Story By Tracy Dickinson | March 2026
Hubbell CEO Rick Tollakson heads into retirement.
Engineer Rick Tollakson has not followed a typical career trajectory. From managing commercial projects to land development to residential home building, his road to CEO of Hubbell Realty Company and its 17 divisions included several twists and turns.
“I’m just a hired gun,” Tollakson says. “I’ve always just been here looking for options, and that took us in different directions.”
Tollakson’s engineering mind approaches projects from a process-improvement perspective, which led to some unique opportunities for him and for the company. “I’m very process-oriented,” he says. “I expect other people to think that way as well—to look at how we can work more efficiently, work better, create opportunities. I’m probably a little different than a lot of engineers in that I’ve got that entrepreneurial side.”
That approach paid off, sometimes almost too well. “When Jim Hubbell said, ‘I want you to run land development,’ he wasn’t saying, ‘By the way, you get to walk away from being in charge of commercial development.’ And once you get into land development, you realize you really need to control more of it through home building,” Tollakson says.
So within a few short years, he’d taken his construction engineering degree and rerouted toward residential home building. “That really only came about because Hubbell bought out First Realty Better Homes,” says Tollakson. “I had nothing to do with that decision, but pretty soon it was, ‘Oh, by the way, we’re a residential brokerage company now.’ And that means you have to become a land developer so that you have builders who will list their houses with your real estate company.”
Before long, Tollakson found himself not only developing land but selling lots to builders and still overseeing construction and development projects for Hubbell.
“Iowa Realty was the largest land developer, largest real estate company, largest home builder,” Tollakson says, “and I was out there trying to compete with them. So I’ve got four builders working with me, and a group of us formed a lot of builder partnerships. But with everything else I was doing, it just became too much for me. I went to Jim Hubbell and said, ‘This home building entity really should be Hubbell Homes.’”
During 1998, Hubbell Homes’ first official year in business, the company built 75 houses. Tollakson says his goal with the residential construction division was never to be the biggest builder in the metro. He just wanted to make sure the company’s developed lots were sold. Ironically, it was the 2008 recession that turned the corner for them.
“I had a development in Des Moines, and all the lots were sold,” he says. “I ended up getting them all back when all the builders backed out. I realized I was going to have to build that development out myself. It was scary, but that’s when we really started growing. The marketplace forced us to get bigger.”
Even so, Tollakson never anticipated running the entire company. “I was 50 the first time I went to Jim and told him I planned to retire at 55, like most Baby Boomers were doing,” he says. “He looked at me and said, ‘Then we have a problem. Because I’m retiring, and you’re going to run the company.’ That took me by surprise.”
Perhaps for that reason, Tollakson has made a point of being transparent about his plans throughout his tenure as CEO. “I was probably a little more open with my team,” he says. “I regularly told them, ‘If something happens to me, you, you, and you are the ones under consideration.’ And when I announced my retirement, I was ready.”
Kyle Gamble, incoming CEO, who has been with the company for over 30 years, had been on Tollakson’s short list for some time. “I just thought he was in the best position to take the company in the right direction,” Tollakson says. “I’m an engineer; he’s a sales guy. I think that gives him the edge. We have a great team who understands how to build projects. But you can build all you want. If you can’t sell it, what do you have? And he has such a great coaching demeanor that he’s going to do really well.”
When Tollakson took over as CEO, Hubbell had about 60 employees. As he departs, the count is closer to 500. And the company includes construction, commercial, and multifamily development, four home-building companies, and numerous fields of property development.
When asked about some of his proudest moments at Hubbell, Tollakson is quick with his response. “The Extreme Builds,” he says. “We did the first one in 2006, and that was a great experience. But it wasn’t in the Des Moines market, and it only helped one family. I felt if we ever had the opportunity, I would like to do something for our own community.”
Twenty years later, Hubbell has completed six Extreme Builds: a nine-plex project for Anawim Housing, a pair of lodges and a new child development center for Easterseals Iowa, the Ronald McDonald House of Central Iowa near Iowa Methodist Hospital, and two family homes at the On With Life campus in Ankeny.
“Those Extreme Makeover projects are always exciting,” Tollakson says. “But our other projects, where you know the neighborhood needs this, not just one family—these will impact our community for generations.”
As Tollakson steps down as Hubbell CEO, he’s leaving his mark on both the company and the community. And now he has plans to make his mark a little farther. He’s published a book, Think Bigger, Lead Better, which he recently promoted during a full book launch in New York City, and next he’s hitting the road.
“I’ve got a full year of travel planned,” he says. “London, New York, France, Italy, Japan, a river cruise down the Nile. My daughter has always wanted to go to China, so we’re doing that together. And I bought a new Corvette. I haven’t had a toy car in years, so I’m doing Route 66.”
Tollakson may be retiring, but he’s not slowing down.
Career Highlights
Hubbell’s mission is “to enhance the quality of life in our community.” Tollakson made that a priority during his tenure as CEO with such projects and leadership roles as these:
- ABC Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
2006 - Houses for 9 Families in 9 Days
Anawim Housing Project
2009 - Cabins for Campers 24/7
Easter Seals Camp Sunnyside
2013 - Ronald McDonald House of Central Iowa
2017 - Care for Kids Extreme Build
Easter Seals Camp Sunnyside
2021 - Homes of Hope
On With Life
2024 - ICON Water Trails Advisory Committee
Design Committee
Board Member - Community Development Council Member
Urban Land Institute - Greater Des Moines Partnership Executive
Committee Member - Downtown Community Alliance
Board of Directors Co-Chair - Metro Board of Directors Chair
Greater Des Moines YMCA
Sharing His Wisdom
Tollakson’s book, Think Bigger, Lead Better: Eight to Great Principles for Organizational Success, shares the principles he used to guide Hubbell from a 60-employee company to a multi-divisional organization with over 500 employees in two states.