An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Our investment strategy dictates investment in highly diverse neighborhoods and improves affordable housing options for those who live there, and new opportunities for those that want to relocate there and those that want to operate businesses there.
As a part of our series about “How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim Farris, the CEO of Mosser Capital, a premier investment management company focused on workforce housing in California.
Leveraging nearly two decades of experience in real estate investment, finance, and property operations, Jim leads all facets of the workforce housing investment management platform. He is an IREI Springboard Leader Alumni, an iREOC Board of Governors member, and a Policy Advisory board member for the UC Berkeley Fisher Center for Real Estate. Jim has developed Mosser Capital’s focus on diversity, equity and inclusion with accomplishing several initiatives in this regard during 2021 and is excited about what is ahead on these important topics for 2022.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive into the main part of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit more. Can you share a bit of your “backstory” with us?
I grew up in the bay area being the oldest son of two teachers struggling to afford living in a good public school district which developed my passion regarding the need for workforce and affordable housing in California. My dad eventually got into real estate to make ends meet and allow us to stay in the San Francisco Bay Area. I ended up staying local and graduating from Santa Clara University with a degree in economics, and quickly followed in my father’s footsteps into the real estate industry. After 10 years on the debt and finance side of real estate, I made a pivot to go back to school and pursue my passion for real estate investing. Upon graduating I developed the business plan for Mosser Capital and partnered with Neveo Mosser of Mosser Companies to start Mosser Capital, which we are continuing to scale today!
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
I started a mortgage company with my cousin and brother, and it was initially successful, but also had some hilarious situations that resulted from mismatches of skills, talent and job function. One of my favorite stories is when we made someone the head of outside sales that had never done sales before! There were many funny takeaways as a result of that mismatch which we have enjoyed reminiscing about over the years. I learned so much.
From the perspective of growth as a manager, I took away the lesson of leveraging people’s natural strengths and inclinations rather than try and make them into something they aren’t or don’t necessarily want to be just to fill a company need. This is a basic management skill, but still is very helpful today as I continue to build the right team and for each member to be successful at Mosser Capital.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you tell us a story about how that was relevant in your own life?
“Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.” George Dei
The sense of community and improving what exists for the benefit of all is at the core of my value system. Mosser has been creating quality workforce housing opportunities for working people in the Bay area since the 1950s. Being inclusive with the hiring and development of employees, maintaining an open policy with residents, and investing both time and money into the communities we work in are all core values at both Mosser and Mosser Capital. We continue to build the Mosser platform to extend beyond representation and instead be a force for equitable and inclusive communities. Our commitment and the strategies that extend from them drive toward diversity, equity, and inclusion — and positive social outcomes — while generating strong financial returns for our investors. We believe these actions serve society as a whole today and will continue to be even more important in the future as the issue of affordable housing continues to pervade our communities.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?
Without hesitation, I am grateful to Neveo Mosser, the president and CEO of Mosser Companies and chairman of Mosser Capital. He began his career in the family business as a janitor and learned every facet of the company from firsthand roles in every department. His hands-on expertise has driven Mosser’s continual growth — and his commitment to his family business has inspired me as a leader.
Throughout his career, Neveo has put forth great effort towards bettering each of the communities Mosser has done business in and this has continued to be a great example for me. I respect the strong social values and deep commitment to community that Mosser has had since the mid 1950’s. This work has inspired me to move forward the initiatives of Mosser Capital with regard to awareness and goals around creating positive equity, diversity and inclusion experiences that extend from our employees and the residents we touch as well as the communities we invest in. Mosser’s history of successfully applying the principles of DEI and Mosser Capital expansion of these principles has reinforced this deep social commitment which continues to propel our strong business results. I have learned a great deal partnering with him in our work in developing the investment management platform for Mosser as well as the communities that we serve.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Mosser Capital has had the ability to partner with one of the longest standing and most reputable operating companies in the work force housing space in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mosser Companies.
Mosser Capital has effectively leveraged the unique skills and history of Mosser into a world class investment and operating platform focused on improving the quality of workforce housing in California. Mosser is also a leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and unlike the majority of other real estate owner operators, Mosser is a 100-percent African American and woman-owned family business with more than 85 percent of its employees self-identifying as a minority. Mosser has a profound commitment to diversity that is at the core of company culture.
With deep community roots, the company prioritizes its involvement in highly diverse neighborhoods where it can improve affordable housing options for those who live there and offer new opportunities for those that want to relocate and/or operate a business there. The company delivers measurable community and social impact through housing improvements, revitalization of neighborhoods, working with local organizations that push towards bettering the community and supporting local business growth in these neighborhoods that otherwise are under-improved and neglected by institutional capital.
Furthermore, COVID has created a new reality and recent impact of technology on real estate operators and investors, where top tier investors and operators view the utilization of the best technology solutions as a competitive advantage — they are a must have versus a nice to have. In order to attract available capital and stay ahead of competitors in a business where every investment dollar counts — technology is the clear path towards continuing the future success of the Mosser platform. Technology helps us make smarter decisions based on the aggregation of disparate data metrics within our investment and operating platform. Technology also enables us to work more efficiently and productively, automating key workflows and tasks within and between various parts of our organization.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that might help people?
We are influencing improvements in policy. The way we see it, to increase the quantity and access to affordable housing, policy must be designed to support incentives that make it economically feasible for owners to fix older, urban-centered properties where there are more minority occupants and make them more environmentally friendly and inclusive. In addition, there needs to be more incentives for owner operators to preserve naturally occurring affordable housing in our country’s urban areas. Finally, there needs to be a massive simplification in the process of qualifying for economic incentives for converting existing market rate or rent regulated housing to true deed restricted affordable. The various incentives utilized by government agencies need to be more accessible via this simplification process in order for this to scale throughout the market.
