Board of Directors

Mr. Hilton is the Executive Chairman of Meritage Homes and has been a director since 1996. Mr. Hilton led Meritage Homes for 35 years as Chairman and CEO until his retirement as CEO effective January 1, 2021. In 1985, Mr. Hilton cofounded Arizona-based Monterey Homes, the predecessor company to Meritage Homes. Under Mr. Hilton’s leadership, Monterey became publicly traded in 1997.

Mr. Hilton received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Arizona. He serves as a board member for Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN) Foundation and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale Foundation. He also previously served as Chairman of the Board for Banner Health Foundation from 2021 to 2023, and as a board member for Western Alliance Bancorporation, (NYSE: WAL) until June 2022. Mr. Hilton brings extensive and intimate knowledge of the Company to the Board as its co-founder and through over 35 years of experience in leading the Company.

Mr. Lord became the CEO of Meritage Homes on January 1, 2021 and was appointed to the Board at that time. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Meritage Homes from 2015 to 2020. From 2012 to 2015, Mr. Lord was President of the West Region at Meritage Homes. Mr. Lord began his Meritage Homes career in 2008 by creating the Company’s strategic operations and market research department, which analyzes land acquisitions, product and pricing.

Prior to joining Meritage Homes, Mr. Lord held leadership positions with Acacia Capital, Centex Homes and Pinnacle West Capital. Mr. Lord received a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Business from Colorado State University and completed his master's coursework in Economics at the University of Arizona. As CEO of the Company, Mr. Lord is uniquely qualified to serve as a member on our Board.

Mr. Ax has been a director since September 2000 and is the Company's lead independent director. In 2001, he joined UpscriptHealth, a telemedicine-based software platform which facilitates pharmaceutical manufacturers selling medications direct-to-consumers, where he currently serves as the CEO. He was also the Managing Partner of Phoenix Capital Management, an operationally focused venture capital firm, which became a subsidiary of UpscriptHealth in 2021. Mr. Ax was the Chairman and CEO of SpinCycle, Inc., a public reporting consolidator and developer of coin-operated laundromats. Previously, Mr. Ax served as head of the Private Equity Placement Division and Senior Vice President of Lehman Brothers in New York and has served in various operating roles for enterprises operated by Phoenix Capital Management. Mr. Ax also served on the board of directors of iGo, Inc. (formerly, NASDAQ: IGOI) from 2007 to January 2022.

Mr. Ax holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, and has been a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Ax possesses extensive skills and experience relating to, among other things, capital markets and corporate finance.

Mr. Arriola was appointed to the Board on June 14, 2023. He is currently an Operating Partner at Sandbrook Capital, a private equity firm focused on transforming energy infrastructure investments. Prior to joining Sandbrook Capital, he served as CEO and member of the Executive Committee of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) from July 2020 to May 2022, and was the Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) from January 2017 to June 2020. Mr. Arriola has been serving as a director of Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) since March 2024, and as a director and member of the Audit & Finance Committee and Human Resources & Compensation Committee of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) since September 2022. In addition, Mr. Arriola has been a director of Automobile Club of Southern California (AAA) since May 2020, where he has served as a member of the public affairs committee since May 2020, the finance and investment committee since May 2023, and served as a member of the audit committee from May 2020 to May 2023. 

Mr. Arriola holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University. He has substantial knowledge and leadership experience in environmental, social and governance ("ESG"), operations and finance, and brings additional perspective to the Board in sustainability as well as regulatory, policy and legislative issues.

Mr. Bradford has been a director since August 2009.  In 2012, Mr. Bradford cofounded and was appointed and currently serves as Chairman and CEO of C3 Brands, the parent company to a number of consumer brands.  From 2005 to 2012, Mr. Bradford was the President and Managing Partner of McCarthy Capital Corporation, a private equity firm. He also serves as a director on the boards of Southwest Value Partners, a San Diego-based real estate company, and Customer Service Profiles, an Omaha-based provider of customer satisfaction data and analytics. Mr. Bradford formerly served as Chairman of the Board of Vornado Air, a Wichita-based consumer brands company, and formerly served as a director on the boards of McCarthy Groups, Ballantyne, NRG Media, Guild Mortgage and Gold Circle Films.

Mr. Bradford earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Creighton University. Mr. Bradford brings additional perspective to the Board relating to real estate and corporate finance matters.

Mr. Caldera has been a director since December 2021. Mr. Caldera is a private investor and corporate director. He has been serving as a director of DallasNews Corporation (NASDAQ: DALN), formerly Belo Corp, since 2001, where he also chairs the compensation and management development committee, and has been serving as a director of Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE: GVA) since 2021. Mr. Caldera has been a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School since July 2023. Since March 2021, Mr. Caldera has served as a senior advisor to Belay Associates, LLC, a private equity firm, and its affiliate Everest Consolidator Acquisition Corporation (NYSE: MTNT.U). Mr. Caldera has held several leadership positions in education, including Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law from September 2018 to June 2021, and Professor of Leadership and a Senior Fellow of the George Washington University Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute from 2016 to 2018.  He has also served in government as Secretary of the Army in the Clinton Administration and as an Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office in the Obama Administration. Mr. Caldera began his career as an army officer, corporate lawyer, and California state legislator. He is the co-founder and co-chair of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, a nonprofit organization, and serves on the board of the Latino Corporate Directors Association. 

