David O’Reilly

O’Reilly guides diversified holding company Howard Hughes Holdings, whose signature business is its master-planned community developments in the Houston, Las Vegas and Phoenix metros, as well as in Columbia, Maryland.

He led Howard Hughes through its 2019 Transformation Plan, which refocused efforts on master-planned community development. As part of the plan, the company spun off Seaport Entertainment Group, whose portfolio is anchored by the historic Seaport neighborhood in Lower Manhattan. 

During his tenure, O’Reilly has overseen the company’s establishment of its newest master-planned community, Teravalis outside of Phoenix. He also partnered with Sony Pictures in an effort to bring an $80 million movie studio to the company’s Summerlin community.

In 2025, Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman reached a deal to increase Pershing Square’s ownership of Howard Hughes to 47 percent. The deal reflects Ackman’s interest in modeling Howard Hughes after Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. Ackman kept O’Reilly on as CEO, and the company has recently diversified further, acquiring specialty insurer Vantage Group Holding Ltd. in a $2.1 billion deal in late 2025.

— Isaiah Mitchell