Anna Tovar joins Tri-Strategies Arizona as senior associate
Tri-Strategies Arizona, led by James Candland and Eddie Ableser, today announced that Anna Tovar, one of the most accomplished and trailblazing public leaders in state history, has joined the firm as a Senior Associate, further cementing Tri-Strategies’ position as one of the fastest-growing and most successful bipartisan government relations and public affairs firms in the western United States.
Tovar brings more than 20 years of experience at the highest levels of Arizona government, regulatory policy, and private enterprise, paired with more than eight years as a licensed real estate professional active in acquisition, development, and market strategy. Her addition gives Tri-Strategies Arizona an unmatched combination of regulatory command, legislative relationships, executive leadership, and real-world market insight, a rare blend that positions the firm’s clients to move faster and further across the state’s most consequential public policy and development decisions.
In 2021, Tovar made history as the first Latina elected to statewide office in Arizona, earning a record-breaking 1.45 million votes to win a seat as Commissioner on the Arizona Corporation Commission. There, she oversaw the mission-critical infrastructure powering Arizona’s economy, championing utility affordability, the state’s renewable energy transition, and modernization of Arizona’s securities marketplace, all informed by a practitioner’s understanding of how regulatory decisions shape land use, capital deployment, and long-term community growth.
Before her statewide service, Tovar became the first female Mayor of Tolleson, Arizona, where she drove a wave of regional economic development, leveraging her real estate expertise to attract major industrial and commercial projects while aligning zoning, infrastructure, and community priorities. Her legislative career, spanning both the Arizona State Senate and House of Representatives and rising to Senate Minority Leader and Minority Whip, gave her a hand in shaping multi-billion-dollar state budgets and a well-earned reputation as a trusted negotiator among policymakers, developers, and business leaders alike.
Most recently, Tovar served as Executive Vice President of Community Outreach at 33 Degrees, bridging private-sector real estate acquisition with community-based engagement. She remains active in the Arizona real estate market and serves on several prestigious boards, including Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) and the National Board of Counselors to ASU’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. Her public service has been formally recognized with honors including Arizona Latina Trailblazer, EMERGE Woman of the Year, and a four-time Arizona Cities & Towns Legislator Champion.
“Arizona is at an inflection point, in our economy, our infrastructure, and our communities, and the decisions made in the next few years will shape this state for a generation,” said Anna Tovar. “I’ve spent my career building common ground across the aisle and across industries, from the Legislature to the Corporation Commission to the real estate table. I’m excited to bring that experience to Tri-Strategies’ clients and to help this firm continue to grow as the go-to bipartisan public affairs shop in the West.”
Kevin Curley will lead Opus’ growing Phoenix operations
Opus today announced that Kevin Curley has been promoted to vice president and general manager of real estate development in their Phoenix office, strengthening their leadership in Arizona as they continue to expand their presence across the western United States.
In his new role, Curley leads Opus’s Phoenix-based development team and oversees all Arizona operations. His promotion comes as Arizona continues to attract investment and development activity, particularly in multifamily and advanced manufacturing, technology and semiconductor-related industries.
Opus is a national leader in commercial real estate development and construction with nine offices and projects across the country. The company’s continued growth in Arizona and other western markets supports their strategic plan, announced in 2025, which prioritizes geographic expansion and investment in markets where Opus sees opportunities to build on their integrated development, design and construction capabilities.
“Kevin has been instrumental in the growth of our Phoenix operations and has demonstrated the experience, leadership and collaborative approach needed to lead a growing organization,” said Larry Pobuda, executive vice president of real estate development with Opus. “We continue to see significant opportunities in Arizona and across the western United States. Kevin is exceptionally well positioned to lead our team in Phoenix as we build on the momentum we have established and pursue the next phase of growth.”
Curley joined Opus in 2025 with 10 years of finance and development experience, a deep commercial real estate network in Phoenix, expertise in risk management and a reputation for being a trustworthy and collaborative team player. Over the past year, he has contributed to several noteworthy Opus projects, including 59Bell Technology Park, Envision 56 and Ari on Fourth and helped position the company for continued growth in one of the country’s most active commercial real estate markets.
“Arizona continues to offer tremendous opportunities, and Opus is well positioned to meet the needs of companies expanding and investing in the region,” said Curley. “We have a talented team in Phoenix and the benefit of being able to bring development, design and construction expertise together from the earliest stages of a project. I’m excited to lead our team as we continue to grow our presence in Arizona and contribute to Opus’s expansion across the West.”
Curley’s promotion is one of four in Opus’ western markets. Additional promotions include Eric Chamberlinto the newly created position of vice president and general manager of real estate development and Jaymes Kralicek and Nick Lauters each to vice president of construction, all in Denver. Together, these leadership changes strengthen Opus’s ability to pursue opportunities in two of the company’s key western markets as population growth and expansion in industries including advanced manufacturing and technology continue to create demand for new commercial real estate.
Tanner welcomes Jodi James as director of business development in Arizona
Tanner, one of the nation’s leading independent accounting and advisory firms, is pleased to announce that Jodi James has joined the firm as Area Director of Business Development, supporting the continued growth of Tanner’s Arizona practice.
