Our Leadership

As Chief Executive Officer, Richard oversees all aspects of Fairfield’s development, acquisition, construction, property management, and investment management businesses, including all investments made by Fairfield. He is also a member of Fairfield’s Investment, Allocation, Portfolio, and Executive committees, where he helps to establish investment strategy, market selection, and underwriting guidelines for Fairfield’s investments. Since joining Fairfield in 1995, Richard has been directly involved in the acquisition of over $24.5B in multifamily properties for the company and its investment partners. Richard earned a BS in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Tommy is responsible for the overall Development, Entitlement, Design, and Construction team and works in tandem with Fairfield’s capital markets group to raise debt and equity capital. He participates in strategic planning for the firm. With more than 28 years of industry experience, he previously held roles in Development, Acquisitions, and Asset Management. He began his career with Harbert Management Corporation, and prior to joining Fairfield in 2008, was Vice President for development and acquisitions at Lincoln Property Company – Southeast. Tommy graduated with a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Birmingham-Southern College and earned a master’s degree in Real Estate Development and Finance from Columbia University. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, National Multifamily Housing Council, and National Association of Homebuilders, and is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Apartment Association.

As Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Shant oversees all aspects of Fairfield’s operating platform. Shant participates in strategic planning for the firm. Prior to joining Fairfield in 2016, he was Chief Financial Officer at American Residential Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ARP), a single-family rental REIT, where he raised $1.4B in debt and equity capital, including an initial public offering, and conducted a strategic review process culminating in a public stock merger with American Homes 4 Rent. From 2008 to 2012, he served as Chief Financial Officer of MPG Office Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPG), a Class A Office REIT, after serving in various capacities since 2004. Prior to that, Shant grew his career at Arthur Andersen LLP and Deloitte & Touche LLP, serving public and private real estate companies. He received a BA in Business Administration, cum laude, from California State University, Los Angeles.

Josh is Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Management at Fairfield, where he is responsible for all aspects of investment strategy design, implementation, and management across the company. Josh oversees the management of all Fairfield discretionary fund vehicles and is the Senior Portfolio Manager of the Affordable Housing Preservation Fund.  

Prior to joining Fairfield in 2020, Josh was a Portfolio Manager at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second largest public pension fund in the U.S. At CalSTRS he was responsible for building and managing a global real estate portfolio by structuring and investing in acquisition and development platforms, including several REOCs. 

Josh has served on the Advisory Board of the Robert Toigo Foundation and the PREA Foundation’s diversity working group. He is a member of the PREA, ULI, and NMHC, and is an active participant with IREI. Josh received a BS in Finance and an MBA in Urban Land Development from California State University, Sacramento.

As Executive Vice President of Portfolio Management, Lisa oversees the management of Fairfield’s joint ventures and separate accounts and leads a team responsible for investment performance, business strategy implementation, and investor relations of these ventures. She is also the Senior Portfolio Manager for Fairfield California Housing Fund, a $1.35B joint venture with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS). Since joining Fairfield in 2001, Lisa has managed the CalSTRS relationship since its inception and been involved in new construction asset management, project financing, and portfolio management. Prior to Fairfield, she was with Deloitte as a Senior Auditor in Assurance and Advisory Services. Lisa obtained a BS in Accounting from Miami University, Ohio, and is a registered CPA in the state of Illinois. Lisa is a member of the following real estate associations, Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), and PREA’s Development Affinity Group.

Wes is an Executive Vice President at Fairfield, where he oversees acquisition activities for the firm. He joined Fairfield with over 23 years of investment and development experience in the multifamily sector. Prior experience includes serving as President of Acquisitions for Mill Creek Residential Trust, and roles with Trammell Crow Residential, Simmons Vedder Partners, and Crow Holdings. Wes earned a BS in Economics from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, National Multi Housing Council, and the University of Texas McCombs Real Estate Center Council.

Christopher joined Fairfield in 2006 and leads the Asset Management group, where he is responsible for asset and portfolio oversight and internal reporting, establishment and implementation of business planning, coordination of the project redevelopment and asset preservation initiatives, and assisting with underwriting for both acquisitions and dispositions. In addition to Asset Management, he provides oversight of the Construction Management, Acquisition Design, and Disposition groups within Fairfield. Prior to joining Fairfield, he worked in various operational and portfolio management roles at Archstone-Smith and Baird and Warner Management Group, Inc. A native of Chicago, Chris attended Northern Illinois University.

