President since 2018, Lauster manages a wide array of projects at the firm with $725 million in fiscal 2024 revenue. W.M. Jordan took on the second phase of the Norfolk-based Nauticus renovation

and expansion, and Old Dominion University’s $184 million biological sciences building, the university’s largest academic building now under construction, for which the company says it won a $142 million contract. In October 2024, construction started on the $107 million Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital; W.M. Jordan says it received a $90 million contract for the project.

Lauster also was an adjunct professor at Tidewater Community College, where he volunteered on several advisory committees and is an alum himself.

A graduate of the Civic Leadership Institute in Hampton Roads, he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology from Old Dominion University and graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He serves on the boards of the Hampton Roads Chamber and Virginia Chamber of Commerce and is vice chair of Bon Secours Hampton Roads Foundation’s board.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.

Before becoming CEO in 2022, Schall joined AvalonBay as president in 2021. He also sits on the publicly traded real estate investment trust’s board of directors.

AvalonBay acquires, develops and manages multifamily communities around the country, primarily focusing on metropolitan areas in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest and California. The company reported over $2.9 billion in 2024 revenue and more than $21 billion in total assets. As of March 31, it owned or held direct or indirect ownership interest in 309 apartment communities, of which 19 were under development, in 11 states and Washington, D.C., including a recent $620 million acquisition in Texas.

Prior to joining AvalonBay Communities, Schall was CEO and president of Seritage Growth Properties, a spinoff of Sears Holdings, and before that, chief operating officer of Rouse Properties, where he oversaw operations for 35 regional malls across

21 states. Schall received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.

As leader of one of the largest real estate development companies in the southeastern United States, Leon is responsible for all company operations and new business development. Founded in 1906, Nusbaum has a property management portfolio exceeding 30,000 multifamily units.

Among other deals, the company is handling Texas convenience store chain Buc-ee’s expansion into the commonwealth, which includes the new Rockingham County location — the first in Virginia — that opened June 30. The chain has plans for at least two more locations in Virginia: one in New Kent County and one in Stafford County.

In March, Nusbaum negotiated LS GreenLink USA’s purchase of 96 acres in Chesapeake, where it is building a $680 million advanced cable manufacturing and port facility.

Leon earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his MBA from the University of Miami. He serves on the Old Dominion University Real Estate Foundation and Downtown Norfolk Council boards, among other civic duties.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.

In 2017, Roy became the first nonfamily member to lead the then-80-year-old Hitt company. Interested in building from a young age, she graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in construction and joined Hitt in 1999 as an assistant project manager.

Founded in 1937, Hitt has more than 2,000 employees across 14 U.S. office locations. The company reported $8.7 billion in 2024 revenue and ranked No. 10 on Engineering News-Record’s list of the top 400 general contractors this year, a jump of 16 spots from 2024.

Hitt’s recent projects include a $1 billion expansion of Boeing’s facilities in Charleston, South Carolina, for which Hitt is partnering with BE&K Building Group. In January, Hitt broke ground on its new six-story, 270,000-square-foot headquarters in Falls Church, expected to be completed in late 2026.

Roy is also president of Hitt Contracting Foundation, a nonprofit she helped launch focusing on the company’s philanthropic initiatives, and she serves on Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering advisory board.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.

Litton oversees the day-to-day operations of the commercial real estate and management company, which currently boasts $20 billion in real estate investment properties, with diversified property portfolios including office, retail and multifamily properties.

Litton also manages Harbor Group International’s transaction group, chairs the firm’s investment and credit committees and is a member of its executive committee.

In June, HGI purchased a portfolio of 3,590 units in 11 garden-style apartment communities in South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia and Tennessee for $625 million, as well as other purchases in Massachusetts and Texas earlier in the year.

Last year, Harbor Group International’s credit platform reached $5 billion in assets under management. The firm manages a range of real estate debt investments, including whole loans, Freddie Mac structured debt products, preferred equity investments and mezzanine loans.

Litton previously was a corporate law partner at Kaufman & Canoles.

A University of Virginia School of Law graduate, he is a founding director, as well as secretary and treasurer, of the Tidewater Friends of Foster Care board and chair of the Access College Foundation board.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.

In January, Lugg became Virginia Realtors’ new head, succeeding Terrie Suit, who retired last fall. Martin Johnson, the organization’s chief external affairs officer, served as interim CEO.

Virginia Realtors represents nearly 35,000 Realtors and is billed as the state’s largest trade association. Lugg joined the organization in 2009 and was most recently its chief financial officer and chief operating officer, after working in management roles at Circuit City. As COO and CFO, Lugg was behind Virginia Realtors’ rebranding and website redesign in 2017, and he helped steward the association during the height of the 2009 financial crisis. He received Virginia Business’ Virginia CFO Award for small nonprofits/government agencies in 2019.

Lugg also was a programmer analyst in the Air Force and earned a bachelor’s degree from Troy University and an MBA from the University of Richmond. He serves as a small

business mentor for the Richmond chapter of SCORE.

Virginia Realtors sends out monthly home sales reports for the state. This year, sales have been “sluggish,” according to the association’s May report, although sales prices are still rising.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.