AvalonBay East Coast acquisition head Pat Gniadek loves a good deal. He's completed over 40 multifamily acquisitions during his 17-year career, only a few of which have been under $20M. As he puts it, "there's just something exciting about working on large transactions." The Chicago-area native and Indiana U grad (and CPA) got his start working in real estate accounting for Chicago development giant JMB but actually obtained his real estate salesperson license in high school. After doing the accounting thing for five years, he made the transition into transactions and asset management while working at another Windy City firm, Capital Associates, and knew he had found his niche.

Pat likes that the acquisitions game is fluid and project oriented, unlike the rigidness of accounting. "You get to drive by an asset and say, 'I bought that deal,' which is very tangible and personal," he says. In 2007, AvalonBay came calling to offer Pat the chance to lead both acquisition and disposition efforts for East Coast markets. He says that while the REIT typically only buys a few properties per year, he's found his sweet spot there, aiming to maximize return and serve the company's broader investment objectives while limiting downside.

As for AvalonBay's recent purchase of Archstone (with partner Equity Residential), Pat says it won't fundamentally change the firm's appetite for buying existing assets. It will still focus onpenetrating the best submarkets through acquisitions, while also growing its newly developed brands. Outside of the office, the husband of Jaimee and father of three boys is an active Little League baseball and youth basketball coach and loves to travel. The die-hard Indiana basketball and Cubs fan is also a self-described wine and cooking enthusiast, having been to Napa several times andamassing a "pretty decent wine collection along the way.