced team developed superior methods for factory-built housing and coupled it with skilled labor to meet building codes with the highest standards in the U.S. The combined talent represents numerous disciplines from factory assembling to housing and marketing. Our management team and staff have worked with public officials and private landowners and are understanding of the logic of factory-built panelized and modular housing, and steel construction. The management team is poised to meet the housing industry needs in Louisiana. This team will bring together major innovators in the region, from petrochemical giants providing new polymers, to start-up producers with new “green building” products that make homes safer and stronger. Housing International has hired one of the top consultants world-wide in cluster development, who helped Louisiana to lay the groundwork for an Advanced Materials Cluster in 2000, and is now prepared to help us truly transform the region into one of the premier materials and panelized/modular construction regions in the world.

David Lohrey, Chief Executive Officer
Founded Housing International in 1998 after extensive research and international travel in his search for automated housing production and methodologies. David’s 34 years of industry experience (from start up in 1971 West Coast Linen) to become the leading hospitality linen processing with Marriott Corporation, where he was Managing Director of the joint venture, overseeing 5,000 employees in the 12 operating plants. Marriott Services subsequently sold the entire division to Sodexho in 2002 for approximately $7.5 billion. During the mid-1990’s David also did consulting for Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health Care, as well as for Marriott Corp. in the Yucatan, Mexico. The sale of the linen company to Marriot allowed Mr. Lohrey to enter the building industry competitively in 1998 and combine his humanitarian goals into a lucrative procedure and end product. David graduated from University of California, Berkeley. His family founded Wonder Horse Inc., in the 50’s and had domestic and international plants.

Ray Taylor, President
Ray has been a V.P. in Sales and Marketing for three major corporations to include the: Shoe Apparel Industry, Tele-Communications and Housing International. Of these corporations, Ray procured all the manufacturing components, design and product developments required in factories overseas. Formerly an equity owner in telecom, Ray joined HI in 1999. Since 1995, Ray developed other property investment sites in Southern California (Laguna Beach). Ray graduated with a BA in Business from Pasadena City College, California.

Alec Hansen, Director of Corporate Development
Dr. Hansen specializes in regional economic analysis and cluster strategy development. Much of his work focuses on small business development and improving technology transfer mechanisms to promote regional growth. Dr. Hansen (and his consulting company, ECG) was contracted in 2000 by the State of Louisiana to develop the strategy for Louisiana’s economic development: Louisiana 2020. He also immediate past president, and currently vice-president, of The Competitiveness Institute, a professional organization that includes the top practitioners of competitiveness approaches to economic development worldwide. In this capacity, he has traveled and lectured widely with a mission to improve the understanding of competitiveness and to raise professional standards in this fast-moving field. Dr. Hansen’s work has centered on finding effective methods for engaging the public and private sectors in productive partnerships for economic development. His recent engagements in the states of Washington, Florida, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, California, and Kansas, as well as in Denmark, Mexico, Russia, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Guyana and Nicaragua, have featured a competitiveness framework that helps set the stage for a genuine transformation of a regional economy. Many of these engagements have featured cluster-based approaches, where export-based economic drivers become the focus of policies and programs designed to make the region more competitive.

Bob Morgan, Lead Counsel
experienced in multiple jurisdictions, covering a wide range of legal fields with emphasis on litigation, negotiation, legal consultation and governmental relations for small business entities and major corporations. Bob serves on industry task forces and legislative committees at state and federal levels and is a former member of the House of Delegates of Louisiana State Bar Association. He has degrees from Louisiana State University (BA Journalism) and LSU Law Center (Juris Doctor).

Len Aucoin, VP of Operations
-has been in senior management as Executive-Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer for various corporations in the finance and insurance industry. Leonard has over 30 years of management experience including start-ups and rehabilitations. For the last 15 years he has been a Management Consultant. Leonard received his MBA from Loyola University of New Orleans.

Lori Brannon, Consultant/Lobbyist
Lori assists in promoting our company and products through her many contacts in the City, Parish, Port Authority, and State legislative bodies. She is a native Louisianan and graduated from Louisiana State University.

Jim Hartfield, Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Jim joined the team in September of 2007. Jim brings over 25 years of manufacturing management experience with steel components for the automotive, electrical equipment, heavy truck equipment and defense industries. He has held responsibilities for manufacturing divisions for such companies as Kimball International, Cooper Industries and Warren, Inc. Additionally, he is a licensed residential home builder and earned an industrial engineering degree for Southern Illinois University and a graduate certificate in International Business from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Nathan J. Taylor, Plant Superintendent
Nathan has over 19 years of experience in manufacturing Steel Building Products. Nathan has worked for several major steel fabrication companies, and has served as the V.P. of Operations for two Steel Building Product manufacturers as well as the General Manager of a steel fabrication company. He has a BA in Business/Computer Science and a BA in Sociology from Grove City College.

April Bucksbaum, Vice President, Marketing & Communications
April Bucksbaum led the successful launch of three San Francisco based commercial film and interactive companies, Red Sky Films, Red Sky Interactive and Skyrocket. April was a co-founder of all three companies and served as the Vice President of New Business for over twelve years. After the successful sale of two of the firms to holding companies Omnicom and Total Creative Inc. April worked for KPMG Consulting (Bearing Point) as a Senior Manager in the Financial Services arena. April is recognized as a leader in the advertising and marketing field, specifically in commercial advertising, brand development, and messaging to mass media. Over the last 15 years, April worked for Fortune 50 companies internationally launching new products and services. These advertising clients and campaigns span the marketing gamut from launching spin off brands for AIG, Hutchinson Whampoa and Nike to delivering integrated advertising and marketing solutions for The Walt Disney Company, Lands End, Wells Fargo Bank and Compaq Computers.

Alejo Lopez, Project Manager
Alejo’s focus on the development and commercialization of cleaner technologies and those used to produce energy from renewable sources combined with his business and financial background enable him to fully understand the environmental benefits and current limitations facing new technologies today. Alejo has 10 years of professional experience including 8 years as an international project manager, 5+ years in the energy sector and 3+ years in management and strategy consulting. Alejo is a creative thinker with solid technical and analytical skills. Alejo has worked in more than 10 countries, including several in Latin America and in a broad range of industries and sectors including clean tech, hi tech, agriculture, organic products, tourism, oil and gas, construction, services, among others

David D. Lohrey, Project Engineer/Technology Consultant
David has worked on Environmental Cleanup Projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as Project Engineering for high-rise condominiums. David belonged to Delta Upsilon fraternity, and, as captain of his water polo team, led MIT to their first ever Division III national championship in any sport. He has a B.S. from MIT in Civil and Structural Engineering, with a Minor in Economics.

Ruben Keating, Safety Manager and Supervisor
Ruben maintains all safety records and documentation for operating procedures. Ruben oversees safety training and certification of he hires specifically for fork lifts, overhead cranes, as well as in house machinery.