Nadine Watt Becomes the CEO of Watt Cos.

Nadine Watt has been named the CEO of Watt Cos., a Los Angeles-based development and investment firm with a billion-dollar portfolio that includes office, retail and residential properties. Watt formerly served as president, and she will succeed her father, Scott Watt, who served as CEO for the last decade.

“I am excited about leading the company in this new decade. The world is poised for a big change, and I am excited to be a part of, and I am excited to put my mark on this organization in a way that would make my grandfather and father proud, Watt tells GlobeSt.com. “The company has more 70 years of history, and I get the benefit of their wisdom and their guidance. Hopefully you can go forward and take the company even further.”

In the new role, Watt plans to focus on affordable and workforce housing projects, and will both acquire and develop assets in this residential sector. “I feel like I want to do well by doing good. I am going to be looking for a lot more opportunities in the workforce housing areas for Angelenos,” she says. “My grandfather started this company for returning GIs from World War II, so housing is in our blood and housing people is in our blood. I have been given a great responsibility to house people, not only homeless people but the missing middle. There are people that work hard every single day and want to have a house, but can’t because of the affordability crisis that we are in here in Southern California.”

Watt has already moved forward on her goals. The firm has a public-private partnership in Los Angeles and a project in Baldwin Hills. “We have started in Baldwin Hills, and we are building a project on Exposition and Crenshaw, a co-development project with Metro and the county, which will be 20% affordable,” says Watt. “We are excited for that. Overall, we are focused on trying to keep affordability in our region.

This year, Watt doesn’t have any hard goals, but she is looking to stay busy. “We are going to develop and purchase some core product. We don’t have any specific goals, but I am hoping to make an imprint,” she says.

While he father, Scott Watt, has stepped down as CEO, he will remain chairman of the company and will work closely with his daughter. “He is going to continue to be my partner and my mentor,” says Watt. “I have so much to learn still and he is still part of my team. He is still going to be our chairman and he is going to run our investment committee, but I will be overseeing all day-to-day activities and the strategic planning.”