LOS ANGELES—TruAmerica Multifamily has named Lynn Owen as COO to oversee asset and construction management of the company's $2.4 billion portfolio in the Western US, which includes the recent acquisition of the Vermont in Koreatown. The new title is a promotion. She joined the company in March of this year.

“TruAmerica gives me a purpose and a sense of excitement and pride to grow something big. It allows me to take all of my experience and put it to work in the best possible way,” Owen tells GlobeSt.com. “The integrity of Bob Hart and the Guardian Life Insurance Co. aligns with my own philosophies, beliefs and work ethic. It is gratifying that everything that I have worked for has led me here now.”

Owen has storied 30-year career. Prior to joining TruAmerica, she managed the Pacific Northwest region for Greystar Real Estate Partners. Greystar has previously purchased the company in 2010. While at Greystar, Owen met Bob Hart, the founder and CEO of  TruAmerica. “He is one of the most respected and well-liked principals in our industry,” says Owen. “I listened to his story and the vision of TruAmerica, knew the talent he had recruited to make the vision a reality and decided to take a leap of faith and change my world to become a part of his.”

As COO, Owen will work to manage the company's growth, streamline its processes and implement tactical applications to the company's business strategy, as well as locating new talent. “I want to protect the corporate culture Bob has manifested in a very short time so finding the right people is paramount,” says Owen. “We are very fortunate to have amazing equity partners and working to define our best practices in order to provide the best information, business plan execution, communication and investment returns is high on my list as well.”

Along with Owen's promotion, the company also hired Tom Jackson as Director of General Contracting, Ryan Hall as Asset Manager and Jeffrey Price as Acquisitions Analyst. These new hires are part of the company's way to stay competitive in the tight multifamily market. “We have top industry talent across all departments of TruAmerica. Our asset managers and construction management associates are highly skilled and experienced, and it shows in our property operations and capex plan execution,” says Owens. “In every strategic planning session we have, recruiting is first on the agenda. I mentioned our corporate culture earlier. Because our teams are so tightly woven together and work collaboratively on a daily basis, it is essential that we continue to attract the right talent to the team. We also surround ourselves with great partners including top property management companies who we trust to manage the assets according to our business plans. My property management experience and contacts within the industry has helped us secure some of the best management people within their respective firms to oversee our portfolio. Some might say that we have been lucky but we know how strategic that we have been thus far.”