CEO
Scott Watt is the CEO of Watt Capital Developers. Having been in the business of Real Estate and building for 50+ years, he and the Watt name are a bedrock of the industry.
Scott joined Watt Companies in 1976 as Senior Vice President of Forward Planning. Prior to joining, Scott founded and led Scottfield Building Corporation, a company that built more than 1,000 residential units and a shopping center during its six year history. During his time as SVP of Forward Planning, Scott completed $50 million in office buildings, shopping centers and industrial building development. In 1986, he became President of W & B Builders, parent to several Watt subsidiaries. Under his leadership, the division completed over a million square feet of commercial and industrial properties during a three year span. From 1998 to 2006, Scott was a partner in the award-winning John Laing Homes, a company that built more than 3,000 houses per year and generated over $1.1 billion in revenue. Scott took over as Chairman of Watt Companies in 2009 and has successfully engineered the transition from Founder to 2nd generation. Watt Companies has grown from revenues of $117,000,000 in 2009 to $174,000,000 in 2014. Scott is a graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a Master’s Degree in Education, with an emphasis in counseling, from the University of Miami. Scott is, or has served as, a Board Member for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, Union Rescue Mission, Chairman for Christian Associates Los Angeles, and the Board of Brentwood School. He was a chapter chairman of the Santa Monica Bay Chapter of the Y.P.O., a member of the Development Committee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and a member of Pepperdine Associates, Malibu. He is currently a member of the University of Southern California (USC) Associates Board of Directors, the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate Executive Committee, the USC School of Business Advisory Board and a member of the USC Alumni Executive Board of Governors. Scott is also an Elder at Bel-Air Presbyterian Church.
Board Member
Jim Maginn is a Board Member at Watt Capital Developers.
In 1986, Jim Maginn joined Watt Companies as Senior Vice President/Chief Financial Officer. In this position, he was responsible for all of the development, permanent, and mortgage financing related to residential and commercial operations.
In the early nineties, he assumed the position of President of Watt Companies where he worked on restructuring the organization which included selling one residential subsidiary to Beazer Homes which subsequently went public, and forming a joint venture with Goldman Sachs with another residential subsidiary. This JV eventually evolved into John Laing Homes which built over 3,000 homes per year and generated over $1.1 billion in revenue. Mr. Maginn was a member of the John Laing Board of Directors until the company was sold in June 2006.
In 2003, he established a joint venture with Australia’s Centro Properties Group known as Centro Watt, which sought to build a significant national shopping center ownership and management platform in the United States. During the next four years, the venture acquired over 700 retail centers, with more than 155 million square feet, with properties located in 38 states and a total asset value in excess of $11.0 billion. After reaching the shared objective of building a strong U.S. retail platform, Watt successfully exited the JV as planned. Mr. Maginn was also the President/CEO of Centro Watt. In 2010, Mr. Maginn stepped down as President/CEO of Watt and Nadine Watt assumed his responsibilities. He and an associate started a division that focuses on investing directly in commercial and residential ground-up and redevelopment projects.
Before coming to Watt, he was Manager of Corporate Banking for California First Bank (Union Bank), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Tokyo/Mitsubishi Group. In this position, he was also responsible for the U.S. business in the Far East and spent three years in Tokyo.
He received his B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy and MBA from UCLA. He is on the Board of Governors for ULI, treasurer/board member of the National Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance and a member of both ICSC and the California Business Property Association. He spent 20 years in the Navy, both active duty and reserves. He retired as a Navy captain.