We are investing in urban renewal. Operators and investors must be better incentivized to join Mosser Capital in investing their capital in areas of urban blight and renewal and bring their skill sets and attention to the areas that need it the most. Incentivizing investment to align with policy in terms of urban blight is important– one method is opportunity zones — but there must be others. We are helping to influence the movement toward improved incentivization.
We are shaping the benchmarks. We are encouraging fund managers to follow our lead and participate in benchmark surveys to help drive change. We are encouraging others in the industry to help ensure appropriate benchmarks are established, around DEI, for example, as it has been historically hard to measure. We are working with stakeholders focused on developing policy around affordable housing in California and we look forward to continuing these efforts in 2022.
We continue to acquire new buildings that support social improvement: Mosser Capital recently acquired the historical Wilshire Royale apartments with 193-units and includes 8,933 square feet of ground floor retail space. This property is the newest addition in Southern California. In typical Mosser fashion, the building is in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Koreatown which fosters diversity, and we will be working towards making renovations while keeping its historic roots and façade, to bring up the neighborhood’s quality of life and inventory of safe, quality, affordable housing.
We will continue to acquire property with this social strategy at the basis of our decision making.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
Mosser has used its unique position in the market to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the real estate industry. My partner Neveo and I were busy during COVID engaging in events, conferences, and webinars that were focused on DEI and the mounting issues of affordable housing that were exacerbated during the pandemic.
Mosser is historically known for driving improvements in the neighborhoods where the company does business and contributing to the economic vitality of the community. As mentioned earlier, Mosser’s core values are deeply tied to these communities. With that, we have developed communities throughout gateway cities in California that are inclusive of race, ethnicity, national origin, (dis)ability status, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, and immigration status. From our residents to our workforce to our leadership, we are committed to social and economic justice for all.
Mosser does this by strategically investing in and improving neighborhoods that embrace positive improvements with the goal of creating a win-win proposition for both investors and the community. We are good community stewards, we lead by example, and we partner with the community to ensure our neighborhoods are better than when we found them.
There is a saying, “Think globally, act locally.” We make the world a better place by this model. We lead by example by focusing on the local communities we invest and operate in, with the right values and honorable actions. We consider the social ramifications of our business and investments on a larger social impact level and then act locally in our own communities. We recognize that our actions influence the greater good.
With our ties to the community, Mosser makes striving efforts to improve not only their buildings, but their entire neighborhood. In the 1970s, Mosser invested in a full block in the Western Addition in San Francisco with over 117 apartments. At that time, the neighborhood was run-down, and many questioned the move. But Charles Mosser saw great potential to improve the community for the benefit of the residents and the neighborhood. And that is exactly what he did. Over time, Mosser transformed and re-named the block into “Frederick Douglas Plaza,” providing safe, clean, and affordable housing options for both existing residents and future residents — including the Mosser family, which has lived in the property for three generations. Today the Western Addition is among the top 10 neighborhoods to live in San Francisco, noted for its dense urban feel and thriving, diverse community.
Ok. Thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. This may be obvious to you, but it is not intuitive to many people. Can you articulate to our readers five ways that increased diversity can help a company’s bottom line.
Diversity breeds success and allows us to stand out and unlock our full potential for both our communities and investors.
We build diversity into our workforce, and we nurture our leadership from within. This allows us to foster a more productive, creative, and innovative company which mirrors the diversity of the residents and communities we serve. Our focus on fostering talent has led to a high employee retention rate.
Our investment strategy dictates investment in highly diverse neighborhoods and improves affordable housing options for those who live there, and new opportunities for those that want to relocate there and those that want to operate businesses there.
Retail operations at Mosser not only create urban renewal but maintain the diversity of the neighborhood. We see the bigger picture by providing financial support to small businesses that we know can complement a property and improve the overall tangible calculable value of the neighborhood.
A recent McKinsey study showed that companies that are more gender diverse are 21% more likely to outperform others; while those that are ethnically diverse are 33% more likely to outperform others. Unlike other real estate owner operators, Mosser is a 100-percent African American and woman-owned family business with more than 85 percent of its employees self-identifying as a minority.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees to thrive?
As other real estate companies begin to commit to DEI in their organization, their success will depend on how deeply they can embed DEI values in their value system. Similar to the need for integration of technology into real estate operating and investment platforms, applying DEI to their business will be a necessity in order to attract institutional capital in the near future. Like Mosser has done, leaders must drive DEI from the top down and support the creation of equitable opportunities for all employees, customers, and suppliers and guide the next generation toward proactively living and breathing these values.
What advice would you give to other business leaders about how to manage a large team?
My best advice I can provide to other business leaders is to build strong relationships and play to your teams’ strengths. Our relationships are key to managing a successful business. I also believe strongly that we must build diversity into our workforce and nurture new leaders from within. This allows us to foster a more productive, creative, and innovative company which mirrors the diversity of those we serve. Our focus on fostering talent has led to a high employee retention rate.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this 🙂
Stephen Curry — He is an amazing personal achiever, teammate, family man, and man of the community. I would love to hear more about how he is able to be everything to everyone.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
– mossercapital.com
– https://www.linkedin.com/company/mosser-capital-llc/
– https://www.linkedin.com/in/jifarris/
Thank you for these excellent insights. We wish you continued success in your great work.
Jim Farris Of Mosser Capital On How Diversity Can Increase a Company’s Bottom Line was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
