New leaders emphasize their firm’s culture of integrity, trust, accountability, and collaboration with their “One team. One company,” philosophy.
• Respected leaders with respectively each having nearly three decades experience and service to the firm, Conover, MacLellan and Riley assume the roles of Managing Principals
• Under Conover, MacLellan and Riley’s guidance, Faris Lee will foster an environment that values transparency, trust, collaboration and mentoring talent, where future leaders will succeed.
IRVINE, Calif., January 4, 2022, Faris Lee Investments, a market-leading retail real estate advisory firm, announced the appointment of Jeff Conover, Don MacLellan and Shaun Riley to Managing Principals, effective immediately. Faris Lee‘s President Rick Chichester has decided to retire at the end of January 2022. The team wants to thank Rick for his years of dedication to the company. “Rick is a highly respected leader in the industry and we have valued his contributions to the company these past 10 years," said Shaun Riley. Conover, MacLellan and Riley are long-time executives at the company, with decades experience in the industry.
The business outlook continues to be active for the foreseeable future. This past year has seen record transactions for the firm as investors look to deploy capital earned in other sectors into retail commercial real estate. The pandemic and perceived changes to the retail landscape has not impacted investment in the sector. It remains to be seen whether an uptick in interest rates toward the end of 2022 take effect, but this probability has not dampened appetite to invest in a dynamic and resilient market.
“This is an exciting time for us as new leaders, but also for the entire firm as we set our sights on the future, our clients, retail sector and industry,” said MacLellan. He added, “As we emerge from the pandemic, this is a perfect junction for fresh leadership to take the helm to steer the firm. We are honored to lead a company that has built deep relationships and can deliver insights into national trends, and provide clients the best solution. Faris Lee is known as a market leader in the retail investment sector. We are focused on attracting top talent, building on our collective culture and maximizing returns for clients as we begin 2022.”
Deep Expertise
The principals have an insider’s knowledge of Faris Lee, spanning almost to its 1996 founding. Conover has over three decades transactional brokerage experience within the commercial real estate industry across the U.S., specializing in single tenant NNN leased investments, multi-tenant shopping centers, national portfolios and sale-leasebacks. MacLellan’s focus has been in acquisition/disposition services, which includes core, value-add opportunities, structured debt and equity structuring. He helps lead the firm’s major disposition assignments and is part of the senior advisory team and is active in transaction negotiations and overseeing staff in the proposal process. And Riley with nearly 24 years with the firm, maintains a diversified client base of Southern California investors, developers, private investment funds, and high net worth individuals in advising on acquisition, disposition, development, and equity and debt sourcing.
Consensus-Driven and Collaborative
Previously employed at some of the largest brokerage firms in the world, Conover, MacLellan and Riley lauded Faris Lee for its boutique environment and business model that shares intelligence and collectively works on deals. This approach is antithetical to the industry, which elevates its “power brokers” and highest deal leading teams.
Faris Lee is a firm whereby each team member contributes to the firm’s unique corporate structure and to the intellectual and transactional experience of the entire advisory team.
Conover knew that Faris Lee was a cultural fit and met his desire to work toward a firm’s entire success. He explained, “There are no teams in charge of specific deals within Faris Lee. We all work together, across the board to get deals done. We see our leadership role as augmenting the founders’ vision while tracking high-level brokers in the industry. We all possess complimentary skills that work well together, yet bring something different to the table. Actually, we embrace a round-table approach.”
Riley added, “Yes, that is true, and we want to take this consensus-driven style to all our employees, and bring diverse talents into the conversation. This includes, marketing, graphic design, finance, and brokers at all levels. This will be our focus going forward as we expect to be able to provide a higher level of service to our clients.”
Recruitment and Training
A priority of the firm is to grow its bench of talent by hiring brokers at all levels; junior, mid-level and senior professionals. They intend to attract and nurture new talent by recruiting externally through university programs, online and direct outreach. New recruits will be supported with senior-level mentorship and a comprehensive training program. MacLellan explained, “Young people can learn and gain knowledge from decades of experience. They can study our proposals and presentations, which are accessible to all. We are committed to bring additional talent into the fold and set them up to succeed, and grow their career with us.”
2021 Recent Track Record
- Some of the 2021 highlighted deals include : Gene Autry Plaza ( Grocery Anchored) - $23.4M , Signal Hill Gateway ( Community Center ) - $28.3M, Orchard Walk East- $31.5M ( Grocery Anchored Community Center) , Anaheim Gateway - $20.5M ( High Credit Strip Center ) Ross Pasadena- $28.5M (STNL), and Floor & Décor Portfolio (CA, TX).
- Faris Lee Investments closings represented an increase of volume of nearly 120% from 2019 with closings in (44) states across the US.
About Faris Lee Investments
Faris Lee Investments is a retail brokerage advisory firm founded in 1996 and is based in Irvine, California. The firm specializes in commercial real estate investment sales, brokerage, and advisory services. In addition, the firm provides a national marketing platform of properties for sale, asset appraisal, property valuation, debt structuring, negotiation, market research and analysis services. Faris Lee combines underwriting and research that exceeds industry standard with a marketing strategy to transform investment potential, enhance value and provide their clients the competitive advantage needed when making investment decisions. The firm also serves as institutional advisors in the areas of acquisitions and dispositions, merchant banking, distressed asset disposition, private equity, and corporate sale leaseback.
Media Coverage
Real estate news: 24-unit apartment complex in Garden Grove sells for $8 million
ConnectCRE, January 13, 2022
https://www.connectcre.com/stories/faris-lee-appoints-conover-maclellan-and-riley-to-managing-principals/