Lawrence A. Melton

CEO & President The Building People

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Lawrence A. Melton is the founder, CEO and President of The Building People, a Leesburg, Virginia firm that provides real estate and facility operations services to federal and commercial building owners. His case for the company comes directly from his government career: he was Facilities Manager of the White House on September 11, 2001, and later a Senior Executive at the General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service headquarters, responsible for more than 350 million square feet of federal real estate. He left government to build the integrated technology-and-facilities service he says he had looked for as a federal buyer and could not find, and founded The Building People in 2013.

Career Highlights

• Founder, CEO and President of The Building People, founded in 2013.
• Facilities Manager of the White House during September 11, 2001, adapting its operations to new security threats and to secure technology adoption, according to his company biography.
• Promoted to a Senior Executive role at GSA’s Public Buildings Service National Headquarters, responsible for more than 350 million square feet of federal real estate.
• At GSA, assembled the team that implemented what the company describes as the largest smart buildings programme in the country and a national integrated work management system.
• Appointed to the Board of Directors of the Energy Huntsville Initiative in Alabama in March 2020.

Professional Journey

Melton’s career was formed inside the federal real estate portfolio. According to his company biography, he was Facilities Manager of the White House on September 11, 2001, when its operations had to be reworked around terror threats and around adopting technology that was secure and reliable at a time of rapid change.

A few years later he was promoted to a Senior Executive role at the General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service National Headquarters, with responsibility for more than 350 million square feet of federal real estate. In that role, the company says, he built the leadership team behind the country’s largest smart buildings programme and a national integrated work management system.

He then left government service. His stated reason was that, as a federal executive, he had wanted a single provider that could combine real estate services, facility operations and building technology, and could not find one in the market. The Building People, founded in 2013, was his attempt to be that provider. It is headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia, and its leadership team spans delivery and technology services, integrated facilities management, energy and smarter buildings, and mission support services.

In 2019 the company became a Platinum Sponsor of the Energy Huntsville Initiative in Alabama, and in March 2020 Melton joined its board, saying the effort would change how businesses and government work together on energy security, sustainability and efficiency. A December 2025 iHeartRadio “CEOs You Should Know” feature reported that the company had grown to more than 450 employees and delivered more than $400 million in revenue since its founding, and that Melton had been named a finalist for Executive of the Year by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce in August 2025.

Education

No education record was found in the sources reviewed.