Michelle joined Fairfield in 2002 and is responsible for managing equity and debt relationships for the company. She also serves as the Portfolio Manager of the Fairfield Create Core Multifamily Fund. During her tenure at Fairfield, Michelle has negotiated and closed over $12.9B in multifamily debt and equity with major banking institutions, life insurance companies, and institutional investors. Before joining Fairfield, she was Vice President in Capital Markets at Security Capital Group, where she was responsible for the initial Asia market entry research for Prologis. In that role, she held several additional positions including Office Manager in Tokyo, Japan, Vice President and Assistant to the Chairman of Prologis Trust, and Associate at Archstone Trust. Prior to this, Michelle was a trader on the European and Asian currency desk with Asahi Bank in Tokyo. She received her BA from Smith College and her MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Michelle currently serves as Chair of the National Multifamily Housing Council Finance Committee. She also serves as Chair of the ULI Transit Oriented Development Council and is on the UC San Diego Real Estate and Development Advisory Board.

As head of Capital Markets, Trey is responsible for leading all capital-raising efforts for Fairfield’s investment vehicles and strategies, including funds and joint ventures, and the structuring of the vehicles. He is also deeply involved in strategy development with the rest of the executive management team. In a previous role at Fairfield, he served as the Portfolio Manager for Fairfield’s various discretionary funds, including the Value Add Fund series, where he oversaw investment performance, implementation of the Funds’ business strategies with Fairfield’s various business units, and investor relations for the Fund. Trey joined Fairfield in 2005 and has been involved in the investment and multifamily housing industries for over 27 years. Trey graduated from James Madison University in Virginia with a BA in Business Administration.

Paul is responsible for overseeing Fairfield’s affordable housing platform, comprising nearly 19,400 units. Since joining Fairfield in 2001, he has been directly involved in the acquisition and financing of over $10B in multifamily properties and has sourced over $7B in debt and tax credit equity. Prior to Fairfield, Paul worked at Kennedy Wilson in multifamily acquisitions and at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Financial Consultant. Paul received his BA in Economics, his MBA, and his master’s in Public Health from UCLA.

Rob joined Fairfield in 2020 with more than 28 years of experience to take responsibility over project coordination and construction activities on the West Coast. Prior to joining Fairfield, he was Senior Vice President of Construction and Redevelopment activities at AvalonBay Communities, Inc. He commenced his career in the multifamily sector in the Boston market and started in the construction field as a Superintendent. He continued his tenure in various project management roles developing high-density wood frame and high-rise rental products in multiple markets. Rob is a member of the National Multifamily Housing Council and the Builders and Contractors of California.

Joining Fairfield in February 2001 as a Regional Manager, Liz is currently serving as Senior Vice President and Head of Property Management, overseeing all of Fairfield’s communities under management. She has more than 36 years of experience in the industry and has worked in various positions including Redevelopment Manager, Regional Training Manager, and Marketing Manager throughout her journey. Her career began with Trammell Crow Residential and has included other notable companies including Archstone, JPI, and Equity Residential. She’s been active in the Arizona, Las Vegas, and San Diego Apartment Associations and has previously held board positions in both Arizona and Nevada.

Liz earned a bachelor’s in Business Management from University of Phoenix and currently holds a broker’s license in both Arizona and Colorado. She also holds the Certified Property Manager designation through the Institute of Real Estate Management, the Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor designation through the National Apartment Association, and the Housing Credit Certified Professional designation through the National Association of Home Builders.

Jenna joined Fairfield in 2017 and is responsible for managing the transactional and legal affairs of the company, including corporate and operational matters. Prior to joining Fairfield, she served as a senior attorney in the real estate department of PacifiCorp, a regulated utility company and subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Jenna started her legal career with Latham & Watkins, LLP where she practiced in the firm’s real estate and finance department. She received a BS in Finance, summa cum laude, from Arizona State University and JD from UCLA School of Law.

Chris has over 37 years of real estate experience and was an original founding principal of the Fairfield companies in 1985. Handing over the reins in 2017, he remains an integral part of Fairfield as an advisor to the Board. Earlier in his career, Chris was an initial partner of Balcor/American Express, a national real estate syndication and investment firm. He graduated from Harvard College and received his MBA from the University of Chicago. He also received his CPA from the state of Illinois in 1973.

Greg joined Fairfield in 1994 to start an acquisition and redevelopment business to complement Fairfield’s national development program. He built a team that has since purchased 620 properties with over 163,500 apartment homes, representing more than $21.5B in acquisition and redevelopment investments. While Greg served as Fairfield Chairman and CEO (2017-2022), he oversaw all aspects of Fairfield’s development, acquisition, construction, property management, and investment management businesses. In 2023, Greg handed over the reins and remains as an advisor to the Board. Greg received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and his MBA from Northwestern University. Prior to joining Fairfield, his early career included working for Prudential Insurance Company, Merrill Lynch and Citibank.  He then left the institutional world to become a founding partner of Post Oak Partners, a national real estate finance company, where he spent 10 years.