100 people to meet in 2026: Builders

These real estate and development executives are building the future through bricks and mortar in communities across the commonwealth.

BISMAH AHMED

VICE PRESIDENT OF VIRGINIA GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS, APARTMENT AND OFFICE BUILDING ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON, TYSONS

As host of the 2025 TEDxFoggyBottom, a showcase of speakers organized by George Washington University, Bismah Ahmed spoke about interviewing for her first lobbying job. The interviewers wanted to know if she played golf. She didn’t. The job went to someone who did.

“Now I’m so grateful for that, because I play in [golf] tournaments,” Ahmed said. “I learned from that.”

That hiccup didn’t keep her from a career in lobbying. Since 2015, Ahmed has worked in government affairs for the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA), which represents the commercial real estate industry. In 2021, she was promoted to a vice president role at the member organization.

Additionally, Ahmed is chair-elect of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. She was also the first South Asian, Muslim and Pakistani woman to be named Miss District of Columbia for America in 2022.

ROLSTON AUDAIN

VICE PRESIDENT OF AGENT SERVICES AND DIRECTOR OF THE LUXURY COLLECTION DIVISION, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES RW TOWNE REALTY, CHESAPEAKE

In the ninth grade, Rolston Audain moved from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to Virginia Beach, where he attended First Colonial High School. “It was quite an adjustment,” he recalls.

Audain found his footing, though. One of his teachers, who had a real estate agent for a spouse, saw Audain’s potential and helped him get his first part-time job in the industry.

After graduating high school, Audain went to work at Virginia Beach’s John Savino Group as team manager. He stayed with the firm for 14 years. In 2013, Barbara Wolcott, CEO of what was then Prudential Towne Realty, hired Audain as director of marketing and the firm’s luxury collection.

In March, Audain was promoted to vice president of agent services at the firm, which, following a couple of mergers, is now Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Realty. In his new role, Audain ensures agents have the resources they need.

A father of two, Audain unwinds by playing flight simulator video games.

JOE HINES

SENIOR PRINCIPAL AND DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TIMMONS GROUP, RICHMOND

This October, Joe Hines was named to the Southern Economic Development Hall of Fame, recognized as one of the “People Who Built the South” by Southern Business & Development. At the civil engineering, technology and surveying firm, he leads the site selection practice, which helps identify and prepare sites and infrastructure for investment.

He’s working with regional, local government and private clients to identify next-generation economic development sites, including energy-ready sites “that will play a critical role in solving the energy crisis,” he says. In 2026, Hines’ focus will be on identifying developable sites that will create a “significant” number of jobs and investment, while continuing to evolve technologies like the Timmons Group’s analytical, data-driven site-selection tool.

Hines is a board member of the Virginia Economic Developers Association and a member of the International Economic Development Council and Southern Economic Development Council. He received an Impact Award this year from Lead Virginia, recognizing him for leadership and innovation.

MARK HOURIGAN JR.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, CENTRAL VIRGINIA | PARTNER, HOURIGAN, RICHMOND

You could say construction is in Mark Hourigan Jr.’s blood.

Growing up in the industry, he went on to double major in construction and real estate at Virginia Tech and managed large-scale logistics and manufacturing projects for a Salt Lake City construction firm for three years before returning in 2019 to Richmond and his family’s eponymous construction business. Now he’s overseeing some of the largest build projects in the region, including the $1 billion Lego manufacturing facility in Chesterfield County and the $18 million CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University. Under his leadership, the firm has delivered more than 2 million square feet of industrial space, with another 2.5 million square feet planned.

In his spare time, Hourigan mentors emerging entrepreneurs for Startup Virginia and serves on nonprofit First Tee’s leadership advisory board and Collegiate School’s construction committee.

BRENDA E. KARP

VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, THE BREEDEN CO., RICHMOND

In October, Brenda E. Karp was named one of the Top Multifamily Influencers of 2025 by commercial real estate news outlet GlobeSt. With more than 25 years of industry experience, Karp develops strategic commercial real estate and multifamily business partnerships, working closely with Breeden President and CEO Tim Faulkner to set a long-term vision for the company.

She was also the first woman at The Breeden Co. to achieve a senior leadership role, having joined the company in 2008 to handle leasing for a 42-acre development called Towne Center West — one of the first mixed-use developments in Henrico County’s Short Pump area. Karp was one of Virginia Business’ 2022 Women in Leadership Awards recipients.

Karp has served on the board for Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Coastal Virginia and as membership chair of the Urban Land Institute Virginia. She’s also active in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Real Estate Circle of Excellence and Greater Norfolk Corp.’s mentorship program.

SCOTT MARTIN

CEO, FORT MONROE AUTHORITY, HAMPTON

Scott Martin aims to dispel the notion that Fort Monroe is a static relic of the past, instead reframing the National Historic Landmark as an opportunity for future redevelopment.

As CEO of the Fort Monroe Authority, he’s leading an effort to create a plan that shapes the future of the 565-acre Hampton site, balancing residential, commercial and public uses while honoring its pivotal role in American history. Once known as Old Point Comfort, it’s where the first enslaved Africans were brought to English North America in 1619, as well as the site of a U.S. Army fort that was a Civil War haven for thousands of people who escaped enslavement.

