Dennis W. Nelson

President and CEO

The founder of the Mission Companies, Dennis W. Nelson serves as the president and CEO of Mission Management Company, Mission Asset Marketing, and Mission Equities GP, LLC.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from The University of Texas, Dennis began his professional career as a construction engineer at Fish Engineering and Construction Company in 1974.

While he gained valuable experience at Fish constructing petrochemical refineries, Dennis hadn’t yet found work he was passionate about. So in 1977, Dennis changed course and started working at The Murphree Company, Dennis rose to Region Partner, helping grow the firm into one of the largest commercial development companies in the South. Then in 1986, Dennis struck out on his own and the Mission Companies were born.

Dennis quickly became a major player in Houston’s commercial real estate market. In the early years, Mission handled property management for banks, municipalities, and other property owners. A few years later, Dennis made its first foray into the medical sector. Hospital Corporation of America engaged him to acquire a site for a new campus in Sugar Land. Mission leased and managed that complex until January 2000. That project led to designing and building an adjacent surgery center in the Spring of 2006. In the early 2010s, Dennis had hopes in developing a boutique office building in the Houston Galleria area. The result was 1885 St. James Place, a 165,000 square foot multi-tenant building in Uptown Houston which broke ground in September 2014 and completed in Summer 2016. Now under Dennis’s ownership, Mission Companies currently has 23 office buildings that are over 90% leased in the Houston area.    

Dennis is involved in his community and the Greater Houston area. He has served with numerous charities such as Coalition for the Homeless of Houston and West Houston Young Life Committee, and industry organizations such as the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He is an active member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, having served as a small group fellowship leader, confirmation teacher, deacon, elder, and treasurer.  

Dennis and his wife, Sally, have been married over 52 years. They are the parents of three children, Kimberly, David and Kelly, who presently work at Mission to continue the family business. Dennis and Sally are also proud grandparents of six grandchildren. Dennis has always made his faith and family his top priority in life. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, spending time with his grandkids, wine collecting and cheering on the Houston Astros.