Hampton Pitts Named Poole College 2017 Person of the Year

Hampton Pitts, partner and chief operating officer for LStar Management, LStar Communities, has been named the 2017 Person of the Year by the NC State University Poole College of Management.

“The college established this award in 2008 to recognize distinguished individuals who demonstrate leadership and make outstanding and impactful contributions to the college, to their professions and to the greater university community,” said Annette L. Ranft, Poole College dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. chair.

“I have seen Hampton’s leadership up close through his exemplary service on the Poole College Advisory Board. During his tenure, he went above and beyond what was expected of him to lead our board in guiding the future growth of our college.”

Pitts is an accomplished real estate executive with 30 years’ experience in real estate development, homebuilding and operational leadership. Prior to joining the LStar Management team, he served as regional executive vice president for the Texas and Carolinas markets of Ashton Woods Homes – one of the nation’s five largest private home builders.

As both executive vice president and founding Raleigh division president at Ashton Woods, Hampton was responsible for managing over 250 employees and daily operations in the company’s six North Carolina and Texas offices, as well as developing strategic plans for their future growth. He previously worked with national public builder Centex Homes for over 16 years as founding division president in Myrtle Beach, SC and later as the company’s division president in Raleigh, N.C.

An active NC State alumnus, Pitts has served as chairman of the Poole College of Management’s Advisory Board and as chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He also is active in professional organizations in the area, including the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County and the Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties; the Midtown Raleigh Alliance Advisory Board; the City of Raleigh’s Environmental Advisory Board; and leadership council for the Church of the Apostles in Raleigh.

Pitts’ two children, Dillon Pitts and Callie Pitts Davis, are also Poole College alumni; both graduated with bachelor’s degrees in business administration, in 2016 and 2013, respectively.

Prior Person of the Year honorees are:

• 2016 | Russ and Cara McLauchlan, founder, former CEO, executive chairman, Calvert Holdings
• 2015 | G. Smedes York, chairman, York Properties/McDonald York
• 2014 | Jon Bartley, Professor Emeritus, Department of Accounting, Former Dean & Associate Dean, Poole College of Management
• 2013 | Henry Campen, partner, Parker Poe Bernstein and Adams
• 2012 | Michael Constantino, assurance partner, EY
• 2011 | Lonnie Poole, founder, Waste Industries (retired), benefactor, NC State Poole College of Management
• 2010 | Steve Zelnak, chairman and chief executive officer, Martin Marietta Materials (retired)
• 2009 | James Owens, chairman and chief executive officer, Caterpillar (retired)
• 2008 | Benjamin P. Jenkins, III, Wachovia (retired)