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Gabriel Barbier-Mueller

Gabriel Barbier-Mueller is founder and CEO of Harwood International, a family-owned real estate and hospitality company established in Dallas in 1988. His signature work is the Harwood District, a multi-block neighborhood of office, residential and retail projects that he has developed over several decades.

Updated

Known For

  • Assembling land in Dallas beginning in the 1970s and launching the Harwood District’s first office tower in 1984.
  • Building Harwood International into an integrated real estate, development, asset-management and hospitality platform.
  • Developing architecturally distinctive office and residential projects, including the Rolex Building, Harwood No. 14 and Bleu Ciel.

Career and Focus

Born and raised in Geneva, Barbier-Mueller moved to Dallas in 1979 and began acquiring parcels along the corridor between McKinnon and Harry Hines. Harwood International dates its founding to 1988, while the company’s first Uptown office development, the Rolex Building, opened in 1984. The firm subsequently used a district-building model, combining Class AA offices, luxury residential buildings, restaurants, public spaces and art rather than treating each property as a standalone project.

Harwood describes itself as a family-owned integrated company with real estate and hospitality divisions. Its real estate activities include capital markets, investment management, development and asset management. Projects have included Saint Ann Court/Harwood No. 6, the luxury tower Bleu Ciel and Harwood No. 14, delivered in 2023 in collaboration with Kengo Kuma & Associates. The company also developed in other markets, including Cleveland House in London and projects in Beverly Hills and Zurich. His sons Alexis and Oliver now serve as co-presidents, with responsibility across investment opportunities, capital markets, development and hospitality. Barbier-Mueller remains founder and CEO. He earned an Executive MBA from Southern Methodist University and serves in civic and cultural roles, including with SMU’s Cox School of Business and the Business Council for the Arts.

Related Pages

  • Investor People Hub
  • Harwood International
  • Dallas-Fort Worth Investment Hub
  • Uptown and Turtle Creek
  • Source: Top CRE Leaders Major US Cities

Sources