Armando Perez stepped into his role as Greater Houston Partnership Chair in January with a clear mandate: keep Houston competitive and make sure more Houstonians can benefit from its growth. As Executive Vice President of H-E-B Houston, Armando oversees 30,000 employees across more than 100 stores throughout Greater Houston and brings more than three decades of leadership experience. He served as Vice Chair in 2025 and has long been a steady presence in the organization’s work, particularly around regional resilience and preparedness. Read the Q&A below to learn more about his vision for 2026 and beyond.
How has your journey, from the Rio Grande Valley to leading H-E-B Houston, shaped your approach to leadership?
I grew up in the Valley and came back after college to start my career with H-E-B – it felt like a natural fit. My first real introduction to Houston came during Hurricane Rita recovery, when H-E-B sent us here to help. That experience showed me firsthand what makes this region special.
It also shaped how I think about leadership: you have to meet people where they are, understand what makes each community unique, and give people the autonomy to do their best work. At H-E-B, it means letting store leaders make their store their own. At the Partnership, it means trusting the incredible team that is already doing the work.
Armando Perez and his family at the Partnership’s Annual Meeting
You have chosen to build on the Partnership’s existing priorities rather than chart a new course. What was behind that decision?
The more I thought about the organization’s priorities, the clearer it became: progress doesn’t come from constantly shifting direction. It comes from staying focused on a vital few goals until the work is done.
The Partnership is already pursuing two imperative priorities: making Houston the most resilient coastal city in the world and expanding economic mobility. Those aren’t small goals. They require sustained effort, strong partnerships and time. My job as chair is to make sure we keep the momentum going and that the people doing this work have the support they need. Continuity isn’t a lack of ambition. It’s a commitment to finishing what we started.
You’ve said that “growth only matters if people can benefit from it.” What does that mean for Houston right now?
Houston has a real advantage: opportunity exists here at a scale most cities can’t match. But there is a difference between opportunity existing and opportunity being accessible, and that gap is where our focus has to be. Growth only matters if it reaches the people who have always called this city home and the newcomers choosing to build their futures here.
That is why strengthening the pipeline between education, talent, and the jobs that are in demand is so critical right now. The Partnership’s work to connect those systems is a real step forward.
Why is resilience such a critical focus for Houston, and how does it connect to your work at H-E-B?
Houston has proven repeatedly that it can absorb disruption and come back stronger. But we also know our critical systems – power, communications, transportation, flood protection, health care – need continued investment and attention. We can’t keep reacting. We have to get ahead of it.
At H-E-B, resilience is part of our DNA. When a storm is coming, we’re coordinating logistics, making sure shelves are stocked, and staying in communication with communities that need us most. That’s not just good business, it’s our responsibility to the region. The Partnership plays a similar role at the regional level: convening leaders, advocating for smart policy, and communicating progress so the entire region stays aligned.
Houston has a unique culture of collaboration – even competitors sitting side by side to work on shared challenges. Why does that spirit thrive here, and how do we protect it?
Houston attracts people who come here for opportunity. And when you have a region full of people with that mindset, you get a culture where folks understand that we can compete hard in business and still collaborate on moving the region forward. I see it every time I’m in a room at the Partnership – leaders from different industries, sometimes direct competitors, all asking the same question: what do we need to do to make Houston better?
That is Houston’s secret sauce. And we protect it by staying aligned and continuing to show up for each other.
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