Phoenix Construction & Development

James Murphy was hired as a project manager by founder Jack Willmeng in 1999 and has led the company for more than 15 years as CEO. He earned his B.S. degree in Construction Management from the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University, as well as his master’s degree from the ASU School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. His path at Willmeng includes time spent in multiple positions at the firm, from project manager, estimator and vice president, up to his current role. James has been named Most Admired Leader by the Phoenix Business Journal, honored by ASU’s Alumni Group as a five-time inductee into the Sun Devil 100, and also named to the Phoenix Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He has served on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of the East Valley, and is committed to training the next generation of leaders through NAIOP Arizona’s Mentorship program and through teaching programs at the Arizona Builders Alliance and the Del E. Webb School of Construction at ASU. Away from the industry, James is at home in the outdoors, particularly hunting and fishing, or spending time with his family.

As President & CEO, Wendy leads Kitchell Corporation with a collaborative spirit. Kitchell Corporation includes four diverse operating companies, Kitchell Contractors Inc., Kitchell Capital Expenditure Managers Inc., Kitchell Development Company Inc., and American Refrigeration Supplies. Wendy is passionate about developing a strategy and culture that allows for innovation and change in the construction industry. With 30 years of experience, Wendy's journey in the building industry has been marked by significant roles as a general contractor, construction manager, consultant, and owner, culminating in her current leadership at Kitchell. Wendy is a proven leader and trusted advisor and is committed to developing future leaders and implementing innovative ideas to improve the built environment. Her experience leading high-performance teams paved the way for her current role at Kitchell, which is consistently ranked among the top Construction Management, Program Management and General Contracting firms both regionally and nationally. Beyond her corporate achievements, she is active in the community and industry. She serves on the boards of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and Greater Phoenix Leadership. In 2024, Wendy and Kitchell were accepted into the Global Design Allowance as the newest Board of Director and joined the American Contractors Insurance Group (ACIG) as its Executive Member. Moreover, Wendy co-founded the HARD HAT SCHOLARS™ program, a pivotal initiative that introduces high school students to the architecture, engineering, and construction industry through a comprehensive 20-week hands on experience. Kitchell's expansive reach, with primary offices in Arizona, California, and Texas and a footprint spanning 14 states, is a testament to the strong legacy left by Sam Kitchell. The company's status, upheld by over 1,000 team members, continually finds recognition in Engineering News-Record’s national rankings for commercial contractors and project management firms. Wendy's roots in the industry were nurtured at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she studied civil engineering. Further honing her leadership skills, she completed the Stanford University Graduate School of Business LEAD program. Prior to joining Kitchell, she was the director of facilities planning and construction at Palomar Health in San Diego, where she led an ENR award-winning $1 billion acute care hospital program.

As President, Ryan is responsible to accelerate the growth and performance of all the Clayco business units (including subsidiaries Concrete Strategies, Lamar Johnson Collaborative and Clayco Design and Engineering) in our nation's Southwest Region. He is a modern construction leader, national lecturer and educator on integrated project delivery methods, and has had his work published both locally and nationally in many industry-leading periodicals. Ryan has redefined the design-builder’s role in solving grand challenges, believing that modern challenges require a new multi-disciplinary, collaborative approach. His talent for understanding complex, highly technical, large-scale projects has been demonstrated on jobs which have collectively netted more than 61 awards for design & construction excellence. Ryan was named one of the 2012 Building Design + Construction 40 Under 40 and the 2011 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 20 under 40 for his extensive professional accomplishments and active role in the industry and community. He’s a believer in the American Dream ethos of upward social mobility through hard work, education, and critical thinking. He lives in Tempe Arizona with his wife Martha and their three boys, Tristyn, Ashtyn, and Aidyn.

