Adam Allen, 32
Vice President
ARA Capital Markets
Since starting ARA Capital Markets in 2012, Allen has closed 18 joint venture equity placements totaling over $300 million for new developments in Houston, Austin and San Antonio. He has also closed 20 debt placements totaling $600 million for acquisition financing across 3,000 units in Texas. ARA Capital Markets is among the most active equity placement agents for new development in the state. Allen's client list includes Alliance Residential, Trammel Crow Residential, Greystar, the Morgan Group and CWS Capital Partners. Allen counts among his top achievements the completion of a $300-million acquisition loan for Greystar to acquire 4,000 units in Texas and Oklahoma. He sees Houston becoming increasingly developed, with “cranes dotting the landscape” for the foreseeable future.

Brian Bacharach, 35
Vice President
Lincoln Harris CSG
A specialist in healthcare real estate, Bacharach has closed more than 600 transactions in 35 states, including many that were highly complex. In 2013 he completed deals worth more than $120 million. In the past 18 months, he handled these significant transactions, among others: build-to-suit negotiations for five medical office buildings for Scott & White totaling $85 million; Doctor's Hospital's lease of 52,300 square feet; Texas Back Institute's lease of 42,600 square feet; and the sale of the Baylor Garland and Baylor Heath medical office buildings. Bacharach says he's realistic about the finite nature of a super-strong market in Texas, but on the other hand, he expects it to continue for some time.

Matt Banks, 33
Financial Analyst
Woodlands Development Co.
Banks supports the corporate capital markets group at the Woodlands, a subsidiary of the Howard Hughes Corp., completing financial analyses for all projects, across all property types. He is based in Houston. “Matt has an ability to apply mature judgment in a very creative way to his financial analyses,” says Alex Sutton, co-president of the Woodlands. Recently, Banks performed lease analysis for rates at the 478,000 square-foot office buildings at Hughes Landing on Lake Woodlands where ExxonMobil secured space. Previously, Banks was an investment sales analyst with HFF, assisting the brokerage team.

Bryson Battle, 25
Sales Associate
Colliers International Retail Services Group
Battle is running Colliers' retail group in Dallas as a solo act. Working without a senior partner as mentor, he has displayed enough tenacity to go after big clients and develop strong relationships in the marketplace. Battle says he takes the “personal approach” to real estate, committed to going above and beyond for each client. He recently established Dallas as a new market for LYFE Kitchen casual dining and is now assisting the company with other locations. Battle also helped secure the lease for one of the largest Triathlon stores in the world. He is actively marketing and listing commercial properties, as well as being accountable for retail tenant representation. He serves on the board for the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors and Real Estate Professionals and Young Professionals Forum.

Joel Behrens, 33
Senior Vice President
Trammell Crow Co.
Since joining Trammell Crow in Houston as an associate six years ago, Behrens has risen to become director of its multifamily division. He has overseen the construction of more than 2.8 million square feet of projects, including the MedAssets building, Midtown Commons and UNION at Carrollton Square completed last year. Behrens serves on the board for the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority, a nonprofit organization that operates the M-line Streetcar in Dallas. He works with Preservation Dallas, another nonprofit. “If you are not pursuing something that you are thrilled to get up every day and work on, your chances of moving to the top of the Texas commercial real estate market are extremely low,” says Behrens. But he is confident of having the requisite passion to become an industry leader in urban multi-family development.

Nate Collins, 33
Real Estate Manager
Kroger Co.
Responsible for Kroger's capital program in North Texas and Louisiana, Collins has presided over a major regional expansion. Collins and his team have completed five new stores, three store expansions, a dozen remodels and the addition of 14 fuel centers to retail properties. Collins says, “This region of the country was well insulated from the past downturn, and we expect the growth to be sustained long into the future.” Collins is a member of the board of Goodwill Industries. His colleagues cite his ethics and character, along with his very strong work ethic in naming him a leader in his field.

Kevin Dalrymple, 32
Vice President
Clay & Co. Investments
Two years ago, at just 30 years old, Dalrymple was awarded Certified Commercial Investment Member designation by the CCIM Institute. Only 6% of real estate practitioners achieve the honor. Today, in addition to representing buyers and sellers for retail, office, industrial and investment projects throughout the state, he is active with the in-house investment division of Clay & Co., where he identifies and evaluates investment opportunities for the company. He personally invested in a percentage ownership in five Houston industrial buildings, two retail buildings and has an investment in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “I think it is important to have first-hand experience and knowledge,” says Dalrymple, “and being an owner and investor myself helps me provide clients with a comprehensive understanding of real estate.” Last year, he represented a family trust in selling 35 acres in Pearland, which was the company's largest deal of the year.