Martin’s goal is to guide the authority’s vision toward specific redevelopment projects while forging new partnerships with developers and businesses to execute them.

GAGAN MARWAHA

PRINCIPAL AND OWNER, MARWAHA INVESTMENTS, HENRICO COUNTY

Gagan Marwaha is on an office-buying spree in the Richmond area. In October, his company, Marwaha Investments, spent $13 million to acquire its 11th office building in the region, the 206,000-square-foot Holland Tower in Henrico County, which it renamed Marwaha Tower III.

Marwaha founded his 19-employee firm in 2016 and bills himself as the biggest landlord in Petersburg. Marwaha Investments owns and manages about 600 multifamily units across Richmond, Williamsburg and Petersburg and close to 1.8 million square feet in commercial real estate. In nine years, he’s grown the firm’s assets from the townhouse he lived in to nearly $300 million in assets.

Going forward, Marwaha wants to acquire “as much as I can put my hands on.” A value-added, opportunist investor, Marwaha says the firm wants to continue to find investments that provide stabile, long-term gains.

NATALIE MASON

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CO-HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT, CAPITAL SQUARE, GLEN ALLEN

Considered a national authority on opportunity zones, Natalie Mason oversees development projects across multiple markets nationwide for Capital Square, a busy and fast-growing real estate investment company that manages over $6.3 billion in assets across more than 175 multifamily properties. Mason was one of this year’s winners of Connect CRE’s mid-Atlantic 2025 Women in

Real Estate Awards. Her leadership has helped Capital Square become one of the industry’s major players, according to the commercial real estate news outlet.

She’s spoken on national panels, organized multifamily and opportunity-zone development investor summits, and worked with government officials and business leaders across multiple cities. She’s led Capital Square’s partnership with FTI Consulting to quantify job creation, GDP growth, and tax revenue generated from opportunity zone projects.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and her MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and was named to the Real Estate Circle of Excellence at Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business.

DANIEL McCAHAN

PRESIDENT, PETERSON COS., FAIRFAX

Peterson Cos. held several celebrations for its 60th anniversary this year. The events gave Daniel McCahan, who joined the real estate development firm as president in 2024, an opportunity to talk at length with current and former employees.

“It’s great to see the community that’s built up around the company over that extended period of time,” he says.

McCahan points to James Vecchiarelli, who retired from Peterson Cos. in May after 48 years. “I work with so many people who have been here for decades,” he says. “It’s a testament to the culture of this place and the strong bonds that people forge.”

Since McCahan joined Peterson Cos., the firm has been on what he describes as “a historical round of acquisitions.” That included buying The Batley, a 432-unit apartment building that marks the firm’s first entry into Washington, D.C.’s multifamily market.

MEL PRICE

CEO AND PRINCIPAL, WORK PROGRAM ARCHITECTS, NORFOLK

Believing that architecture could be a tool for civic good, Mel Price co-founded Work Program Architects, a Norfolk-based architecture and design firm, in 2010 with Thom White. In the years since, WPA has become known for projects that advance resilience, inclusion and community engagement. Under Price’s leadership, the firm designed the Elizabeth River Project’s $8 million Ryan Resilience Lab, a flood-resilient environmental education center, and the 24,000-square-foot expansion of the Perry Glass Studio at Chrysler Museum, which opened earlier this year.

Before launching WPA, Price helped lead grassroots initiative Re:Vision Norfolk, which invited residents to imagine better futures for underused public spaces. She is also active in numerous Hampton Roads-based boards, including vice chair of the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation, vice president of the Greater Norfolk Corp. and chair of the Downtown Norfolk Council. In 2025, WPA was included on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private U.S. companies.

CURT REICHSTETTER

CO-OWNER AND ASSOCIATE BROKER, TWO DOG REALTY GROUP, RICHMOND

On Dec. 1, Curt Reichstetter succeeded Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty’s Lorraine Arora to become president of Virginia Realtors, the state’s largest trade association. Co-owner and associate broker with Two Dog Realty Group in Richmond, he brings more than 30 years of real estate experience to his role. He’s helped more than a thousand clients in both residential and commercial markets and has served in numerous leadership roles, including as Virginia Realtors’ vice president in 2024 and president of the Richmond Association of Realtors in 2019.

As Virginia Realtors’ president, he plans to tackle Virginia’s housing shortage, regulatory barriers and expanding homeownership opportunities. Outside of work, he serves on the boards of REACHcycles and Friends of Richmond K9, helping support children with disabilities and retired police dogs in Richmond.

KIM SARGENT

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING, BRANCH GROUP, ROANOKE

In 2022, Kim Sargent, marketing director for Roanoke construction firm the Branch Group, was put in charge of creating an event for young people that would showcase opportunities in construction for women.

Given about six weeks’ lead time, she and her team put together the company’s inaugural G.I.R.L. (Girls in Real Life) Construction Experience, attracting around 125 kids to participate in hands-on activities like building paper bridges or riding in a boom lift.

“This is just to give them a safe, nice place to explore these concepts and see other women doing these careers,” Sargent says of the now-annual event that has continued to grow in popularity.

This year’s G.I.R.L. event drew about 500 participants, including Sargent’s two daughters, 9 and 7. “They both love it,” she says.

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