WESTPORT PROPERTIES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Acquisitions
Ben Hall has over 13 years of commercial real estate experience with an emphasis on joint-venture structuring, acquisitions, capital raising and underwriting. He leads the acquisition efforts through the US for Westport and USSC. Prior to joining Westport and USSC his work experience included acquisition/origination roles at Heitman, Midfirst Bank and CWCapital. During his time at Heitman, Ben was directly involved and responsible for the acquisition of nearly $1 Billion of commercial real estate properties in the multi-family, self-storage and student housing sectors. Ben is involved as a CREPE Advisory Board Member, is a member of the NAIOP developing leaders in Denver, has mentored for multiple non-profit organizations and is a CFA Charterholder.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
For the past ten years, Charles Byerly has been an executive with Westport Properties, Inc. and US Storage Centers, Inc. (together "USSC"). Mr. Byerly is President & CEO of USSC, a vertically integrated real estate investment company and owner/developer/operator of almost 6,000,000 square feet of income producing commercial real estate comprised of retail, office and primarily self storage space in twelve states with an estimated current market value of nearly $800 million. Mr. Byerly is heavily involved in all aspects of USSC including corporate strategy, risk, real estate, finance and operational oversight for the company. Mr. Byerly sits on the USSC Board and Advisory Board. Prior to joining USSC, Mr. Byerly was Assistant Treasurer and Director of Finance for the Americas for three years at Exult, a public company focused in Business Process Outsourcing. From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Byerly spent his time with the Ernst & Young Real Estate Group focusing on Public, Private and Non-Traded REITs, public and private homebuilders and other commercial real estate property types. Mr. Byerly earned his Accounting degree from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, his Master's Degree in Business Taxation from the University of Southern California and he's a licensed California Real Estate Broker. Mr. Byerly currently serves on two non-profit boards, as well as the Cubesmart Self Storage REIT Advisory Board and is very active in Kure It!, a kidney cancer 501(c)(3) charity and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Chauncey White joined Westport Properties in 2013. Prior to Westport Properties, Chauncey was a supervisor for OpenTech, overseeing self-storage technology and services. He also spent 3 years working in the hospitality business as a Valet Manager for JW Marriot Desert Ridge. Chauncey leads the IT department in managing key systems that include online collaboration tools, remote management and monitoring, database management, power apps and automation, software implementations with a focus in cyber security.
Chauncey laid the structure and execution for Westport Properties' Cyber Security Policy. Chauncey is passionate about protecting Westport Properties by educating his team and others. He built the Information Technology department from the ground up. He leads his team comprised of the IT manager, Lead Systems Technician, Systems Technician, Administrative Assistant, Access Control/Surveillance Project Lead, SharePoint Administrator and Developer and 2 Helpdesk Agents. In his free time Chauncey enjoys sports, biking, UTVs, SxS and loves to travel with his wife and son.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner of Westport Residential
David Grissom is a co-founder and managing partner of Westport Residential as well as its predecessor, Vertex Investments. He has over 16 years of commercial real estate experience and has worked on over $1.1 billion in acquisition and development projects. Mr. Grissom is responsible for capital raising and leading acquisitions for Westport Residential. He earned his MBA from Southern Methodist University. Mr. Grissom is active in NAIOP as a Research Foundation Governor, the co-chair of the Deal and Investment Concepts Forum and a member of the CEO/Leadership Forum.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Development
Mr. Kelly joined Westport Properties in 2014 and leads the industrial and self-storage development for the company. Mr. Kelly's experience includes the development of self storage, IOS, industrial warehouse, single & multi-family homes and retail centers. His past employers include Standard Pacific Homes, Regency Centers and Snyder Langston. He received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Chapman University.
Drew Hoeven - Chairman, Chief Investment Officer
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Chief Investment Officer
Drew Hoeven serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Investment Officer. He has over 15 years of real estate experience that has included acquisitions, development, construction, and operations. Drew graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Policy, Planning & Development.
He is a member of USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, sits on the next generation board for the Orange County Community Foundation, a member of the NAIOP Young Professionals Group class of 2008, and a NAIOP Forum member. He is also actively involved in the self-storage industry sitting on the Large Owners Council for the SSA. Lastly, Drew is a board member and actively involved with Kure It, a non-profit that his father founded to raise money for innovative cancer research.