Trevor Hightower, 32
Managing Director
CBRE Group
One of the youngest managing directors with CBRE, Hightower has overseen some of the company's largest deals. In addition to directing the Houston regional office, where he has been for less than two years, he founded and leads a community of CBRE leaders in 50 markets to share best practices. Hightower also leads a team of professionals working in major energy-market cities. “We are fortunate to live and work in Texas,” he says. “In Houston specifically, we have gained back 2.5 jobs for every one we lost in the recession, which is very different from the rest of the country.” Hightower says the project pipeline has more than doubled in the past year. The former US Air Force captain professes to be passionate about “leadership and service,” and he is active with a number of organizations focused on ending human trafficking worldwide.

Terrence Maiden, 35
Executive Vice President
Corinth Properties Development
At Corinth, Maiden is responsible for managing the overall development process of various retail/mixed-use projects, coordinating leasing, marketing, due diligence and construction. He is currently developing three shopping centers in the Oak Cliff area. Maiden is a former real estate manager for Panda Restaurant Group. He opened over 60 Panda Express restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma, and later was real estate director for Panera Bread across an 11-state region. Deeply involved in the community, he works with civic and professional organizations in Dallas and Fort Worth, including Mayor Star Council of Dallas, the Coalition of African American Professionals and Organizations, Texas Christian University Legacy Committee and many more. In 2005, he co-founded the Two-Wins Foundation with identical twin brother Tim to invest in educational and community revitalization programs.

Ian Mattingly, 35
Executive Vice President
LumaCorp Inc.
Mattingly not only leads his company, but he also strongly advocates for a higher level of professionalism in the entire multifamily industry in Texas. With his backing, LumaCorp's associates hold numerous positions and committee assignments within industry trade organizations, such as the Institute for Real Estate Management and the Texas Apartment Association, and four of them now hold board-level positions at the state level in different associations. Mattingly has overseen a rapid generational shift in the makeup of the LumaCorp team. In addition, he oversees the company's management of a portfolio of more than 5,000 apartments in 21 communities. Mattingly says the challenge of the future will be managing high tenant expectations as construction prices rise and inflation inevitably returns.

Jimmy McCloskey, 34
Vice President
Embrey Partners Ltd. Development
With an undergraduate degree in construction management and a master's degree in real estate, McCloskey specializes in shepherding projects through tough entitlement bureaucracies, coordinating project design, construction management and budgeting, in nine markets across seven states. Recently, he was named to take part in the Real Estate Council of San Antonio's leadership development program. McCloskey started his career framing houses and small commercial buildings. He has worked in both the hotel and multifamily industries in multiple Texas markets and throughout the United States. McCloskey has developed 1,600 multifamily units valued at $250 million and managed annual construction budgets for two publicly traded companies.

Scott Myers, 35
Vice President
Transwestern Investment Sales
In the past two years, Myers has had his name on numerous marquee investment sales, for a total of $332 million in transactions in the Houston area. Last year, he was a top national producer for his company, completing 10 sales with an aggregate value of $175.7 million. “The Texas commercial real estate market is experiencing its most dramatic transformation since the mid-1980s,” says Myers. He says Houston, in particular, has emerged as a gateway market for institutional and foreign capital on par with the likes of Chicago and coastal gateway cities. The current expansion cycle is based on strong underlying economic fundamentals, in Myers' view, and he predicts a “very positive” future for the state market. While rental rates will inevitably level off as supply catches up to demand, he says the pricing paradigm has been forever changed.

Matt Ozee, 27
Acquisitions Officer
Behringer Opportunity Platform
After just five years in the business, Ozee has closed more than $100 million in transactions. Last summer, he was instrumental in Behringer's strategic acquisition of the Parkside Apartments in Sugar Land—an investment that is performing well for the company. His direct supervisor, CIO James D. Fant, says Ozee is “diligent, detail-oriented, driven, a quick study and an overall strong contributor.” Ozee is a member of the Real Estate Council's Young Guns, a group of commercial real estate professionals age 35 and under. He predicts that Texas, with continuing boosts from the energy sector and its business-friendly environment, will remain a top-performing national market for years to come.

Matt Parsons, 33
Senior Associate
CBRE Inc. Retail Brokerage
Three years ago, Parsons made a leap of faith and relocated to Houston from Cincinnati, determined to make a mark as a retail broker. He says the secret to his success so far is “relentless networking.” Parsons represents local, regional and national tenants in site selection throughout the Houston MSA, and then negotiates their transactions. He closed $5 million in leasing deals in 2012 and $10 million last year, and expects to handle $12.5 million worth of leasing this year. Aspiring to one day own and develop his own retail portfolio, Parsons says he recognizes the critical importance of honest and ethical practices. Today's market is evolving, Parsons says, with the focus lessening on retail developments centered on grocery anchors. Mixed-use development will be the wave of the future, he predicts.

