Six business and community leaders have been selected for induction into the 2026 Montgomery County Business Hall of Fame, recognizing their professional accomplishments, entrepreneurship, leadership and contributions to the community.
The 2026 class includes Cathy Bernard, David Blair, Patrick Caulfield, Dr. Kam Lau, Verelyn Gibbs Watson and the late Bob Youngentob. Additional information about each can be seen below.
Cathy Bernard: Cathy Bernard is the founder and president of HCM Corporation, a real estate investment firm with a regional portfolio that includes apartment and office buildings, retail space and storage facilities. A Montgomery County resident for more than 45 years, Bernard has also been heavily involved in local philanthropy and currently serves on the boards of Signature Theatre, Imagination Stage, Strathmore, the Upcounty Hub and Sunflower Bakery.
Bernard was named the Greater Washington Community Foundation of Montgomery County’s Philanthropist of the Year in 2025 and received the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce’s William Prescott Allen Award in 2018. She has also supported aspiring entrepreneurs through the Universities at Shady Grove, where she has mentored students, judged pitch competitions and sponsored a speaker series. Bernard is also the founder of the annual Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards, inspired by her uncle, acclaimed songwriter Fred Ebb.
David Blair: Lifelong Montgomery County resident David Blair is chairman and CEO of LucyRx, a pharmacy benefit management company he launched in 2023. The company has grown to serve more than nine million members and thousands of clients across all 50 states.
Blair previously founded Catalyst Health Solutions in 1998 and grew the company into a Fortune 500 business before its $4.8 billion acquisition in 2012. Catalyst appeared five times on Fortune’s list of the 100 Fastest-Growing Companies and was recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Blair was also named to Forbes’ list of America’s 15 Most Powerful CEOs Under 40 and received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 Mid-Atlantic Award.
Blair has remained active in Montgomery County entrepreneurship and economic development efforts while supporting literacy, education, youth development and access to affordable healthcare through the family foundation he established with his wife, Mikel.
Patrick Caulfield: Patrick J. Caulfield is the co-founder and former president of Coakley & Williams Construction, a major general contractor and design-builder for commercial, institutional and governmental projects. Caulfield served as president of the company for 40 years before retiring from the position at the end of 2024.
Caulfield has held leadership positions with numerous local schools and organizations, including serving as board chair at Bullis School and Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac. He currently chairs the board of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney and previously served as longtime board chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capital Area.
His community involvement has also included the Universities at Shady Grove, Adventist Behavioral Health Foundation, Georgetown Prep Alumni Board of Governors and several other educational and charitable organizations. Caulfield attended Georgetown Prep and the University of Maryland and is an active helicopter pilot.
Dr. Kam Lau: Dr. Kam Lau is CEO and CTO of Automated Precision, Inc., a technology company specializing in dimensional metrology. Lau founded API in 1987 after beginning his career as a research scientist at the former U.S. National Bureau of Standards, now the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Lau’s first commercialized invention, the Laser Tracker, helped advance precision measurement technology used across industries worldwide. Today, API employs more than 400 people across four continents and provides precision instrumentation, software, automated inspection systems and metrology services to more than 2,000 customers.
Lau holds more than 30 patents, with his technologies used in industries including aerospace, automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, robotics, machine tools and energy. His honors include the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, Photonics Circle of Excellence Award and U.S. Defense Advanced Technology Award.
Verelyn Gibbs Watson: Verelyn Gibbs Watson is CEO of Watson Works Group, which owns and operates Nothing Bundt Cakes locations in Bethesda, Germantown, Rockville and Gaithersburg. The Gaithersburg bakery, which opened in January 2016, was Maryland’s first Nothing Bundt Cakes location.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Gibbs Watson spent a decade with New York Life Insurance Company, rising from an entry-level customer service position to assistant vice president. She later held several executive positions with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, ultimately serving as president and chief operating officer.
Gibbs Watson has used her Montgomery County bakeries to create employment pathways for young adults with learning differences through a partnership with Sunflower Bakery and for returning citizens through the Montgomery County Prerelease Center’s “Sweet Release” program. She is immediate past chair of the Greater Bethesda Chamber of Commerce and serves as chair of fundraising and gala planning for the Upcounty Hub.
Bob Youngentob: The late Bob Youngentob was a co-founder and executive chairman of EYA, a residential developer responsible for more than 7,000 homes throughout the Washington, D.C. region. Over more than three decades, Youngentob helped grow EYA into a nationally recognized developer specializing in walkable townhome, multifamily and mixed-income communities.
EYA received numerous national honors during his career, including the Urban Land Institute’s Award for Excellence and the Jack Kemp Excellence in Affordable and Workforce Housing Award. Youngentob was recognized as an Entrepreneur of the Year for real estate and, alongside EYA co-founder Terry Eakin, was inducted into the Best in American Living Hall of Fame in 2024.
Youngentob spent much of his childhood in Montgomery County and later served on the Board of Advisors for the Universities at Shady Grove. He was also a former chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Washington, D.C. District Council and a member of Leadership Montgomery’s Class of 2000.
Youngentob died on October 18, 2025, at age 64 following a battle with cancer. His 2026 induction recognizes a career that left a significant mark on development throughout Montgomery County and the greater Washington region.
Additional information on each inductee can be found here.