Mr. Caldera holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy. He has significant knowledge and experience in the leadership of large organizations, corporate governance including environmental, social and sustainability governance, and in legal, regulatory and policy matters.

Ms. Henretta has been a director since March 2016. Ms. Henretta retired from Procter & Gamble, Co. ("P&G") in 2015. Throughout her 30 years at P&G, she held various senior positions throughout several sectors, serving as President of Global e-Business while concurrently serving as President/Senior Executive Officer of Global Beauty; President of Global Baby Care; and Vice President of Fabric Conditioners and Bleach. She has been a director at Corning Incorporated. (NYSE: GLW) since 2013, at Nisource Inc. (NYSE: NI) since 2015, and at American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) since 2019. Ms. Henretta is a Partner at Council Advisors (formerly G100 Companies) where she assisted in establishing a Board Excellence Program for Corporate Board Directors that includes director education on board oversight and governance, including digital transformation and cybersecurity.

Ms. Henretta graduated summa cum laude from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She earned her Master of Arts in Advertising from Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications and holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from St. Bonaventure University. Ms. Henretta brings additional perspective and expertise to the Board relating to technology, cybersecurity, climate and sustainability, and diversity and inclusion.

Mr. Keough has been a director since June 2019.  He currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Wood Partners, one of the nation's largest multifamily real estate companies.  Before joining Wood Partners, Mr. Keough was Chief Operating Officer of Fuqua Capital, the office for the Atlanta-based Fuqua family. Mr. Keough had also been a Senior Vice President in the office and multifamily division of Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ), as well as a Principal at The Boston Consulting Group.  Mr. Keough is also on the board of directors of Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE). 

Mr. Keough earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and received his Bachelor degree in Finance and Economics from Babson College.  Mr. Keough brings over 20 years of strong business leadership, deep understanding of real estate and first-hand experience driving organizational transformation. 

Ms. Lantz was appointed to the Board on October 14, 2024. She is an innovative technology executive and brings over 20 years of leadership experience and extensive knowledge in the technology, real estate and mortgage sectors. She currently serves as Chief Revenue Officer for Ethos, a fintech company specializing in life insurance. Previously, Ms. Lantz was the Vice President and General Manager of Mortgages at Zillow Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: Z), an online real estate database company, and Senior Vice President at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), where she led the Direct-to-Consumer purchase home loan business. Her public company director experience currently includes Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE: BLND), a provider of digital banking solutions, where she chairs the Compensation Committee and serves on the Audit Committee. Ms. Lantz formerly served on the boards of TrueCar, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRUE), a digital automotive marketplace, where she chaired the Nominating and Governance Committee and was a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation & Workforce Committee; Washington Federal, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD), a bank holding company, where she was a member of the Risk Management Committee and the Regulatory Compliance Committee; and Shelter Acquisition Corp (Nasdaq: SHQAU), where she was a member of the Audit Committee.

She holds an MBA from Harvard University and received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Mooney has been a director since March 2020. Ms. Mooney is the Founder and CEO of Equipt Women, a public benefit corporation dedicated to connecting, empowering and upskilling young professional women. She was previously a co-owner of Resource/Ammirati, a digital marketing and customer experience innovation firm, and held various positions of leadership including CEO from January 2011 to September 2017; President from June 2001 to January 2011; and Chief Experience Officer and Director of Intelligence from March 1995 to May 2001. During that tenure, she advised dozens of Fortune 500 executives on customer growth strategy and digital transformation to increase shareholder value. In 2016, Resource/Ammirati was sold to IBM to become part of IBM iX, one of the world’s largest digital consultancies. Ms. Mooney joined IBM iX in September 2017 and served as Chief Experience Officer until June 2018. She advises consumer and technology-focused entrepreneurs on leadership, strategy and innovation.

Ms. Mooney has also served as a board member of Sally Beauty Supply Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SBH), an international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies, and J.Jill Inc. (NYSE: JILL), an omnichannel women's apparel brand. She graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design from The Ohio State University. Ms. Mooney brings additional perspective on innovation, sustainability, diversity and inclusion.

Mr. Odell has been a director since December 2011. Since 2017, he has been Board Member, President and CEO of Marubeni Automotive Aftermarket Holdings ("Marubeni"), a holding company for investments in the automotive aftermarket. He also currently serves as Board Member, President and CEO of Marubeni subsidiaries, XL Parts and The Parts House, both automotive parts distributors. From 2015 through 2016, he served as President of Eastern Auto Parts Warehouse, an automotive parts distributor. From 2008 through 2014, he served as President, CEO and board member of The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack, then a NYSE-listed company. Mr. Odell joined Pep Boys in 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Sears Retail & Specialty Stores, a $26 billion division of Sears Holdings Corporation. 

Mr. Odell started his career as a CPA with Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Odell holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.  Mr. Odell has deep service, retail and distribution experience, with a broad background in strategic planning, leadership, sales, operations and finance.