LEADERSHIP TEAM

Christopher G. Louis, CPM ®

CEO

Christopher graduated, in 1971, from Christopher Newport College of the College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. His career in property management began in 1972 with the Klingbeil Company, and then progressed with Dillingham, the Robert A. McNeil Corporation, Real Estate Marketing/Management, and Sunwest Asset Management Corporation. Chris earned the distinction of Certified Property Manager (CPM) from the Institute of Real Estate Management, and is a past president of the Orange County Chapter. He has managed property in Southern California for more than thirty years.

Bill Lekas, CPM

CFO & Company Broker

Bill earned an undergraduate degree in Finance from Ohio State University and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Bill ensures that our operational and administrative functions satisfy the reporting requirements of our clients. Bill has been in the property management industry for more than 25 years, previously with Sunwest Asset Management Corporation, and before that, spent seven years with Unisys (formerly the Burroughs Corporation) in their finance department. Bill has a thorough working knowledge of the asset management and operational disciplines necessary to service the most discerning clients.

Theresa Louis Wittman, CPM

President

Theresa graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, and has been in the property management industry for over 15 years. As a property manager, Theresa managed in excess of 500,000 square feet of retail, office, and industrial space in Southern California. After promoting to Vice President, she began overseeing employee development and education, paperless/document management, IT infrastructure/security, and the implementation of new accounting software. Theresa continues to oversee select management teams. She earned the Certified Property Manager (CPM) distinction, and is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management, Vistage International, and UCLA Alumni Association.

Tim Wetzel

Vice President

Tim graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He started his career in real estate with the PacificWest team in 2000, and has managed retail, office, and industrial portfolios totaling over 2,000,000 square feet. As Vice President, Tim oversees property managers and key accounts, and contributes to the company’s brokerage and business development initiatives. Tim lives in Placentia, California with his wife and two sons, and enjoys coaching youth sports in his free time.

Phuong Truong

Senior Director of Accounting

Phuong graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a BA in Business Administration & Accounting. She spent 15 years at Healthpeak Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment firm with over 400 properties and 10,000 units, where she served as Senior Director of Accounting. Prior to Healthpeak, Phuong spent 7 years at CBRE, where she started as an Accountant and worked her way up to Accounting Manager. Phuong is an MRI SUPERUSER!

Marcie DeHart

Director of Operations

Marcie started her career in property management with PacificWest in 2005 as an assistant property manager. With her experience in property management and mastery of company processes, she was promoted to Operations Manager. In her current role as Director, she oversees the hiring and onboarding of new team members, as well as the continued training and development of our management teams. She works with the executive team in managing our systems, processes and best practices, leveraging her strengths in technology, organization and communication. PacificWest’s core value that resonates the most with Marcie is our commitment to family. Outside of the PacificWest family, Marcie and her husband have two children, and are constantly on the go between volunteering at school events, coaching their children’s soccer teams, and ice time at the rink. Their favorite local team to cheer on is the Anaheim Ducks!

Mitzi Reyes

Associate Director of Property Management

Mitzi joined PacificWest as an Assistant Property Manager in 2019, and in 2022 promoted to Associate Director of Property Management. In this capacity, she works with the Executive Team, serves as a liaison between departments, participates in business development meetings, collaborates closely with the Vice President to onboard new accounts, and fosters strong relationships with Property Managers. Mitzi's industry knowledge, and leadership skills reflect her commitment to elevating the property management experience. Formerly, Mitzi managed The Outlets at Orange, 867,00 square feet of retail, with 120 retail tenants and over 10 restaurants, with her team at Simon Property Group.

Marlene Stallsmith

Corporate Accountant

Marlene graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in Real Estate Finance. Marlene has thirty three years of experience (23 years with PacificWest) working in property management accounting. Prior to joining the PacificWest team in 1993, she worked for Johnstown Properties as a financial analyst, and for RReef Funds as a property accountant. Marlene oversees corporate accounting functions, handles accounting for key accounts, and contributes to training and new policy and procedure programs. Marlene’s main focus is to produce quality accounting records. She takes ownership of her work, and pride in her job. When she’s not working, Marlene enjoys spending time with her grandson and family, and is a huge fan of the Angels!

James G. (Jim) Gotses

Broker

Jim has served in various capacities in the real estate industry since 1978, from General Partner of Commercial Investments, to property management and sales and leasing. Since 1993, Jim has served as Vice President of Retail and Office leasing for PacificWest. Prior to coming to PacificWest, Jim was Vice President of Commercial Properties with Peacock Financial Corporation. During this period in his career, his responsibilities were to acquire, rehabilitate, and manage distressed properties.

After joining PacificWest, Jim has represented numerous landlords requiring leasing assistance. He currently represents and lists 15 PacificWest properties, ranging from small office to major retail properties. In addition, he has extensive experience in tenant representation that he has acquired through representing restaurant chains as exclusive broker.

From his vast experience in leasing, as well as his former experience as an acquisition director and property manager, Jim has developed expertise representing both sides in transactions, which gives him invaluable experience in satisfying both the needs of tenants and landlords.