John R. Williams is President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Investment Officer of Avanath Capital Management (“Avanath”), an institutional fund manager that specializes in affordable and workforce housing investments throughout major U.S. cities.

In his role, Mr. Williams spearheads the firm’s portfolio acquisitions, capital formation, investor relations and fund management. Since joining Avanath, Mr. Williams has directed the closing of five institutional investment funds totaling over $2.0 billion of capital, comprised of equity commitments from some of the most prestigious and astute investors, including US pension funds, European pension funds, US university endowments, UK endowments, Asian Institutional investors, investment banks, foundations, banks, life insurance companies, and family offices.

Since its inception, Avanath has acquired and renovated over 110 affordable housing communities (15,044 units) and expanded its national portfolio into fourteen states. The firm currently manages over $4.0 billion in assets, employs over 480 people. The firm focuses on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns, with an emphasis on fulfilling its investor’s ESG objectives.

Mr. Williams graduated from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design Executive Program and earned his B.S. in finance from Duquesne University.

He is active in the real estate industry, serving as a Governor of the Urban Land Institute (ULI); Past Chairperson of the ULI Silver Multi-Family Council; a member of the Executive Committee of the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC); and an Advisory Board Member of the Duquesne University Business School.

Mr. Williams is also a frequent speaker at national real estate conferences sponsored by ULI, Pension Real Estate Association (“PREA”), Harvard Business School, UCLA, USC and the University of California, Berkeley, among others.