MATTHEW WHITMAN LAZENBY

PRESIDENT & CEO, WHITMAN FAMILY DEVELOPMENT, MIAMI BEACH

Lazenby’s family began developing real estate in Miami in the early 20th century. His late grandfather, Stanley Whitman, bought swaths of land along Collins Avenue in Miami Beach and opened the upscale Bal Harbour Shops in 1971. Lazenby is now the fourth generation to run the firm. “My grandfather probably wished that the family would have produced someone that could have succeeded his son, but it was never, ‘Matthew, you will do this.’ I came to that decision by myself in my own time,” he told the Real Deal last year.

Lazenby oversees development and operations of Bal Harbour Shops, including a $500-million expansion that is planned to include the first Barney’s in the Southeast. He is also overseeing 500,000 square feet of retail space at Brickell City Centre, a mixed-use development in downtown Miami’s Brickell area.

Lazenby, a licensed helicopter pilot, holds a master’s degree in real estate development and urbanism from the University of Miami. He is active in the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers and is on the boards of Mount Sinai Hospital’s foundation and the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. He also serves on the board of trustees of Miami Country Day School.