Meet

Our Leaders

Denton House finds its stride in the assembly of uniquely qualified professionals. Our formidable, passionate, and exceptional leaders are dedicated to pursuing multi-disciplinary excellence in luxury placemaking.

Rebecca Buchan

Founder & CEO

With more than 25 years of experience in destination resort and second-home real estate development, Becky has demonstrated a unique ability to blend vision and strategy. Dedicated to creating innovative and sustainable development models, she combines an extensive management background with broad design talent and bottom-line thinking to unlock land asset values and deliver investor returns. She is a formidable leader who promotes long-term and transparent partnerships.
Becky began her career at renowned hospitality design firms Hirsch-Bedner Associates and Gensler before founding Denton House Design Studio nearly 30 years ago. Under her leadership, Denton House grew into a globally recognized design firm, partnering with premier real estate brands around the world. For nearly a decade, Denton House operated Discovery Design in partnership with Discovery Land Company, where Becky oversaw planning, design, and architecture across their international portfolio of luxury communities.
She later served as Chief Operating Officer at Discovery Land Company, where she led strategic acquisitions and directed all facets of community planning, design, development, and startup operations.
Today, Becky is the co-founder and CEO of Areté Collective, the parent company of Denton House and a fully integrated development firm focused on creating enduring, thoughtfully planned communities. Their award-winning portfolio spans high-profile hospitality, resort, and residential projects, and her approach to strategic placemaking and “experience engineering” continues to influence the next generation of resort development.

Joey Buchan

Founder & President

With a career spanning over three decades, Joey Buchan brings deep expertise in design operations, business development, and client experience to his role as President and Co-CEO of Denton House Design Studio. As one of the founding members, Joey played a pivotal role in shaping the firm's reputation for delivering high-end, detail-driven design solutions that are as operationally efficient as they are visually compelling.

Over the years, he has continued to guide the firm’s growth, overseeing day-to-day operations while driving new business opportunities for Areté Collective and its wide-ranging portfolio of residential, resort, and community development projects. His intuitive understanding of the design process, combined with his ability to align vision with execution, has made him a trusted leader among clients and colleagues alike.

Joey is also known for his warmth and generosity, qualities that make him a respected mentor and a positive presence in the office. When not immersed in the details of international projects, he enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren, finding joy and grounding in family life.

Tom Hogan

CFO

Tom is a career financial officer who brings more than 25 years of experience in leading global finance and operations teams for significant hospitality and luxury residential developments. Tom's expertise provides strategic and operational leadership that balances vision and planning with hands-on excellence in execution.

Tom began his luxury hospitality and development career with Marriott International, Inc., spending ten years in a variety of finance roles, mainly under the Ritz-Carlton brand. During his time at Ritz-Carlton, Tom led strategic initiatives ranging from the development and launch of new brand extensions to consulting with individual properties in repositioning them to become relevant and profitable in the marketplace. During his time in Marriott's Global Treasury Department, Tom was the primary relationship manager for 30 revolver banks and led Marriott's global cash operations through the global financial crisis of 2007-2008.

Other key positions include CFO of Discovery Land Company; CFO of Augusta National, Inc.; and CFO of Talisker Mountain, Inc. At Augusta National, Tom implemented a new capital planning and execution process that completed the most extensive capital plan in company history. He also launched a multi-year improvement project for the supply-chain process with the first phase set to yield more than $1 million in annual profit improvements.

Natalie Ellis

SVP of Interior Design

With nearly 20 years of interior design experience for luxury residential homes as well as high-end private communities. Her eye for unique and stunning design has made her a highly sought-after designer whose work has been published in globally recognized design publications.

She joined Denton House in 2014 where a large part of her role was to lead interior design for Discovery Land Company communities throughout the United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Europe. In this role, Natalie was the chief contributor to design for both residences and club amenities.
Natalie began her career in New York with Jamie Drake where she spent several years working with high profile clients on large scale projects including Mayor Bloomberg.

Natalie graduated magna cum laude from Utah State with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design as well as a minor in Art. She studied design and architecture in London, and Paris, and has also spent some time on general studies in Japan.

Dave Rasmussen

SVP of Architecture

As a tenured executive within the company, Dave leads the architecture for luxury residential development projects. His responsibilities include client development and retention, oversight of the architecture for major projects, and negotiation of design contracts. He brings energy, determination, and dedication to every project.

Prior to joining the firm, Dave specialized in commercial, civic, and hospitality projects while at GSBS Architects in Salt Lake City, as well as other design studios in the region. He has designed and managed numerous projects over his twenty-plus year career, combining project management expertise with the ability to lead teams while maximizing project revenues.

Dave has overseen the design and community development of multiple luxury destination, most notably Chileno Bay Club in Los Cabos, Mexico and Gozzer Ranch in Harrison, Idaho.

Dave received a BS in Architectural Studies from the University of Utah, where he went on to receive a Masters of Architecture degree.

Kristofor L. Kvarfordt

SVP of Planning + Landscape Architecture

A highly skilled landscape architect and land planner, Kris has accumulated more than 20 years of experience working across a broad range of projects throughout U.S. and international markets. His experience includes large-scale master planning for resort communities, trail and open-space master planning, campus master planning, and detailed site design and construction management for commercial and institutional projects.

Kris is recognized for his ability to work collaboratively with civil engineers and other project specialists to create plans that are fully integrated into all components of a project. His expertise is in developing site solutions focusing on green infrastructure, innovative storm-water collection, water sensitivity, treatment, and reuse solutions. He is directly responsible for management and construction observation of several rainwater-harvesting and low-impact development projects.

Kris has been consistently recognized and honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects and has been an adjunct professor at Utah State University for the past 15 years.