Management Team
The TAAG management team has expertise in numerous facets of the real estate industry including capital formation, investment analysis, property or promissory note acquisition, property development, asset management and asset disposition. The team has been responsible for the investment, development and management of over $4 billion in real estate assets on behalf of both institutional and private investors.
Charles Tourtellotte, President and CEO
Charles Tourtellotte is the President and CEO of TAAG. Mr. Tourtellotte's real estate investment management experience is extensive. For over thirty years his activities have included successful senior management positions with institutions and public companies, as well as, entrepreneurial ventures, including all aspects of capital formation, property acquisitions, asset management and dispositions. At the entrepreneurial level, Mr. Tourtellotte founded three companies, one of which became a publicly traded company. Mr. Tourtellotte served as CEO for each of these companies.
Mr. Tourtellotte served as a Senior Acquisitions Officer at two national real estate investment companies, Consolidated Capital and Robert A. McNeil Corporation. During this time, he was responsible for acquiring more than 12,000 multifamily units and 10,000,000 square feet of commercial office and retail properties in major markets across the United States, for company managed REIT's and public limited partnerships. His immediate responsibilities included negotiating, structuring, closing and asset management of investment and development properties nationwide. Most recently, Mr. Tourtellotte founded Pacific Colony Properties, a San Diego based real estate investment development and advisory company focusing exclusively on the acquisition, repositioning and development of multifamily projects.
In 1998, Mr. Tourtellotte founded Shoreline Communities, a real estate development company specializing in both single and multifamily projects primarily in San Diego County, California. The Shoreline management team completed development of more than 1,000 multifamily units and 2,000 single family homes.
Prior to Shoreline, Mr. Tourtellotte founded MetroGolf, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company, which owned, acquired, developed, and managed golf courses and driving ranges across the United States. As President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Mr. Tourtellotte took MetroGolf, Inc. public in 1996 with an IPO, and later led MetroGolf through a merger and acquisition transaction with another NASDAQ listed company.
Prior to MetroGolf, Mr. Tourtellotte served as President of Dye Equity, an affiliate of Dye Design International in Partnership with Dunlop Sports of Japan. While at Dye Equity, Mr. Tourtellotte was involved in the acquisition and development of over $150 million of golf course and real estate assets across the United States. A graduate of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, Mr. Tourtellotte has taught real estate and finance courses at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. He has been featured on the Today Show, CNN and CNN/FN.
Tammy Harpster, Chief Investment Officer
Tammy Harpster is TAAG's Chief Investment Officer. Her investment career includes the management of an opportunity fund and hundreds of millions in commercial assets. She served as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Phoenix Realty Group (PRG) that, since its founding in 1999, has sponsored over 10 real estate private equity funds and low-income housing tax credit funds backed by institutional investors. Currently, PRG sponsors and manages 6 real estate private equity funds with approximately $770 million in equity capital commitments, representing $3.5 billion in real estate development and acquisition. During her tenure with PRG, Ms. Harpster managed the San Diego Smart Growth Fund; a $90 million opportunity fund with institutional investors such as CalPERS, Washington Mutual, and Northwestern Mutual.
Prior to joining PRG, Ms. Harpster was Assistant Vice President for Buchanan Street Partners (BSP), a leading real estate investment management firm headquartered in Newport Beach, California that manages real estate investments on behalf of a broad base of institutional and private investors. At Buchanan Street Partners she closed $300 million, and managed over $600 million, in commercial assets across four funds.
Prior to Buchanan, Ms. Harpster managed $125 million of pharmaceutical, biotech, and microelectronic construction development projects for DPR Construction in both the San Diego and Las Vegas regions. Currently, she is a principal with Profinity Properties, specializing in asset and property management. Ms. Harpster holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Purdue University.
Lauren Boyd, General Counsel
Ms. Boyd is TAAG's General Counsel. Ms. Boyd began her law practice at Cooley Godward Kronish where she specialized in corporate and securities law. While at Cooley, she also represented venture capital investors, investment banking firms and numerous public offerings for corporations and investment banks. Ms. Boyd has provided services in a broad range of major business transactions, including private placements and public offerings; mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.
Prior to TAAG, Ms. Boyd served as Director of Legal Affairs for Pacific Colony Properties, a San Diego based real estate investment development and advisory company focusing exclusively on the acquisition, repositioning and development of multifamily projects. At Pacific Colony Properties, Ms. Boyd was involved in a wide variety of real property and related capital markets transactions, including acquisitions, finance and general corporate governance.
Prior to joining Pacific Colony, Ms. Boyd worked as an attorney and consultant providing legal counsel and strategic business development for clients in the areas of acquisitions, financings, joint venture and other strategic collaborations and corporate transactions. She has served on the boards of the San Diego Telecom Council, Rady's Children's Hospital, Rancho Santa Fe Auxiliary, NeighborHelp, and National Charity League, Poway district.
Ms. Boyd has worked Pro Bono for the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego where she obtained her Bachelors of Business Administration, graduating summa cum laude, in 1993. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Stanford Law School in 1996. Ms. Boyd is a member of the California State Bar Association.
Colleen Lakshin, Sales & Marketing Director
Colleen Lakshin is TAAG's Sales & Marketing Director. Ms. Lakshin has over 24 years experience working with home builders where she has a proven track record of building market presence through the creation and implementation of integrated marketing and sales programs. Ms. Lakshin's management experience includes strategic planning, global and local branding, feasibility studies, brand identity, merchandising, pricing and premium analysis, competitive market analysis, focus groups, market intelligence, P&L accountability, marketing budgets, website design, sales training, media planning, and team building.
Prior to joining TAAG, Ms. Lakshin served as Sales and Auction Manager for Broker, WRS Enterprises, Inc. representing both Downtown Properties and Intellimarket, where her combined efforts generated over $89 million in sales and auction revenue for numerous Southern California communities.
Prior to WRS, Ms. Lakshin served as Vice President Sales & Marketing at Shea Homes - Inland Empire Division, Home Building Company. While at Shea, Ms. Lakshin managed a multi million dollar advertising budget and kept costs below one percent of gross revenue. Ms. Lakshin's efforts resulted in improvement in the areas of customer relationship management, prospect management, national marketing and branding campaigns, sales training, "Eliant" customer satisfaction, sales metrics, sales compensation and performance standards. Ms. Lakshin exceeded business plan goals and was ranked number one broker at Shea from 2003-2006 in sales, starts, deliveries, customer satisfaction, capture rate and profitability. Ms. Lakshin was also instrumental in establishing the corporate "brand" brochure for Shea Homes in California.
Ms. Lakshin served as Vice President Sales and Marketing for Ultimate New Home Sales and Marketing from 2002-2003 and for Premier Homes, Home Building Company from 1993-2002.
Ms. Lakshin's industry recognition includes the following awards: Inland Empire Sales & Marketing Council's Marketing Director of the Year (1998), Industry Leader of the Year (2000) and Hall of Fame (2007).
Ms. Lakshin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, California State University, Fullerton and is a graduate of the Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM). Ms. Lakshin is a licensed broker in California and holds a Certified Sales Professional (CSP) Designation from the National Sales & Marketing Council (NSMC). Ms. Lakshin served on the Board of Directors for the Inland Empire Sales & Marketing Council and the Building Industry Association.