James brings more than 30 years of experience building strategic relationships across professional services, commercial real estate, engineering, construction, economic development, and legal industries. Known for her ability to connect people and create opportunities, she has built a career helping organizations grow through trusted relationships and thoughtful business development.
“Arizona is an exciting growth market for Tanner, and Jodi is the right person to help us continue building relationships throughout the business community,” said Mark Erickson, Managing Partner at Tanner. “She understands that business development is about creating long-term value for clients and connecting people with the right resources. Her experience, reputation, and commitment to service make her a tremendous addition to our team.”
Before joining Tanner, James served as Business Development Manager for Colliers Engineering & Design, where she led strategic growth initiatives across Arizona and the western United States. Earlier in her career, she spent more than two decades leading business development and marketing for a Utah-based CPA and business advisory firm and also founded and grew her own successful marketing consultancy.
“I’ve always believed the best business relationships begin with listening and understanding what matters most to clients,” said James. “Tanner has built a remarkable reputation for combining technical excellence with genuine relationships, and I’m excited to help grow that presence throughout Arizona.”
James is an active member of Arizona’s business community, serving as Programs Chair for Arizona Commercial Real Estate Women and as a Certified Ambassador for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. She is also involved with Urban Land Institute, CREDA, Valley Partnership, the Arizona Association of Economic Development, and several other industry organizations.
Alliance Industrial Company announces Brady Maus as managing director
Alliance Industrial Company, a vertically integrated industrial real estate investment, development, and operating company, is pleased to announce that Brady Maus has joined the firm as managing director, leading the Southwest Division. Maus will be responsible for sourcing new investment opportunities and overseeing the full development lifecycle across the region – from site acquisition and entitlement through capitalization, construction, and disposition – as Alliance Industrial expands its footprint in the Southwest industrial and manufacturing markets.
“Brady brings a rare combination of development expertise, brokerage insight, and deep Southwest relationships that will be invaluable as we build out our platform in this region,” said Chad Parrish, chief investment officer of Alliance Industrial Company. “His track record across retail, industrial, office, and self-storage development gives him a well-rounded perspective that will strengthen our execution as we scale into Arizona and the broader Southwest.”
Maus brings over a decade of experience in real estate brokerage, development, and strategic acquisitions to Alliance. Most recently, he served as a Vice President at Trammell Crow Company in Phoenix, where he focused on sourcing and executing ground-up industrial developments. He oversaw the full project life cycle, including market research, due diligence, entitlements, design, capitalization, asset management, and disposition. In the past five years, Maus has led development efforts on nearly 4 million square feet of industrial projects representing more than $600 million in project cost, leveraging his broad industry relationships and diverse real estate background to deliver strong outcomes for partners and investors.
“The Southwest offers tremendous opportunity for thoughtful industrial development, and Alliance is uniquely equipped to capitalize on it,” said Maus. “I’m excited to bring my experience to this platform and work alongside a team that shares a commitment to disciplined execution, strong partnerships, and long-term value creation.”
Since it’s inception in 2021, Alliance Industrial has capitalized more than 15 million square feet of projects with a total value exceeding $2 billion, with an additional 8M+ square feet of projects planned in the pipeline. Under Maus’s leadership, Alliance Industrial is positioned to capitalize on accelerating industrial demand across the Southwest, driven by population growth, reshoring, e-commerce expansion, and supply chain diversification into inland logistics corridors serving the region’s rapidly growing population centers.
Maus is a Phoenix native and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (formerly NAIOP). Maus has been involved in his community through membership in Executive Council Charities and Folds of Honor Arizona.
Nayan Bhakta named president of the National Renewable Energy Group for McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. (McCarthy) announces the promotion of Nayan Bhakta to President of the firm’s National Renewable Energy group.
As President of McCarthy’s National Renewable Energy group, Nayan will lead business operations and the firm’s national strategy for renewable energy, which serves solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects nationwide. His technical expertise and strategic vision have been instrumental in delivering innovative solutions for large-scale utility solar projects and energy storage facilities from coast-to-coast, while positioning the firm as a top EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) partner to vendors, utilities and developers in the industry, and within the communities served by McCarthy.
In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer of the Renewable Energy group, Nayan helped scale McCarthy’s renewable energy portfolio, more than quadrupling the firm’s solar and battery energy storage footprint in under two years, while strengthening the operational foundation needed to support the group’s national growth.
He joined McCarthy in December 2014 and assumed various roles within the National Renewable Energy group, beginning in preconstruction and focusing on improving the firm’s design strategies in renewable energy development. He also led the development of the group’s model for onboarding to provide team members with smooth transitions to building solar and battery energy storage projects, which are often in remote and rural locations.
Before joining McCarthy, Nayan held several roles in the renewable energy sector as well as worked domestically and internationally designing and constructing large petrochemical projects. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona.
Nayan succeeds Dhruv Patel, who was recently promoted to Chief Operating Officer of McCarthy Holdings, the parent company of McCarthy Building Companies.
Since its launch in 2010, McCarthy’s National Renewable Energy group has constructed more than 115 utility scale solar and battery energy storage projects across the nation, contributing more than 18 GW of energy and over 10 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The group currently has over 4,600 employees and skilled craft workers building energy projects to support communities around the United States.
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