ROB BUDETTI
MANAGING PARTNER
AO
WHY: Leads project management at OC’s largest architecture firm with $74.6M in local billings in 2024.
IN THE NEWS: Orange-based AO completed projects in Downtown Disney, including Parkside Market. AO is also working on other Disneyland Resort projects that haven’t yet been disclosed.
NOTABLE: $1M renovation of the Hotel Zessa in Santa Ana was completed last year. Also designing $1.6B project dubbed Boardwalk at Bricktown in Oklahoma City. Project received approval from local officials for the 1,907-foot, 134-story Legends Tower that, if built, would replace the One World trade Center as the tallest building in the U.S.
QUOTABLE: About building a skyscraper in Tornado Alley: “Some of the tallest buildings in the world are in areas with big windstorms or typhoons. It’s really a math problem for the structural engineer to calculate all these forces and how to resist them.”
