The Lone Star State has weathered the Great Recession and financial meltdown better than most others, and its job growth prospects are bright. As a result, Texas is at the top of many developers' and investors' wish lists. But then there are the state's commercial real estate stalwarts; the men and women who have been through the booms and busts of the Texas economy for the past several decades. These household names have all helped to shape the local commercial real estate market into what it is today.

In addition to serving as Weingarten Realty Investors' chairman, Stanford Alexander is also on the Houston-based firm's board of trustees. Weingarten acquires, develops, redevelops and manages neighborhood and community shopping centers in major metro markets. Alexander joined the firm in the early 1950s and, following several promotions throughout the company's expansion, was named president of its real estate arm in 1962. In 1997, Weingarten became chairman and CEO. (He stepped down from the latter position at the end of 2000.) In 1987, Alexander was named one of the 25 people who changed Houston from a sprawling prairie to the nation's then-seventh-largest metropolitan area. He's also made the BusinessWeek Corporate CEO List three times: in 1988, 1989 and 1992.

Monty Bennett helped launch Ashford Hospitality Trust's IPO in August 2003 (with his father, Archie Bennett) and a portfolio of six hotels valued at $130 million. Today, the Dallas-based REIT has more than $5 billion in assets and invests in the hospitality industry across all segments and at all levels of the capital structure. Founder, director and CEO of Ashford, Bennett also served as president of Remington Hotels LP (which eventually became Remington Holdings), which he joined in 1992. Bennett is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Industry Real Estate Finance Advisory Council and the Urban Land Institute's Hotel Council and is a life member of the Cornell Hotel Society.

A member of the renowned Trammell Crow family, Lucy Crow Billingsley spent her career in real estate, developing and managing office buildings, design centers, multifamily assets, retail and industrial properties and master-planned communities. Lucy and Henry Billingsley launched Billingsley Co. in 1978 to manage a growing Dallas-Fort Worth portfolio. The company these days specializes in developing master-planned and mixed-use communities including International Business Park, Neighborhoods of Austin Ranch and the Arts Plaza campus in the Dallas' Arts District. Billingsley Co. has also begun infrastructure work at the masterplanned, 1,000-acre Cypress Waters in Irving. Prior to her focus on Billingsley Co., Billingsley was CEO of the Dallas Market Center, led the expansion of the Crow Design Centers in Houston and Boston and grew Wyndham Jade to become the Southwest's largest privately owned travel agency.

Ric Campo, chairman and CEO of Camden Property Trust since 1993, began his career in real estate during the mid-1970s. After working for a private Houston real estate firm, Campo co-founded Camden's predecessor companies in 1982. During its existence, the Houston-based multifamily REIT has grown from a statewide enterprise with $200 million in assets to a national company with holdings that top $7 billion. Under Campo's direction, Camden has developed, managed, acquired and sold real estate in excess of $10 billion. He serves on the boards of several organizations focusing on the economic development, business outlook and future growth of Houston.

Crow Family Holdings is a private business established during the 1980s to manage the capital of the Trammell Crow family. And, a good chunk of that capital is in commercial real estate assets. Harlan Crow, who oversees the business as chairman and CEO, joined father Trammell Crow's firm in 1974 in Houston as an industrial leasing agent. He came to work in the Dallas office in 1978, eventually becoming a regional partner in charge. After making his way through the company over the course of many years, he took the leadership reins from his father in 1988. During Crow's tenure as CEO, the firm has made important strategic diversifications into a whole variety of additional asset classes. Crow Investment Trust owns much of the family's real estate, while Crow Family Holdings has major stakes in Trammell Crow Residential and Trammell Crow Co.