Nate Paul, 27
President & CEO
World Class Capital Group
A seven-year veteran of the business at age 27, Paul is said to be the largest retail landlord in Downtown Austin. The firm he founded in 2007 owns, operates and manages a national portfolio valued in excess of $600 million. It recently purchased the KPMG Tower in Dallas and is developing a $100-million multifamily project in Austin. Paul owns Great Value Storage, one of the largest privately owned self-storage companies in the US, with over 25,000 units. His company is on track to acquire $500 million to $750 million worth of new real estate holdings this year, which will bring its total portfolio value to $1.25 billion. Paul says he has two goals for his firm: to be the best—and biggest—real estate investment company in America.

Sean Rae, 30
Managing Director
Trammell Crow Residential
“People and companies want to be in Texas,” says Rae. As a professional immersed in multifamily development, he sees himself responsible for taking it from there. After eight years in the Houston office of TCR, he has handled or been involved in nearly 30 multifamily development projects, representing more than $1 billion in total value. In the past two years, the Houston team has begun construction on eight new projects. Rae takes on all aspects of a deal, from land acquisition to financing, and works with consultant teams through the building design process. He is also on the board of the Equal Rights Center's multifamily housing resource program and a mentor to Houston area high school students.

Sunny Sajnani, 29
Senior Director
Metropolitan Capital Advisors
Sajnani became a senior broker at MCA two years ago, achieving that role faster than anyone in company history. He says he intentionally chooses difficult assignments where he can “demonstrate brainpower and add value.” Sajnani has completed structured real estate transactions throughout the entire capital stack including senior mortgages, mezzanine loans, participating debt, preferred equity and joint-venture equity partnerships. In addition to real estate finance, he specializes in operational capital structures including alternative financing options such as sale-leasebacks, working lines of credit, cash flow term loans and leasehold mortgages. Sajnani has closed transactions totaling more than $375 million across all commercial real estate product types.

Taylor Snoddy, 32
Managing Director
Transwestern Multifamily Investment Sales
Snoddy joined Transwestern straight out of Southern Methodist University and remains with the company after eight years as an executive with the Dallas multifamily group. He heads business development and property disposition for the group. Snoddy closed over 3,000 units with more than $100 million in transaction value in 2013. Snoddy predicts the apartment market will remain strong as long as solid job growth continues. “There's a lack of housing to keep up with the tremendous demand, which is something I hadn't seen before.” Because of the large discrepancy between class A and class B rental rate, Snoddy says he expects landlords will invest heavily in renovating their older buildings.

Zach Springer, 33
Vice President
ARA Private Client Services
After only six years in the business, Springer helped set a record in 2013 for the ARA Houston office with over $500 million in multifamily sales. Most recently, he was instrumental in the sale of Houston's iconic Post Rice Lofts. Springer says he believes it is important to keep a “humble mindset,” putting clients' needs first—even in a hot market. Springer focuses on the disposition of non-institutional assets, client development, pricing strategies, valuation and marketing, as well as transactions. He has been directly involved in over $1 billion in multifamily transactions since becoming a broker with ARA. “All the hype surrounding the Texas markets is backed up by real growth,” says Springer, “bringing record-setting rent and growing occupancy in the multifamily sector.”

Andrew Zeitman, 35
Vice President, Capital Markets
Howard Hughes Corp.
Zeitman leads his company's capital markets department in sourcing, underwriting and closing real estate for the entire portfolio. “Andrew stands out as a born leader,” says Grant Herlitz, president of Howard Hughes Corp. “He is respected by his peers and relied upon by his mentors.” Last year, Zeitman secured over $789 million in financing for the company's projects. He handled the $65-million financing of the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk, which was complicated by the property's location involving four ground leases with several owners and a cruise terminal on the Mississippi River. Zeitman also secured a $250 million master credit facility for the Woodlands, an award-winning master planned community near Houston, owned by HHC. He is highly active with Vogel Alcove, a Dallas non-profit organization that raises funds to assist homeless families.

Jeremy Zidell, 33
Senior Vice President
Retail Connection Brokerage
Zidell represents both Dallas-Ft. Worth area restaurants and retailers and national clients such as Visionworks, with whom he has completed approximately 150 leases. His work has resulted in bringing new retailers like Manhattan-based Equinox Fitness to the market, while also helping to expand and secure the longevity of several DFW “institutions,” including the 75-year-old Freed's Furniture and world-famous Forty Five Ten. On the landlord side, Zidell has been instrumental in developing retail schemes for ground-up projects such as the Village at Cumberland Park in Tyler and all aspects of leasing at existing projects such as Arlington Highlands. In each of the past two years, he had the highest number of deals of all company brokers. He is actively involved in ICSC and in the community, volunteering at the Children's Hospital of Dallas, the Austin Shelter and Habitat for Humanity.