Phoenix Community and Economic Development director, Christine Mackay, has served the people of Phoenix since August 2014. She is responsible for leading and fostering an environment where businesses can create and retain jobs, make capital investment and reinvestment in the community, and connect our workforce to employers and training opportunities. During Mackay’s tenure with the City of Phoenix, the department has facilitated the creation of over 100,000 high-value jobs, seen the average wage of those jobs increase from over $30,000 in 2014 to more than $80,000 in 2023, and closed deals with more than $75 billion in capital investment. Christine leads a department of over 55 full time staff that encompasses the full spectrum of economic development areas including: business attraction, business retention and expansion, community development, international relations, Sister Cities, the Phoenix Business and Workforce Development Board, administration, research, marketing, the City-owned Footprint Center and Phoenix Bioscience Core. In 2021, Christine was named as one of the Top 50 Economic Developers in the Country by Consultant Connect. She is a three-time honoree as "Economic Developer of the Year, Large Community" by the Arizona Association for Economic Development. Mackay was recognized as "Leader of the Year in Economic Development–Public Policy" by the Arizona Capitol Times, and "Industry Leader of the Year – Economic Development" by Arizona Commercial Real Estate Magazine. She has also been on the list of the Arizona Business magazine’s "50 Most Influential Women in Arizona." She is a member of the Economic Development Director's Team for Greater Phoenix, Maricopa Association of Government's Building a Quality Regional Community committee, Flinn Foundation Biosciences Roadmap committee, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Commercial Office Real Estate Executives (CoreNet), the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED), and the Arizona Business Incubator Association. Christine has more than 26 years’ experience in economic development overlapping 30 years of commercial real estate experience. Christine Mackay has spent both her personal and professional life here in the Valley.

I am the founder and owner of Phoenix Rising Investments, LLC (PRI) a Phoenix, AZ based developer of commercial real estate property. PRI has successfully acquired, zoned, entitled, financed, developed/adaptive reused, and fully leased over 850,000 square feet of industrial and office space, 130 multifamily units, and 40 acres of infill land. PRI's partners and tenants have ranged from individuals to locally owned businesses to several Fortune 50 multinational companies.

Jay Ramos is an accomplished real estate professional with experience in land acquisitions, financing and asset management. Jay serves as a Senior Director of Real Estate Development at Opus and is responsible for directing Multifamily development in Arizona. Jay began his career with UBS Investment Bank in Los Angeles, California. Most recently, Jay held roles at Leon Capital Group and Mark-Taylor Residential. At Leon Capital Group Jay was responsible for seven multifamily projects totaling 1,100 units in various stages of development. While at Mark-Taylor Residential, Jay was responsible for strategic oversight and financial performance of a Class-A, multifamily apartment portfolio consisting of 2,200 units and a market value of $650M. Jay’s focus at Opus is pursuing and managing development opportunities from concept through occupancy and disposition. Jay is a veteran of the U.S. Navy having served in Desert Storm. Jay grew up in the Central Coast of California having received a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University.

Ryan Ash is the Vice President of Development, repositioning and leasing strategies of assets in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Prior to Vestar, Ryan worked at HFF focusing on the placement of structured finance and joint venture equity partnerships for mixed-use, retail, office, multi-housing, industrial, hospitality, land and data center assets. During his career, Ryan has personally closed debt placements and structured financings totaling in excess of $2.8 billion via nearly 145 unique transactions. Ryan is a graduate of the University of Arizona and is an active member of the Next Gen Leadership Network of the International Council of Shopping Centers and an active chartered financial analyst for the CFA Institute.

April Morris is the Vice President of Hotwire Communications’ Southwest Region, covering Arizona and Nevada. With more than 15 years in the telecom industry, she brings extensive expertise in residential and multifamily properties. April is well-versed in managing business development and account management teams, having managed a multi-billion-dollar portfolio across three million homes. April develops and implements strategic sales visions to increase market penetration and drive sales initiatives throughout the region. She also supports her team of Business Development Executives through education and motivation, fostering a passion for promoting Hotwire’s services. Her efforts not only impact the Southwest Region but also contribute to company-wide initiatives through local leadership.

As a Market Executive with nearly 14 years of experience, Darryn is focused on problem solving, making use of his experience to anticipate needs, and searching for opportunities to develop strategic partnerships to deliver value Mortenson’s customers. Darryn is responsible for setting the strategy for the development of healthcare, industrial, and mission critical assets for Mortenson’s Phoenix Office. Darryn previously served as the Vice President of Emerging Technologies at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, where he was responsible for bringing projects to the market that delivered over $600M in capital investment and over 3,000 jobs. A native of Baltimore, Darryn received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Johns Hopkins University, where he was a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar.

Tim currently concentrates his practice working with privately held companies in our construction and real estate groups working with general contractors, subcontractors, specialty contractors, engineers, homebuilders, commercial and multi-family real estate. Prior to joining the firm, Tim served as a subsidiary controller for a large publicly traded company.