C-Suite Leaders Will Gather To Chart Homebuilding’s '26 Reset
(Image from the left: Linda Mamet, Executive VP, Chief Marketing Officer, Tri Pointe Homes, Urmila Menon, CIO, Tri Pointe Homes, Brandon Sharp, CIO, Brookfield Residential, Stephanie McCarty, CMO, Taylor Morrison Homes ... illustration Maggie Goldstone, TBD)
When the market softens, smart homebuilding leaders sharpen their focus. That’s the pattern. And in 2025—a year defined by margin stress, buyer hesitancy, and operational cost spikes—the smartest leaders aren’t waiting out the cycle. They’re stepping into it. They’re asking better questions, pushing their teams to tighter execution, and rewriting their playbooks in real time.
That’s what Focus On Excellence is about. And this year, The Builder’s Daily is proud to unveil a speaker lineup that reflects precisely what the moment demands: operational command, digital fluency, and people-first leadership—all fused into one resilient, agile playbook.
Held from October 27 to 29 at the Four Seasons in Denver, Focus On Excellence 2025 will feature a two-and-a-half-day summit and workshop explicitly designed for operational and strategic leaders. It’s not a show. It’s not a talking-head conference. It’s a working leadership forum—built around cycle-tested insights and hands-on workshop experiences that connect and evolve strategy, systems, and human capability.
Where Marketing, Tech, and Operations Merge
One of several sessions in this year’s summit not to miss:
“Operationalizing AI, Data, and Tech at the Intersection of Sales and Marketing.”
This powerhouse panel brings together four of homebuilding’s most forward-leaning C-suite leaders:
- Linda Mamet, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Tri Pointe Homes
- Urmila Menon, Chief Information Officer, Tri Pointe Homes
- Stephanie McCarty, Chief Marketing Officer, Taylor Morrison
- Brandon Sharp, Chief Information Officer, Brookfield Residential
Together, they’ll unpack the real work of integrating marketing strategy, customer engagement, data science, and AI into the operational bloodstream of a homebuilding enterprise.
As we wrote in an earlier story, "In our conversation with Linda Mamet, she discussed the foundational platforms at Tri Pointe, which are set to scale and provide more seamless customer interactions. Mamet emphasized the need for technology to automate mundane tasks, allowing team members to focus on strategic initiatives and creative problem-solving.
We can now focus fully on ideas like a single source of truth," says Mamet. "This means holistic integrations among our platforms – where information moves meaningfully in real-time, back-and-forth between what the customer is doing and what we are doing internally, and gathering that data so that it's there to act on at each step a customer takes in the home buying process or home ownership process.”
She emphasizes the importance of having a unified and integrated data system that allows information to flow seamlessly between customer interactions and internal operations. This concept of a "single source of truth" ensures that all team members have access to accurate and up-to-date information, facilitating better decision-making and enhancing the overall customer experience as well as the business value lifecycle. This integration is a key focus in her new role, aiming to align various functions within the company and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes.
Our Focus On Excellence session will explore how these leaders and their teams bridge the gap, in the day-to-day, real-life world, between analog selling skills and digital execution. It’s not about theory. It’s about real-world transformation: how to decide what to build, where to build it, what to price it at, and how to serve buyers better, faster, wiser, and at lower cost.
For attendees, the takeaway is this: The real competitive edge isn’t just in data or tech. It’s in leadership teams that know how to operationalize both in pursuit of better execution.
Homebuilding’s Smartest Leaders Take the Stage
While the CMO–CIO convergence session is a marquee moment, the rest of the lineup builds on the same logic: real leaders, with real challenges, sharing what works.
