Alec Richards, 35

Alec Richards leads asset management at TruAmerica Multifamily for a portfolio of 34 multifamily properties housing over 10,000 residential units along the East Coast, with a concentration in Massachusetts and Florida.

The Vanderbilt University graduate, who earned a civil engineering degree there before getting his MBA from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, interned and then worked part time for TruAmerica while at Georgetown.

Richards began his time with the company in Washington, D.C., until relocating to Miami four years ago, with the responsibility of opening the company’s office in that city. He has since evolved the office from three people in a coworking space to 11 employees in a proper office. 

Richards is responsible for driving portfolio strategy, investment performance and value creation, and sees his greatest challenge as managing people and expectations.

“I’ve got four asset managers that work under me, as well as someone on our capital improvements team who runs our interior renovation program,” said Richards. “A lot of what I do is about managing the expectations of the partners, particularly since we’ve been in a down market over the last three years.”

While he always saw himself moving in a financial direction, Richards credits his engineering degree with helping develop the eye for detail needed to juggle his myriad responsibilities.

“Attention to detail is the most critical piece — trusting but verifying everything,” said Richards. “It’s challenging knowing what consultants to go to and who the experts are, but also not taking everything at face value, and making sure you understand that every little piece plays a part in the solution.”

Looking ahead, Richards hopes for the opportunity to expand his managerial responsibilities over time, helping TruAmerica reach more of its goals nationwide.

“Ideally, I’d like to continue to grow into more of a COO-type role and take on more than just one office,” said Richards. “I love managing people. That’s the best part of this job — motivating people and seeing their professional growth. So I’d love to continue to grow as a manager overseeing people. The people we manage are what drive performance more than anything else.”