Since 2009 Jason Lopez has been an executive with Westport Properties. As CMO, he oversees all aspects of its marketing strategy, branding, campaign development, budgeting, and analytics. Along with his responsibilities with marketing, Mr. Lopez is integrally involved with corporate strategy, team development, and investor relations.
Prior to joining USSC Mr. Lopez was Vice President of Acquisitions for the self-storage owner/operator Websco Properties. From 2002-2007 Mr. Lopez was VP of Acquisitions for Providence Realty Group where he was involved in managing over $400 million in real estate transactions within the sectors of retail, office, apartments, and industrial. From 1995 to 2001 Mr. Lopez was co-founder of Integrated Sales Management, a technology integration firm specializing in the customization and deployment of customer relationship management solutions for mid and large-sized companies.
Mr. Lopez is a former board member of the California Self Storage Association and is very active within industry trade associations, and Kure It, a 501(c)(3) charity that raises money for underfunded cancer research. He is also very active with his family, friends, and church.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Client Relations
Jorge Saca is a 26-year veteran in the self storage industry who has prior experience with Storage USA and Extra Space Storage along with other private operators. Jorge joined Westport Properties in 2007 as a Director of Operations and was promoted to Vice President of Operations in 2017. As Westport has grown, Jorge was promoted again to oversee all aspects of Client Relations for the company as the Vice President of Client Relations. Jorge is currently responsible for building relationship with all of Westport Properties' third-party partners.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Field Operations and Training
Lisa Pollock joined Westport Properties and US Storage Centers in 2002, bringing over 30 years of self-storage experience to her current role as Vice President of Field Operations and Training. Before her tenure at Westport, Lisa spent nine years in multiple roles at Public Storage.
Throughout her career at Westport Properties, Lisa has held several key positions, including District Manager, Senior District Manager, and Regional Director. Her extensive experience in field operations and home office roles equips her with a comprehensive understanding of the self-storage industry.
In her role, Lisa leads Regional and District teams in analyzing operational metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and drive performance enhancements. She works closely with the Learning and Development team to create and implement training programs for staff at all levels, ensuring operational excellence and compliance with industry regulations and company policies across all locations. Lisa is dedicated to fostering a culture of teamwork and continuous improvement within the operations team.
Outside of work, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family, reading biographies, and traveling to new destinations.
For the past nine years Michael Brady has been an executive with Westport Properties, Inc. and US Storage Centers, Inc. (together "USSC"). Mr. Brady has been charged with managing all aspects of self storage operations for a portfolio of over eighty properties in twelve state and almost six million square feet of storage. Prior to joining USSC, Mr. Brady held a position as an Operations Analyst for the sales and accounts group at Hewitt Associates, a provider of human capital and management consulting services where he was responsible for supporting client account teams and oversaw the monthly close cycle which included revenue recognition, variance reporting, and client account reconciliation. From 2001 to 2005 Mr. Brady spent his time with Exult, a public company focused in Business Process Outsourcing as a Financial Analyst for the financial planning and analysis division where he was responsible for preparing monthly forecasts/budgets for three divisions. Prior to Exult, Mr. Brady was employed by St. John Knits, a high end clothing manufacturer specializing in women's knitwear as a Senior Staff Accountant where he produced monthly financial statements for the international division. Mr. Brady earned his degree in Business Administration from California State University Fullerton and sits on the board of the Aviation Center Owners Association. Mr. Brady enjoys golfing and traveling with his wife whenever possible.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- General Counsel, Secretary and Vice President for USSC
Peter M. Watson joined Westport Properties, Inc. and US Storage Centers (together "USSC") in 2015. Mr. Watson is General Counsel, Secretary and Vice President for USSC, and oversees USSC's legal transactional, corporate maintenance, risk mitigation, and litigation departments. Mr. Watson graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004 and has been licensed to practice law in the State of California since graduating from Whittier Law School with Magna Cum Laude Honors in 2008. Along with his legal oversight responsibilities, Mr. Watson is involved with corporate strategy for USSC. Prior to joining USSC, Mr. Watson was employed as an Associate Attorney with Wright, Finlay & Zak, LLP, where he primarily focused on commercial real estate transactions and real property/general business litigation. Mr. Watson currently serves on the Board of Directors of the California Self Storage Association ("CSSA"), is the Chairman of the CSSA's Legal & Legislative Committee and is a member of NAIOP's General Counsel Forum. In his spare time, Mr. Watson enjoys golfing, beach days and spending time with his family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Controller
- Vice President
Phyllis Cheng joined Westport Properties, Inc. in 2007. With over 16 years of real estate accounting experience, Phyllis oversees the accounting department and is responsible for accounting policies and procedures, reporting controls, and treasury. Prior to joining Westport Properties, Inc., Phyllis worked in residential mortgage and commercial real estate industries. She holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis. In her spare time, she loves to travel the world with her husband and son.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Business Development
Ramiro Ochoa joined Westport Properties in 2017. Ramiro leads Westport's business development efforts across the United States focusing on expanding the company's Third Party Management partnerships. In addition to directing business development for Westport's self storage vertical, Ramiro is also responsible for the leasing and asset management oversight of the firm's commercial real estate portfolio.
