Matt Kollinger – Centurion American Development Group

At Centurion American Development Group, every acre of land tells a story, and every deal reflects a deliberate set of choices about risk, timing, and community impact. As general counsel, Matt Kollinger operates at the center of those choices. His role is not to slow momentum or retreat into legal theory, but to translate vision into durable agreements that can support growth across decades. It is a position shaped by intention, by an early pull toward transactional law, and by a career spent learning how people, capital, and land intersect.

Matt Kollinger | Centurion American Development Group | General Counsel

Kollinger’s path to Centurion American began long before his title did. Raised in Dallas, he grew up around commercial real estate through his father, absorbing the language and rhythms of the business early. Development felt familiar rather than abstract, something built patiently and held for the long term. While not certain early on, it was exposure that mattered later, when he ultimately chose a legal career defined by structure and problem-solving rather than drawn-out conflict. Despite litigation being a central part of Kollinger’s early practice, litigation never appealed to him. He wanted to build, not battle, and transactional law offered a way to do that while staying close to the business side of decisions.

Kollinger’s path is anything but conventional. After he spent nearly two years as an infantry soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces, an experience that sharpened his sense of responsibility and teamwork, he earned a degree in international business from the University of Texas at Dallas. Soon after, a personal pull took him far from Texas. Family ties and a long-standing connection to Hawaii drew him to Maui, where he arrived with a one-way ticket and an understanding that law school would wait. He worked a series of jobs, lived simply, and eventually found both clarity and commitment. Hawaii became formative, professionally and personally, including meeting the woman who would become his wife.

He enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, and later practiced there, gaining early experience that reinforced his instincts about transactional work. His daughter was born in Honolulu, anchoring his life further. But when the family began to grow again, the calculus changed. Cost of living, proximity to extended family, and long-term stability took precedence over geography. Returning to Texas was not about prestige or acceleration. It was about sustainability.

Finding the right seat at the table

Kollinger joined Centurion American Development Group in October 2021, drawn by personal relationships and a strong confidence in the company’s leadership, most notably Centurion’s owner, Mehrdad Moayedi. He remains genuinely thankful to Mehrdad for the opportunity and credits the trust and support he received from the start as both motivating and meaningful. That leadership philosophy is reflected in the way Centurion American operates. Centurion is a Dallas-based real estate investment and development firm with construction and residential development at its core, known for large-scale master-planned communities. Over time, the company has expanded into hotels, mixed-use developments, and other diversified investments, operating with the mindset of a family office rather than a traditional corporate developer. That structure allows for speed, flexibility, and long-term ownership, but it also demands a legal function that can keep pace.

From the outset, Kollinger approached the role as an embedded partner rather than a standalone gatekeeper. He oversees real estate transactions, corporate governance, litigation management, and day-to-day legal questions across the organization. The in-house team remains intentionally small, supported by a wide network of outside counsel spanning tax, intellectual property, entitlements, eminent domain, and specialized litigation. Today, that network includes numerous outside attorneys, while the internal team focuses on strategy and execution.

“The majority of what I do is contract drafting, issue identification, and risk mitigation,” Kollinger says.

That work begins early, often at the planning stage, where legal considerations shape site selection, entitlement strategies, and long-term development plans. Centurion American typically evaluates several major acquisitions each year, with multiple projects often under negotiation simultaneously. Kollinger is involved from the first outlines of a deal through closing and beyond, ensuring that agreements remain flexible enough to evolve as projects mature.

Expanding the legal infrastructure

As Centurion American scaled, Kollinger’s mandate expanded with it. One of his earliest priorities was building a legal infrastructure that could support growth without eroding culture. That meant hiring additional in-house support, refining processes, and clarifying when outside expertise should be brought in. It also meant learning how information flows inside a fast-moving organization.

“I tend to be copied on emails to and from every department throughout the entire company,” he says.

The volume is intentional. While many messages are filtered, the visibility allows him to spot issues before they harden into problems. In a development environment where operations, property management, marketing, and executive decisions overlap constantly, legal questions rarely arrive labeled. Much of the work involves determining whether an issue is legal, operational, or simply a matter of communication.

“Not everyone deals with a lawyer regularly, and that can feel intimidating,” Kollinger says. “I aim to make the experience approachable, clear, and collaborative.”

Centurion American’s family-office style adds another layer. Conversations tend to be direct, decisions move quickly, and relationships matter. Comfort with personalities comes first, then structure follows. Kollinger learned early that consistency and trust mattered more than formality. Over time, that approach has helped normalize legal involvement across departments, reducing friction while increasing awareness.

Creativity inside complex deals

The most visible expression of Kollinger’s work shows up in Centurion American’s largest projects, where creativity and structure must coexist. Developments such as Alpha Ranch, Bryson Ranch, and Platinum Ranch reflect the scale and complexity of the firm’s ambitions. Each project involves unique combinations of land acquisition, joint venture structuring, financing, municipal coordination, and long-term planning.

“Everything is constantly evolving,” he says. “We’re so fluid in our deal structure.”

That fluidity requires a legal framework that can absorb change without breaking. Contracts are drafted with optionality in mind, allowing projects to adapt to market shifts, infrastructure needs, and community priorities. Some developments, like Preston Harbor in Denison, Texas, which is planned as a multi-billion-dollar mixed-use destination, carry national attention and long timelines. Others move more quietly but are no less demanding.

Litigation needs are not handled in-house; rather, Centurion relies on specialized firms when disputes arise. Kollinger’s focus is prevention, not reaction. In a fast-paced development environment, proactive lawyering is challenging, but early involvement and clear communication help mitigate risk before it escalates.

“At least, that is the job,” Kollinger notes.

A long view rooted in culture

Despite the scale of Centurion American’s portfolio, Kollinger consistently returns to the culture Moayedi has imparted as the company’s defining strength. The organization has grown, but it remains deeply relationship-driven, with a leadership style that values trust and long-term commitment. For him, that culture mirrors his own priorities around family and stability.

“I want to be here long term and help support what we are continuing to build,” he says.

That commitment shows up in how systems are designed and how people are supported. Success is measured less by individual recognition than by whether teams have what they need to move projects forward. Kollinger’s role is to make growth sustainable, to ensure that each deal strengthens the foundation rather than testing it.

As Centurion American continues to expand its footprint, Kollinger’s work remains largely unseen but deeply felt. Every contract, every structure, and every negotiated risk contributes to places where people will live, work, and gather for generations. His story is not about personal brand or visibility. It is about alignment. Vision paired with discipline. Creativity anchored by trust. In that balance, Centurion American finds its momentum, and Kollinger finds the work he set out to do.