Busy.” That’s David Marino’s answer when asked how he’s doing. And it’s how he aims to stay as a principal and executive vice president at Irving Hughes, a San Diego commercial real estate firm.

Handling some 40 client projects a year, Marino’s job is both challenging and rewarding. In 2000, he was named broker of the year by the San Diego Commercial Association of Realtors. This year he was named by Corporate Real Estate Service Advisors Partners as top client services professional.

Driven is another word that fits Marino, 39. “My favorite part of business is winning the business. My second favorite part is doing the business,” he says. He could have gone into many lines of work after earning an MBA from the University of Southern California, but he chose commercial real estate because it’s hands-on and gives him the chance to develop satisfying long-term relationships with his corporate clients.

Marino brings his business acumen to the table as an active angel investor in a slew of young local technology firms. Being an adviser to companies such as Entropia, Senomyx and Copper Mountain Networks adds an exciting aspect to an already packed professional life, he says. He is past president and chairman of San Diego Venture Group.

A tireless fund-raiser for the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art and other community groups, Marino and wife, Patsy, are co-chairing the museum’s Monte Carlo Night this year, an event projected to bring in more than $500,000. Even in nonprofit endeavors, Marino is results-oriented. “In a down economy where raising money for the arts is tough, I think we are going to blow through the numbers,” he says.

Marino has a softer side. Of all of his roles, he says his favorites are husband and father. He and Patsy, a former dot-com executive, have a toddler, Gia, and plan to have another child next year. No matter how hectic their schedules, they set aside family and date nights. Having a marriage that’s full of fun and loaded with mutual respect is his most meaningful accomplishment to date, he says.

— Sarah Z. Sleeper