Board Member
David Frosh is a Director and Principal of Fidelity Bancorp Funding Inc, a leading provider of bridge and permanent financing for commercial real estate, located in Santa Ana, CA. Mr. Frosh is also a General Partner in Tapestry Management LLC, a joint venture formed to build Silverwood, a master planned community in the Mohave River Valley in Southern California. Upon completion, Silverwood will comprise 16,000 homes across 9,500 acres. He is also a board member for the Fritz Duda Company, a real estate development company based in Dallas, TX with primary holdings in California, Texas, and Reno Nevada. From 2009 – 2019 Mr. Frosh served as managing partner and co-founder of Center Street Lending, based in Irvine, CA., one of the nation’s largest specialty real estate lenders. From 2004 – 2010 he also served as managing partner of Whiskey Hill Partners, an early-stage investment firm that funded and sold multiple early-stage companies, creating more than $50 million in value for its investors. From 2000 – 2006, Mr. Frosh served as President of Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate, during which, the annual revenues grew from $15 million to $150 million, while adding over 1,200 agents as staff. Prior to joining Sperry Van Ness, Mr. Frosh served as President of CAM Commerce Solutions, a software provider focused on point-of-sale, inventory control, and credit card processing. During his tenure, the company’s market capitalization increased more than 20x. Mr. Frosh has served as a board member for Pacific Union Real Estate, EV Roberts Chemicals, Evans Manufacturing, California Stem Cell, Sellers Advantage, Cam Commerce Solutions, Cabo Chips, and the Navy Seal Foundation. He also served as an adjunct professor of marketing for the MBA program at Pepperdine University for six years and has been a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization for 28 years. Mr. Frosh holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Central Michigan University, and an Executive MBA from Claremont Graduate School.
Senior Vice President
David Shlecter is the Senior Vice President of Watt Capital (Partners/Developers), and is responsible for the overall investment strategy and execution of the business plan. Reporting directly to the President, (Scott/Nadine) Watt, he provides crucial guidance with clear direction between the team and external parties.
David graduated with a Masters of Accounting from the Ross School of Business and a Bachelor of the Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan. He began his career as a CPA, and practiced in real estate taxation, employing both popular and less known tax advantageous strategies. The clients he serviced prioritized intergenerational wealth preservation, with respect to their real estate holdings.
He joined Watt Companies in 2016 on the Capital Markets team. Over the years, he applied his knowledge towards structuring leveraged acquisitions and developments in commercial and residential real estate. His diverse experience honed his analytical skills, which he applies at the executive table. David is part of Urban Land Institute and YPONextGen. He and his wife live in Santa Monica, and enjoy spending time at the beach and discovering local restaurants.
Board Member
Ray Watt is a co-owner of Watt Capital Partners and serves as a board member. Since 2003, Ray has been developing and managing rental properties in Nashville, TN.
Controller
Mark Geissler serves as Corporate Controller for Watt Capital Partners. In this role, Mark has overall responsibility for the Company’s accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, tax and treasury activities.
Mark has over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance. Prior to joining Watt Capital Partners, he was Assistant Controller of Watt Companies for 3 years. Before joining Watt Companies, he spent 6 years as Assistant Controller at American Golf Corporation and 6 years as Senior Financial Analyst of Global Financial Reporting at CBRE. Mark has also worked at Computer Sciences Corporation, Occidental Petroleum Company and DeCrane Aircraft Holdings.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.
Vice President, Operations - MH Division
Candace “Candy” Holcombe – Although new to the Watt Capital team joining in 2022, Candy brings with her over 35 years of knowledge and VP leadership experience in manufactured housing, manufactured housing home sales and community asset management. Specializing in oversite of operations, resident-community relations and crisis/turnaround management. Extensive experience in leadership, coaching, team building and asset management for multiple real estate assets owned by individuals, family partnerships, trusts, nonprofit organizations and municipalities. As Vice President, Operations – MH Division for Watt Capital, she is responsible for helping to spearhead the company’s operation and growth for the manufactured housing division while also providing asset management for the multi-family and manufactured housing portfolios.
Holds her manufactured home and DMV sales license and a pending HCD dealer’s license.
Currently serving as Past President of the Board of Directors for the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association (WMA), as well as chair of the Western Manufactured Housing Educational Group (WMEG) and on several committees, she is also a frequent speaker and industry educator throughout California.
Asset Manager
Alexandria Bonilla joined the Watt Asset Management team in 2022. She oversees a $300 million portfolio of Retail and Industrial assets in the company’s southwestern region, comprised of approximately 900,000 SF.
She started her career in brokerage which provided a foundation for her work as an asset manager.
She has successfully negotiated, structured, and closed over 1,000 retail, office, and industrial lease deals during her 16-year career. Her strong negotiating experience has positioned her to enhance property revenues and increase portfolio valuations.
Alexandria earned her Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Real Estate in 2010 and then her MBA from Mount Saint Mary’s University in 2017. She resides in South Bay with her husband, and just celebrated the welcoming of her first child, a little boy.