Here are the names shaping this year’s summit agenda:
- Christian deRitis, Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics
A macro view of the economic signals, policy drivers, and housing fundamentals that will shape 2026 decisions. - Jim Francescon, EVP, Corporate Operations, Century Communities
On driving culture, systems alignment, and high performance across national operations. - Alex Akel, President, Akel Homes
A case study in entrepreneurial growth, customer intimacy, and design-driven execution. - Audrey Lam, Market President, Oakwood Homes
On building localized team trust, performance visibility, and product-fit for specific buyer cohorts. - Chris Ertel & Johanna Buurman, Co-Founders, TradeCraft Central
Bringing deep facilitation and high-performance team science into the workshop engine room. - David McDonald, President, Defy Investments / Davis Homes
On balancing risk, optionality, and entrepreneurial bets in volatile regional markets. - David Rice, Founder & CEO, New Home Star
Exploring sales enablement, frontline leadership, and what it takes to outperform in today’s buyer climate. - Nikki Pechet, Co-Founder & CEO, Homebound
On tech-enabled vertical integration, supply chain rethink, and the data-to-operations flywheel. - Scott Cox, Principal, SLC Advisors
One of homebuilding’s most experienced land investment minds on timing, capital, and cycles. - Tony Avila, Founder & CEO, Builder Advisor Group
A hard look at M&A, builder valuation, and the post-interest-rate-cut growth landscape. - Wade Jurney, Co-Founder & President, National Home Corp.
On bottom-line clarity, systems simplicity, and build-to-rent’s ongoing role in the housing mix.
Stay tuned for strategic additions to this lineup. And of course, the builder community itself—CEOs, division presidents, functional leaders, and rising stars—will form the heartbeat of the workshop.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Homebuilding isn’t in a crisis. It is in a crucible of both current market challenges and structural barriers to hurdle. Many leaders privately admit they’re uncertain what playbook works best in today’s market.
That’s what makes this year’s Focus On Excellence critical.
It’s a weigh station. A reset. A moment to come together, recalibrate, and commit—before the cycle turns again.
With the May 2025 new-home sales report showing a 13.7% year-over-year drop, and The Conference Board’s latest Consumer Confidence Index falling sharply for the second straight month, buyer hesitation is no longer an outlier. It’s the operating environment.
That’s why attending Focus On Excellence this October isn’t optional for leaders who want to outperform in 2026. It’s foundational.
What Happens in Denver Doesn’t Stay in Denver
This is a room of peers. Of decision-makers. Of leaders who are open-eyed about the challenge—and all-in on solving for it. It will incubate ideas and practices that will launch business leadership careers. It will spark new ones that can sustain the continued success of already-established leaders.
You’ll leave with:
- Strategic clarity about economic and demand fundamentals
- Tactical insights from builders leading with excellence
- New frameworks to integrate tech, ops, and team performance
- A sharp, achievable blueprint for your 2026 plan
- And a leadership toolkit that will ripple across your company
If you’re a C-level executive, division leader, functional head, or emerging talent aspiring to the C-suite, this is your room.
The Outlier's Advantage Is the Focus
Throughout the summit, sessions will track the throughline we call The Outlier’s Advantage: a blend of precision, trust, optionality, and speed that defines high-performance builders right now.
It’s not about scale. It’s not about spending. It’s about insight, execution, and alignment—from land acquisition to final inspection.
And the most powerful insight of all? No leader can do this alone.
This is a shared challenge. And Focus On Excellence is where shared answers begin to take shape.
Reserve Your Seat—And Bring a Rising Leader
The smartest investment you can make in Q4 2025? Two and a half days that sharpen your edge and connect you with peers willing to share what's working.
- Secure your spot now
- Invite a top emerging leader on your team
- Join the next generation of outlier operators
The market won’t give you certainty. But your organization can build clarity, capability, and confidence—starting in Denver this fall.
This year’s Focus On Excellence summit is proudly supported by a select group of strategic partners who share our commitment to operational mastery, leadership development, and the future of high-performance homebuilding. These include: New Home Star, Builder Advisor Group, Constellation HomeBuilder Systems, Higharc, Launch Development Finance Advisors, and Westwood Insurance Agency.
Their collaboration and insight help make this gathering not only possible—but essential.