Paul Romanowski

Texas has long been the proving ground for Romanowski. Now the leader of the country’s largest homebuilder will face a new challenge here as he guides the firm through a more cautious housing cycle.

Romanowski became president and CEO of D.R. Horton in late 2023, taking the helm of the Arlington-based giant founded in 1978 by Donald R. Horton. The builder has been the nation’s largest since 2002, a position built on relentless expansion across the Sun Belt — with Texas as its anchor.

In its home state, D.R. Horton remains one of the most active residential developers, with large master-planned communities outside Austin and Houston and steady infill and suburban projects in San Antonio and North Texas. But Romanowski’s tenure has coincided with a tougher moment for homebuilders. Higher mortgage rates and affordability pressures have cooled demand, trimming closings and pushing the company to rely more heavily on incentives to keep sales moving.

Even so, D.R. Horton continues to double down on Texas, where population growth and job creation offer longer-term insulation from cyclical slowdowns. The company closed more than 83,000 homes nationally over the past year and continues to prioritize land acquisition in fast-growing Texas metros and exurban corridors.

— Isaiah Mitchell