Watt Communities

After joining Watt in 1976 as Senior Vice President of Forward Planning, Scott Watt is now the company’s Chairman. 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.

In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Brian Burdzinski analyzes deals from a financial perspective and provides strategic financial guidance to the shareholders.  He also provides appropriate and efficient financial reporting to the business units within Watt Companies.

Brian has more than 20 years experience in both the public and private sectors, including top management positions with such well-respected real estate developers and homebuilders as John Laing Homes, Western Pacific Housing, Dale Poe Real Estate Group, and KB Homes. Brian earned his certified public accountant designation while working at KPMG Los Angeles.

Howard originally joined Watt in 1987.  He currently is President of Watt Residential LLC with management and oversight responsibility for all of Watt’s residential activities.  This includes For-sale and Multi-family operations in Southern and Northern California, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. His career in the homebuilding industry has spanned over 30 years and has managed the development of more than 70 communities.

Howard received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge in 1982.  He earned his Certified Public Accounting certification 1984.  He has served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Los Angeles and Ventura Building Industry Association in a variety of positions, including President and 2010 Builder of the Year.

Bella M. Espiritu joined Watt in May 1984.  Since that time, she has worked for various Watt divisions covering areas of Northern to Southern California, and even neighboring states like Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona. Currently as a Division Controller, Bella is responsible for the direction, control and coordination of the accounting activities of the Watt Residential Division. She oversees and manages the accounting functions for the division’s entities and projects including Watt Communities LLC, Watt Communities of Arizona, Palisades Development and Watt Investments LLC. Bella also interacts with the accounting group forthe projects in Hawaii such as Ki’ilea Estates LLC and Wailea MF-9 Associates LLC.

Bella received a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines. She is a member of IMA, an Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals in Business.

Bella has been an integral member of the Watt organization for over 30 years.

Nam Joe brings over 13 years of experience in homebuilding, residential land acquisitions and development to Watt Communities. As Division President of Southern California, Nam oversees all operational functions for the region comprising Land Acquisition, Engineering, Development, Operations and Sales & Marketing. Nam’s extensive experience in land acquisition and development spans submarkets throughout both Southern and Northern California, and he has worked on projects across multiple residential asset classes including greenfield, urban infill, multi-family, mixed-use and master-planned communities. 

Nam has held a number of senior level positions in the homebuilding and land development industry with both publicly-traded and privately-held entities such as John Laing Homes, Pulte, Richmond American Homes, Van Daele Homes, Emaar and Province West. 

Nam received his BA degree from Tufts University and is also a graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) where he earned a JD degree with an emphasis in Business Law and a Master’s degree in Real Estate Development.

Kathleen Magner has been a vital part of the Watt Communities team since 2000. Her knowledge in the homebuilding industry stems from her experience in working with all disciplines within the Watt Communities organization. Kathleen reports directly to the President. She is responsible for the development of marketing strategies to meet the demands of the current market including company and community branding, advertising, media, promotional activities and events. Kathleen manages Watt sales teams, oversees sales goals, and builds relationships with each community through neighborhood and broker outreach.

Kathleen received a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge in 2003. She also holds a California Broker License and is an active member with the Building Industry Association, Board Member of the Greater Sales and Marketing Council, and California Association of REALTORS® Young Professionals Network.

Brett Trebil serves as Vice President of Operations for Watt Communities. He manages the construction operations from Watt Corporate in Santa Monica, California. Brett is responsible for overseeing operations for on-site/off-site construction development, purchasing, customer service, green building, quality control, value engineering, and safety compliance. He also provides operational support to other Watt Residential Divisions.  Brett worked within the construction industry his entire career, starting in the field with trades by framing homes while in high school. He had his official start with homebuilder, Pulte Homes, in the purchasing department as a Supply Chain Analyst in Irvine and moved to Los Angeles with Pulte as a Purchasing Agent.  Brett continued his career in Purchasing with Standard Pacific Homes.  More recently, he started his own company, Trebil Construction and helped build Cal Urban Construction. With Cal Urban Construction, he specialized in infill projects within the City of Los Angeles.

Brett graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management and a Master’s Degree in Finance from Pepperdine University.

Matt Gibson brings over 8 years of experience in residential acquisitions to Watt Communities. Matt has experience in urban, suburban, and exurban markets consisting of small lot ordinance, single family detached, and luxury product. In his role as Vice President of Land Acquisition, Matt works closely with private land owners, brokers, and municipalities to convert under-utilized properties into new home communities.

Prior to joining Watt Communities, Matt has held senior level positions in the homebuilding industry with KB Home and Richmond American Homes where he was responsible for acquiring projects for future development in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. Matt has closed 40 transactions comprised of over 2100 units with a $480MM total acquisition value.

Matt received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Efrem Joelson joined Watt in 2005.  He has over 14 years of real estate development and planning experience in both the public and private sectors. As a Senior Project Manager of the Southern California Division of Watt Communities, he is responsible for the due diligence, entitlement, and permitting processes for all projects. He collaborates closely with the President, Vice President, operation managers, marketing managers, and consultants. Since joining Watt, Efrem has managed numerous residential projects ranging in size from single family detached to townhomes, condominiums and podiums. He saw many projects through from acquisition to completion.

Before joining Watt, Efrem worked as a Planner for Sikand Engineering and as a Project Manager for KB Home. He also obtained public experience in the planning department and community development department for the City of Campbell, CA and City of Costa Mesa, CA, respectively.

A California native, Efrem graduated from the University of California at Irvine School of Social Ecology. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Southern California.