Based in San Antonio, USAA Real Estate is the real estate acquisition, development and management arm of parent company USAA. As chairman and CEO, Patrick Duncan oversees a real estate portfolio of office buildings, industrial projects, land holdings, shopping centers and hotels valued in excess of $12 billion. Duncan began his career as an accountant for Deloitte & Touche in Phoenix and traveled to Ecuador and Houston while with the accounting firm. In Houston, he was offered the opportunity to work with Don Williams at Trammell Crow Co. and in 1986 was hired as senior financial officer with USAA Real Estate. In 1992, he was promoted to head of operations, and became the firm's leader when CEO Ed Kelley retired.

Robert Duncan has served as Transwestern's chairman since founding the company in 1978. One of the largest privately held commercial real estate firms in the US, Houston-based Transwestern is involved in real estate service, development and investment management. In the first quarter of 2012 alone, the firm oversaw the leasing and management of more than 1,200 properties, representing more than 250 million square feet, as well as investment sales and finance deals totaling $556 million. Duncan began his career with Trammell Crow in Dallas, where he handled commercial operations in San Antonio. In 2010, Duncan was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame for his significant impact on the Houston community and major institutions in Texas.

John Eulich founded Vantage Cos. in the late 1950s, naming it after the Dallas street where he built his first warehouse. With help from its sales force (dubbed the Young Turks), Vantage ended up building warehouses, flex space and retail properties on spec. The team believed it could find tenants once the buildings were constructed, and it did. The result has been the construction of more than 80 million feet of industrial, office, retail, hotel and multifamily properties across the US, including more than 4.5 million square feet of office and industrial since 1995 through Vantage and its subsidiary, Vantage Realty Holdings Inc. Eulich has been honored as Developer of the Year by NAIOP, Entrepreneur of the Year by Southern Methodist University and Distinguished Developer by ULI.

John Fenoglio joined CBRE's Debt & Equity Services Group in Houston as EVP in 2012 but is no stranger to the real estate industry. During the 1970s, Fenoglio was assistant vice president at American General Insurance Co. and was vice president and co-manager of the commercial real estate department of First Mortgage of Texas. In 1982, he co-founded what would become Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, where he served as CEO until his retirement from the firm in 1998. Under his direction, the company now known as HFF became the largest commercial mortgage banking firm in the US with 25 offices nationwide, $10 billion in annual production and a mortgage-servicing portfolio of $7.6 billion. He went on to launch Live Oak Capital, which was sold to Grandbridge Real Estate Capital LLC in 2008. Fenoglio served as Grandbridge's principal before moving on to CBRE.

Co-founder of Crescent Real Estate Holdings during the early 1990s with partner Richard Rainwater, John Goff devised the strategy and orchestrated the acquisitions leading to the Fort Worth company's IPO in May 1994. Goff, who served as vice chairman and CEO, helped grow Crescent from approximately $500 million at its IPO to $6.5 billion upon its sale to Morgan Stanley in August 2007. In November 2009, Goff reacquired Crescent in a JV with Barclays Capital. Goff is also founder and managing principal of Goff Capital Partners, a private equity firm that invests in real estate debt and equity. He founded the company, which manages a portfolio of more than $4 billion through offices in Fort Worth, Denver and Stamford, CT, during the credit crisis of 1998. Goff Capital also invests in public securities and energy as well as private equity.

Michigan native Craig Hall formed Frisco-based Hall Financial Group in 1968 at the age of 18, with $4,000 he'd saved over the years. In 1981, Hall established an office in Dallas to buy commercial real estate; two years later, that office became his firm's headquarters. Today, Hall Financial focuses on development, ownership and management and structured finance lending for real estate and other areas. In its history, Hall Financial has owned and operated over $4 billion in real estate assets, with five million feet of class A office, more than 100,000 multifamily units across the US, condominiums and a number of limited and full-service hotels. Notable activities include the purchase and renovation of the historic Kirby building in Downtown Dallas; the development of Hall Office Park, one of the first office parks in Frisco; and land slated for development in the Dallas Arts District.

