Beth Fischer

As president of the San Diego division of Pardee Homes, Beth Fischer oversees all operations concerning current and future projects. The 48-year-old leader has come a long way since graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics from Xavier University, slowly scaling the corporate ladder in a male-dominated industry to become a top executive for one of San Diego's largest homebuilders. Pardee, a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: HYH), develops and builds new homes, apartments, master-planned communities and business parks in California and southern Nevada.