CATHY UNDERWOOD | Corporate business development officer, Branch Group

This year, Cathy Underwood celebrates her 25th anniversary with Branch Group, an employee-owned construction firm headquartered in Roanoke.
The first woman to interview with Branch’s estimating department, Underwood joined the company in 2000 as an estimator. In 2007, Branch tapped Underwood to guide the company with an effort to offer clients an alternative project delivery system called construction management at risk. Under this approach, a client who wants a new facility built can contract with a construction manager during the design phase, and that person oversees the project to completion.

In 2010, Underwood became vice president of the company’s construction management subsidiary, which is now called Branch Builds. In that role, she was involved with efforts that included the $107.5 million Montgomery County Public Schools’ three-school, public-private partnership project. In 2020, Branch named Underwood president of Branch Builds, the first woman in the role.

In her current position since 2023, Underwood collaborates with the Branch Group’s leadership to set the company’s strategic direction.

“I get the opportunity to work with all three of our business lines and think about things through the bigger picture,” Underwood says.

Active in the community, Underwood sits on several boards, including the Roanoke Outside Foundation. She was campaign co-chair for the Roanoke Regional Partnership’s 2022 fundraising effort called Thrive 2027, which surpassed its $3.6 million goal by more than $400,000.
She earned a master’s in biological systems engineering from Virginia Tech.

Return to the full list of this year’s recipients