Mr. Waddell is president of East Bay Investment Management Company. East Bay provides real estate investments for clients and executive management, investment and asset management, acquisition and disposition, property turnaround and workout, and refinancings and loan extensions.

Mike has overseen the management of numerous property portfolios across the United States and negotiated and successfully completed over $3B in acquisition, lease and disposition transactions. He has orchestrated successful turnarounds for numerous challenged properties.

His experience includes work with national, institutional and private real estate companies, where he has served in key leadership roles focused on both traditional and tax-advantaged real estate investments. Property experience includes multifamily, build-for-rent, retail, healthcare, office, and industrial asset classes.

Mike is known for his success in building companies and cultures; leading, coaching and mentoring others; building high-performance teams; problem solving and developing creative solutions; helping investors achieve their goals; transaction negotiations and closings; and driving growth and profitability. He fosters a positive and collaborative environment for those around him centered around strong core values, successful investments, and an investor-centric focus.

He formerly served as president of Capital Square Realty Advisors where he successfully helped grow a small 1031 exchange sponsor into the third largest national sponsor within seven years. His role included i) overseeing the company’s asset management group and its 19.3M square foot property portfolio valued in excess of $6B, ii) leading the full cycle sale of mature properties, iii) vetting property acquisitions as an investment committee member and iv) helping drive the company’s future growth. He also played an integral role in the launch of Capital Square’s development business and Capital Square Living, the company’s new multifamily property management platform. 

Previous to his work at Capital Square, Mike was chief operating officer of Daymark Realty Advisors (successor to Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors and Triple Net Properties, LLC). In this position, he oversaw asset management and other operational areas for the company, including its 20M square foot commercial property portfolio valued in excess of $3B.

Prior roles include serving as president of CCA Properties, LLC, where he led the company in creating value through sound investment management, successful property transactions, and maximizing profitability; and executive director, head of U.S. East Coast, Latin America and Canada corporate real estate for The Walt Disney Company. In this role, Mike oversaw and elevated the Orlando-based group’s performance, served as interim global real estate head while leading the department’s restructure and move from under Walt Disney Imagineering to an alignment under The Walt Disney Company’s CFO. He also outsourced and co-led the development of Walt Disney Attractions headquarters in Celebration, FL and completed numerous lease transactions and consolidations. 

Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. He was selected by GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum as a 2022 Best Boss in commercial real estate and authored Perform at Your Best: By Getting Your Head in the Game, a book about becoming the ultimate team player. Mike and his wife have five grown children. They are outdoor enthusiasts with favorite activities including running, tennis, paddle boarding, kayaking, boating, fishing, biking, college football, and travel. They support various charitable causes.

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.  You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."

                 --Babe Ruth

Great teams and teamwork are what make the difference when it comes to performance.  There is tremendous power in the collective and synergistic intellect, talents, skills, and experience that our teams bring to bear for each property.  We carefully build the right team for each assignment based on the property's specific circumstances and needs using a combination of internal and external team members supported by the right resources.

We're passionate about what we do, enjoy working together and focused on successful outcomes!