As co-owner, president and CEO, Jeff Hines is responsible for overseeing international policies, procedures and day-to-day operations for Houston-based Hines. Since he joined the international real estate firm in 1982, it has experienced a vast expansion in its holdings, products and services as well as a dramatic increase in its capital base. Hines now has a presence in more than 100 global cities, a portfolio of more than 1,145 properties and solid relationships with many international financial institutions. It has also grown from nearly 500 to over 3,150 employees worldwide, with controlled assets valued at some $22.9 billion. Jeff Hines has been a major participant in developing the firm's domestic and global acquisition program, focusing on foreign market penetration.

A veteran of nearly 50 years in the lending industry, Bud Malone began his career as a freshly minted lawyer; he became a legal research specialist in Washington, DC, at the FHA headquarters shortly after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. In the late 1960s, he became the FHA's associate regional counsel in Fort Worth, then spent two decades in private practice before founding Malone Mortgage Co., which focused on FHA multifamily lending as well as special servicing for Ginnie Mae MBS. While heading up Malone Mortgage, Malone became a nationally recognized speaker, and the company itself became one of the top originators of FHA-insured multifamily mortgage loans. He sold Malone in 2005, then returned to the industry in 2009 when he launched Dallas-based Mortgages USA's multifamily division, for which he's now partner and executive vice president.

Headquartered in Plano, the Perot Group manages a variety of Perot family interests including real estate, oil and gas and financial investments. But from a real estate perspective, Ross Perot Jr. is probably best known for founding Hillwood in 1988. He still serves as the company's chairman and does the same for the Perot Group. Hillwood is ranked among the top 10 developers in the US and is known for its high-profile projects and public-private ventures. Hillwood's projects include Alliance Texas, a 17,000-acre master-planned, mixed-use community; Alliance California; Alliance Florida at Cecil Commerce Center; and Hillwood Communities. The firm also works with various partners on commercial real estate investments. Perot is a founder of Perot Systems Corp., which was acquired by Dell Inc. in 2009.

Mack Pogue formed Lincoln Property Co. in partnership with Trammell Crow in 1965 to develop, own and manage high-caliber properties. At the time, the 30-year-old Pogue was a high school football coach-turned-real estate broker. In 1977, he bought out Crow's share in the company for $150 million. Since then, the Dallas-based LPC has developed more than $21 billion in residential, commercial and retail properties throughout the US and Europe. With Pogue serving as chairman, the company specializes in high-rise office towers and market-rate and luxury apartments, although it also develops warehouse, retail and hotel space. In addition, it is widely involved in the management and maintenance of many rental properties.

Invesco Real Estate manages nearly $49 billion in assets and has 321 employees in 16 offices worldwide. David Ridley founded Invesco's predecessor, the real estate division of Lomas & Nettleton, in 1983. In 1990, he sold the firm to Invesco and helped direct the company to where it is today. Ridley was responsible for developing the firm's investment processes and operating policies, and under his direction, the Dallas-based Invesco grew into a national company that later expanded into Europe (2001) and Asia (2006). As managing director and executive chairman, Ridley remains responsible for the firm's strategic direction and continued expansion. He is a member of its global and regional executive committees and sits on the executive management committee of parent Invesco Ltd.

Though William Ross is fairly new to NorthMarq Capital, he's not new to Texas real estate or its financing processes. He made his mark both in existing mortgage banking firms and as an entrepreneur when he started his own firm in 2001. He joined NorthMarq in 2009 and earlier this year was promoted to copresident, overseeing the eastern US as well as its relationship with AmeriSphere, a Fannie Mae DUS lender owned partially by NorthMarq. In his leadership role at NorthMarq in Dallas, Ross serves on its executive committee. He began his career in 1976 with Southern Trust & Mortgage and in 1989 was a founding principal of Keystone Mortgage, which in 2000 was sold to Capmark Finance.

