California People and Company News, Week of Feb. 20, 2026

ExchangeRight, a provider of diversified real estate REIT and DST investments, has promoted Dave Van Steenis to president. Van Steenis has over 18 years of experience in the financial services and commercial real estate industries, including more than 10 years with ExchangeRight, where he served most recently as CFO and CIO.

Drawbridge Realty announced that Mike Embree has been promoted to chief portfolio officer, a position in which he will continue to oversee Drawbridge’s more than seven-million-square-foot, $2-billion portfolio. A 40-year veteran of the industry, Embree has been with Drawbridge for 24 years and has played an instrumental role in the growth and success of the firm. In addition to Embree’s appointment, Drawbridge also announced that Nicole Kaneshiro has been promoted to SVP and Mike Hartford has been promoted to VP.

Bolour Associates Inc., a privately owned real estate investment, development and finance company, has added Jason Huang as associate director, debt originations. In his role, Huang will be responsible for sourcing, evaluating and advancing new loan opportunities across BOLOUR’s lending platform, while serving as the primary point of coordination between brokers, borrowers and internal teams.

The Southern California chapter of NAIOP, the leading organization for developers, owners and investors of office, industrial, retail and mixed-use real estate, will induct Brett Dedeaux, chief executive and managing member of Dedeaux Properties, into its Hall of Fame during the chapter’s 2026 Awards Gala. Under Dedeaux’s leadership, Dedeaux Properties has evolved to become the largest owner/operator of modern IOS and logistics properties in Southern California. A graduate of USC, Dedeaux is an active industry and community leader.

Construction manager Suffolk has hired Amy Engel as Director, West Coast Education, based in Suffolk’s San Diego office. Engel has more than 40 years of experience in construction project management and has worked extensively within multiple West Coast university systems to deliver large-scale capital projects.

SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. has completed an amended and restated senior unsecured credit facility in the initial amount of $500 million with a syndicate of banks led by KeyBank National Association, Bank of Montreal, JPMorgan Chase Bank, M&T Bank, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Truist Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. The financing will provide SmartStop with additional flexibility to support its continued growth across the U.S. and Canada.