Christina Caton Kitchel is the CEO and Designated Managing Broker of Caton Commercial Real Estate Group. She also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce from 2020 through 2022. She sat down with Liz Spencer for another edition of Naperville Notables on 630 Naperville.
Her transition to CEO of Caton Commercial Real Estate Group
Caton Commercial Real Estate Group is a family-owned brokerage, appraisal, and property management business established in 1987. Christina recently stepped into the role of CEO, taking over from her father. “The transition has been going well,” says Christina. “Anytime you’re taking over from dad after 41 years, there’s a lot to wrap your arms around. The biggest part of that transition outside of, you know, just handing off a family company coming down the line is really shifting my mindset from a dealmaker and being involved in the deals to holistically looking at the company. How do we stay relevant? How do we push forward our deals and lift everybody up so that we can continue to, you know, grow and move as a company?”
Her first car was a hand-me-down Jeep
One aspect of Naperville Notables is to get to know guests beyond their careers. Christina talked about her very first car. “So my very first car was a hand-me-down. My brother got to start on it, and then it came to me. It is a 1983 Jeep Wrangler. Definitely had, like, no doors, a soft top. We were never, like, granted a hardtop through our high school years. So when you come out in the winter, there’d be about like an inch, inch and a half of snow. But we only lived like two miles from school.”
Christina’s bucket list – if she ever found the time
- Play more golf
- Take her family camping
- Play the piano again
Host: Liz Spencer, Executive Director – NCTV17
Guest: Christina Caton Kitchel, CEO and Designated Managing Broker – Caton Commercial Real Estate Group
