Owen J. Fisher

Managing Partner

OWEN FISHER is a founder and CEO of the J. Fisher Companies. Owen’s current responsibilities focus on the day-to-day management of the Companies and specifically the leadership and vision relative to its growth.

Owen has over 25 years of experience in the management of different private equity/investment groups and specifically the J. Fisher Companies’ structuring of over $1.5 billion in real estate projects to-date. The J. Fisher Companies Full Integration Model has set the stage for its companies to exceed expectations in the communities they have the opportunity to work in. These companies consist of JF Development, Henry Walker Homes, Strategic Builders, Olive West.

Owen received a B.S. in Sales and Marketing from Weber State University and received a CFP designation from the American College. Owen also attended and achieved a Masters level achievement with the Strategic Coach in Chicago, a prestigious consulting and coaching program for Entrepreneurs. In 2014, Owen received Utah’s 40 under 40 award for his active involvement in the different J. Fisher companies.

Chad Bessinger

Managing Partner

CHAD BESSINGER is a Managing Partner at JF Development, LLC. He leads the company’s land development entity. His team excels in the entitlement and development process of land pursuits in various asset classes including residential, commercial, and multi-family deals. He actively pursues land projects throughout Utah and the surrounding states. Chad has 20+ years of experience in the real estate industry in the areas of acquisition, underwriting, entitlement and development. During the real estate downturn, Chad led his team in purchasing 50+ loans collateralized by real estate throughout the intermountain west.

Chad graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors of Science in business finance.

Glenn Girsberger

Partner

GLENN GIRSBERGER is a Partner at J. Fisher Companies.   His work involves both Olive West – the property management arm of the Company – and JF Capital, where he is heavily involved in asset management.   Glenn is very active in the land acquisition process of the J. Fisher Companies including all aspects of financial analysis and valuation for potential projects.

Glenn has worked in the commercial real estate industry for the past 30 years.  He began his work with several institutional investment advisory firms providing real estate acquisition and asset management services to numerous public and private pension funds.  He has also worked as an acquisition/disposition officer and developer with several large commercial real estate firms.  He has extensive management experience in office, industrial and retail properties and has managed a portfolio of multi-family assets with over 12,000 apartment units located throughout the United States.  He has also worked as a development partner for several LIHTC projects in the greater Salt Lake area.

Glenn received a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in business management/finance with minors in accounting and economics.  He also studied law at Southwestern University School of Law.  Glenn is a licensed real estate broker and an IREM Certified Property Manager (CPM).

Brian Watts

Partner

BRIAN WATTS is a Partner at J. Fisher Companies.  He is responsible for securing all financing for J. Fisher Companies’ projects.  He also oversees the company’s financial reporting and is a frequent investment partner in development projects.

Brian began his professional career at the international accounting firm Arthur Anderson & Co.  He then joined Wasatch Energy as partner and Chief Financial Officer.  At Wasatch Energy he helped lead the growth and expansion of the company into a fully integrated energy marketing and trading company.  After selling Wasatch Energy to BP in 2007, Brian remained with the company as Vice President of Financial Operations until 2011.

In addition to his responsibilities at JF Capital, Brian currently owns and manages several companies that own oil and gas-related assets and commercial real estate.

Brian received a Bachelor of Science degree from Weber State University in accounting.  He is also a licensed CPA.

Jake Wood

Partner | Director of Affordable Housing

JAKE WOOD is a Partner at J. Fisher Companies. Jake has over 15 years of experience in real estate investment, brokerage, finance, and development. He currently manages affordable housing acquisitions, development, and financing for J. Fisher Companies’ multi-family development division. As a part of his duties, Jake has spearheaded the community projects and affordable housing initiative. Within this capacity, Jake and the JF team have partnered with the industry’s best lenders, investors, property managers, and builders to assemble, entitle, finance, and build active projects with a combined count of approximately 1,600 affordable units and development budgets totaling nearly $400MM.

Prior to joining J. Fisher Companies, Jake served as the managing partner of Nicholas Wood, a specialty real estate services company with headquarters in Durham, NC. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina and a Masters degree in Real Estate Development from the Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.

Ryan Davis

Partner

RYAN DAVIS is a Partner at J. Fisher Companies where he focuses on the firm’s affordable and workforce housing strategies, including deal sourcing, transaction management, capital origination, and community partnerships. Ryan is also focused on expanding public-private partnerships for both ground-up development and acquisition-rehab preservations. Ryan has 15 years of experience in real estate specializing in private equity, institutional investments, and public-private partnerships, holding prior roles at DiNapoli Capital Partners, Lendlease, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Bank of America.

He has transacted over$1.0B nationally, where his experiences have encompassed full investment lifecycle responsibilities including acquisitions, development, repositions and development, repositions and renovations, asset management, capital restructuring, and dispositions. Prior portfolios under his investment management include 6,000+ multifamily units and 12,000+ family housing dwellings.

Ryan is an Adjunt Professor with the Master of Real Estate Development and Master of Finance programs at the University of Utah. He currently teaches a class dedicated to researching and providing industry solutions to the housing affordability crisis. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Utah.

Ruth Hill

Partner

RUTH HILL is a Partner at J. Fisher Companies. Her work involves establishing operational processes and cultural patterns that help all the operating companies continue to expand and grow successfully. She works with land development, residential housing, multi-family housing, commercial projects and property management – all entities within the J. Fisher Companies’ portfolio. Ruth started her career after graduating from Weber State University and went straight into corporate roles including operations and human resource. She has worked in education, finance management, and real estate.

For the last decade, Ruth has worked with J. Fisher Companies and has been part of the phenomenal growth that the company has achieved. With the pipeline of upcoming projects, this growth pattern continues and the goal of improving communities with outstanding multi-family projects, residential neighborhoods and other real estate ventures has been one of the many reasons she enjoys her career.

Ruth has served on a number of civic boards including Planning Commission and Recreation Boards for her community. She is active within the Huntsman Cancer Institute volunteer programs and has lived in Utah for 34 years.

Brock Loomis

Land Acquisition and Development Director

BROCK LOOMIS is the Land Acquisition and Development Director at J. Fisher Companies. His responsibilities are focused on acquisition, entitlements, development, and construction management for the company’s single family, multi-family and commercial projects. Prior to joining J. Fisher Companies, Brock worked as a civil engineer overseeing the design and entitlement of various types of land development projects. Brock’s experience as an engineer allowed him to get an up-close view of the many site related challenges developers face.

His technical background brings a unique perspective to J. Fisher Companies. Brock holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Utah and is a licensed Professional Engineer.

Wendy Leonelli

Director of Real Estate Operations

WENDY LEONELLI is the Director of Real Estate Operations for J. Fisher Companies where she focuses on business and operational procedures for all companies under the J. Fisher umbrella.

Wendy began her career in real estate in 2004. Her experience as a Residential Appraiser, Commercial Agent, and most recently Commercial Real Estate Loan Officer for Zions Bank, has provided Wendy with the opportunity to work with all real estate product types on projects throughout the intermountain west. Wendy is especially passionate about affordable housing and has structured complex and innovative, construction and perm, debt and investment facilities for projects throughout Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, including both 4% and 9% LIHTC projects.

Wendy has been a member of CREW Utah since 2014 and served on the Board of Directors for seven years, including as the Chapter President in 2019.  Additional board service currently includes the Board of Commissioners for Housing Connect, and Board of Directors for Artspace and for Community Development Finance Alliance.  Wendy is a Co-Chair for Downtown Alliance SLC’s Downtown Development Committee.