Tom Simmons co-founded Simmons, Vedder & Co., a real estate development and investment firm in Austin, in 1992. Before that, he spent more than two decades with Trammell Crow Co., joining in 1970 and moving up through the ranks to become group managing partner in 1987. He held that position until going out on his own five years later. These days, the firm now known as Simmons Vedder Partners specializes in acquiring and developing commercial and multifamily assets, with Simmons as chairman. Since its founding, it has developed and acquired more than eight million square feet of commercial real estate with an aggregate value of more than $2 billion in markets throughout the Southeast and Southwest.

Jeffrey Swope launched Champion Partners Ltd. in 1991 (the predecessor to Addison-based Champion Private Equity) and, as that organization's CEO, led the firm to its eventual status as a developer and investor of office, industrial and retail properties across the US. But by the time he'd launched Champion Partners, Swope had already been involved in real estate for close to 15 years. He began his career at Trammell Crow Co. in 1973, became a partner in 1977 and in 1980, co-founded Centre Development Co. Inc., a Dallas-based owner and developer. Swope's emphasis was industrial and land development. Other additions to his resume include his role as founding chairman of the Real Estate Council, founding chairman of the Real Estate and Finance Center at the University of Texas-Austin and trustee of ULI.

In addition to his role as CEO with KDC Real Estate Development & Investments, Steve Van Amburgh serves as chairman of the Dallas company's executive committee, overseeing strategic planning and coordinating business development efforts. Van Amburgh also manages all acquisition and development activities of the firm's regional offices in Atlanta, Austin, Detroit and Charlotte, NC. He assumed leadership in 2001 after leading the KDCTexas operation for 12 years. During his tenure, KDC has completed over 110 corporate build-to-suit office and industrial projects valued at $3 billion and totaling more than 25 million square feet. KDC also partnered with Prudential Real Estate Investors on Intellicenter, a branded, high-performance, green office building program in multiple markets in the US.

Stuart Wernick manages the Dallas production office of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital as SVP. During his 20-plus years of mortgagebanking experience, Wernick has originated and participated in over $6 billion in financings nationwide. Before joining Grandbridge, Wernick was president of Quantum First Capital, a Dallas-based real estate finance and advisory firm he founded in 1998 and sold to Grandbridge in 2009. Less than two years after founding Quantum, Wernick originated a $630-million financing for the privatization of Walden Residential Properties Inc., then the largest multifamily REIT privatization ever completed. Also in 2001, Wernick originated a Master Credit Facility for $150 million, reportedly the first closed under the Fannie Mae Student Housing Lending Pilot Program.

GSL Welcome Group LLC is a collection of companies that own and lease single-tenant industrial facilities in Texas and is active in buildto-suit and design/build construction. Its chairman, Welcome Wilson Sr., has had a presence in commercial real estate since the late 1950s, having built shopping centers, industrial facilities and office buildings. In addition to developing more than 150 industrial properties, Wilson has headed up real estate firms responsible for developing more than 1,000 apartment units as well as other projects. Wilson's resume also includes the position of chairman of three Houston financial institutions and shareholder of the Houston Astros baseball franchise. He served in the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations as a five-state director of Civil and Defense Mobilization, which included responsibility for what is now known as FEMA. In 1966, he was appointed special ambassador to Nicaragua by President Lyndon Johnson.

Wolff Cos. is a holding company with investments in real estate development, financial assets, professional sports and agriculture. David Wolff founded the Houston company, of which he's chairman and president, in 1970. These days, it's among the largest developers of office, business and industrial parks, along with sites for hospitals, hotels and multifamily projects. Current projects include the mixed-use, 440-acre Interwood; the 55-acre regional business center Park 10; and the 150-acre, master-planned Westway Park, all in Houston. Outside of real estate, Wolff's agricultural interests center around a 1,678-acre working cattle ranch in Independence; vineyards in California's Napa Valley; and a partnership in the San Francisco Giants professional baseball team and AT&T Park in San Francisco.