Ramiro studied economics at the University of Southern California, is a member of the NAIOP Young Professionals Group (YPG), and a NAIOP Forums member. Ramiro is a passionate proponent of education. He is a board member and actively involved with two non-profit boards focused on promoting education in underserved communities; Santa Ana College Foundation and High School, Inc Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Acquisitions
Robby Leiter joined Westport Properties in 2021 and is responsible for sourcing, structuring, and executing real estate investments. Previously, Robby worked in private equity at Oaktree Capital from 2017-2021 and in Investment Banking at Credit Suisse from 2015-2017. Robby Graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Business.
Sam Fehr joined Westport Properties Inc. (WPI) in 2014 and is currently the Director of Marketing. In this role he works closely with WPI's Chief Marketing Officer on strategy, and he leads the in-house marketing team and outside technology partners who are responsible for the implementation, analysis, and continual optimization of campaigns. His team's work spans a variety of disciplines such as paid search advertising, web development, analytics/business intelligence, search engine optimization, public relations, social media, and reputation management to name a few.
Over the years Sam has developed advanced systems and processes for analyzing and optimizing campaigns. He also strives to mentor, motivate, and develop his team so they can all grow in their careers and continually improve their contributions to the team. Together, they have consistently increased leads while reducing the cost per acquisition. Sam earned a Master's Degree in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California (where he studied and wrote everything from nonfiction to screenplays), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from California State University, Fullerton.
Outside of work he loves to spend time with his wife and three young children at the beach, out hiking, and exploring the diverse food scene SoCal has to offer. He also enjoys mountain biking and attending USC football games with family and friends. He regularly volunteers his time at church participating in a variety of charitable service opportunities.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner of Westport Residential
Scott McCormick is a co-founder and managing partner of Westport Residential as well as its predecessor, Vertex Investments. He has worked in commercial real estate for over 16 years and managed over 4.5 million square feet of commercial real estate valued at over $400 million located across the country. Mr. McCormick oversees asset management and property management for Westport Residential. He earned his MBA from the University of Denver. Mr. McCormick volunteers his time coaching young kids in mogul skiing at Ski Club Vail and coaching youth baseball.
Scott Nguyen has been with Westport Properties, Inc. from 2008 to the present. Mr. Nguyen oversees the accounting, financial reporting, human resources and administrative support functions of the Company. In addition, Mr. Nguyen assists in due diligence related to acquisitions and debt financing. Prior to joining USSC, Mr. Nguyen worked for private homebuilders from 2001 to 2007 in accounting and financing capacities. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Nguyen worked at Ernst & Young LLP. Mr. Nguyen earned his Accounting degree from the University of Southern California in 1998 and is an inactive CPA. Mr. Nguyen serves on the board of Charity Storage, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), and enjoys spending time with his family and traveling abroad.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Acquisitions
Tommy White joined Westport in 2017 leading their Business Development efforts for 3rd Party Management across the U.S. Prior to Westport, Tommy held roles in both the acquisitions and third-party management departments at Extra Space Storage. In his nine plus years in the industry, Tommy has been involved in closing over $1 billion in self-storage transactions, as well as adding nearly 400 third-party managed properties. Currently Tommy oversees all 3rd party management activities across the United States for Westport.
Mr. White holds a finance degree from Montana State University and an MBA from the University of Utah. Originally from Minnesota, Tommy now lives in Bozeman, Montana with his wife and two kids.