Executive Leadership
Corporate Team
James Mead CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
James Mead serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Thomas James Homes. Prior to becoming CEO, Mr. Mead was President from June 2022 to June 2023, and Chief Financial Officer from March 2021 to June 2023.
Mr. Mead came to the company with 25 years of experience as Chief Financial Officer of publicly listed real estate companies in multiple sectors including apartments, retail, office, hotels, and industrial, in addition to for sale condominium and single family residential. Prior senior executive experience
includes Alexander & Baldwin, SL Green Realty, Strategic Hotels & Resorts and Irvine Apartment Communities (an affiliate of The Irvine Company). He serves on the board of advisors and fairness opinion committee for NYC based investment bank the CenterCap Group, and is an emeritus member of the board of advisors for Tulane University’s School of Science and Engineering.
Mr. Mead is a board leadership fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors, a member of Ascend Pinnacle Pan-Asian association of corporate directors and was formerly an independent director and chairman of the audit committee for a public REIT.
Mr. Mead completed his Master of Business Administration at the University of Virginia’s Colgate Darden School of Business administration and received a B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University.
Steve Kalmbach PRESIDENT + CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Steve oversees all TJH homebuilding operations, including acquisition, development, and homebuilding across five divisions. He possesses more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry and brings expertise within homebuilding operations, land acquisitions, capital allocation, strategy, and people development.
Prior to joining TJH, he spent 20 years with PulteGroup where he served in multiple senior management roles, including Northern California Division president and area president for West Coast operations. During his tenure as Pulte’s Northern California Division president, he oversaw the construction and sale of more than 10,000 homes. He also launched Pulte’s infill urban housing group in Northern California. Prior to Pulte, Steve was vice president for Catellus Development (now Prologis) in San Francisco, focusing on building urban, mixed-income and mixed-use housing throughout Northern California.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, and serves on the board of directors for the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) and HomeAid Northern California. Steve was inducted into the California Homebuilding Foundation Hall of Fame in 2021.
Brian Reid CHIEF SALES + Marketing OFFICER
Brian serves as chief sales officer and oversees sales strategy, company-wide marketing, and growth initiatives. He brings more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in high-growth environments as an entrepreneur and as a public company executive. His expertise also includes developing strategic partnerships to increase brand awareness and customer conversion.
Before joining TJH, Brian was executive vice president, head of enterprise sales and partnerships at private aviation company Wheels Up, where he led the creation of the Wheels Up Sales Academy and established innovative new partnerships across real estate, financial services, hospitality, and retail. Prior to Wheels Up, he served as the founder and chief executive officer for several companies focused on consumer engagement, brand activation, and advertising. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Connecticut, where he was the 1994 football team captain, Brian began his career in sales leadership roles in the mortgage insurance and wholesale lender industry.
Dan Ginsberg CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
Dan is responsible for all things people-related, including employee experience, total rewards, payroll, talent acquisition, organizational development, HR systems, compliance, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Dan brings more than 30 years of related HR experience in retail, operations, hospitality, and consulting. Prior to joining the TJH team, he served as senior vice president of human resources at Macy’s for 12 years, and most recently, as a consultant, helping organizations build their people, processes, and practices. He was also an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University for 20 years, where he taught courses for the industrial/organizational and organizational behavior psychology programs in the US and China.
Dan is a senior certified professional (SHRM-SCP) with the Society for Human Resource Management and a member of the board of directors for the Slippery Rock University Foundation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a minor in business administration from Slippery Rock University, and a Master’s degree in organizational behavior from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Pete Girgis CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Pete Girgis brings more than 20 years of experience in leading and developing technology for many organizations. Serving in both public and private global companies across diverse industries, Pete has led Information Technology teams dedicated to assisting companies in achieving their strategies, growing their business and mitigating risks. He has worked with teams to optimize processes, enable technologies and ensure all operate in a secure & compliant environment.
Pete joined Thomas James Homes after his tenure at CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ: CAMP), a global leader in Internet Of Things solutions. During his time at CalAmp, Pete worked with the team to consolidate six entities onto a global Oracle cloud ERP, consolidate instances of Salesforce, and migrate to a common infrastructure and network globally. Prior to CalAmp, Pete served as the CIO for Dunn-Edwards Corporation, and held various IT leadership roles across many business verticals prior to that role.
Pete holds a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University, and honorably served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
Franco Tenerelli CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER
Franco Tenerelli serves as the Chief Legal Officer of Thomas James Homes and brings extensive experience in the homebuilding industry. Before joining TJH, Franco served as the Chief Legal Officer for Landsea Homes, where he played a pivotal role in its transformation into Builder Magazine’s 2022 Builder of the Year. During that time, he led multiple homebuilder mergers, managed over $1 billion in capital market transactions, and implemented corporate governance guidelines for going public. Franco also previously served as regional counsel for Toll Brothers, overseeing legal affairs in the western region, and has provided counsel to various public and private companies during his time at international law firm Holland & Knight LLP.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA, a JD from Loyola Law School, and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is an active industry speaker and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the California Building Industry Association. In recognition of his exceptional work, Franco was named the 2022 “General Counsel of the Year” by the Orange County Business Journal.
Division Leaders
Daniel Carroll
PRESIDENT
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DIVISION
Dan leads the acquisitions and disposition teams, sales and marketing team, real estate development, and strategic direction for the region. With over 28 years in the real estate industry, Dan has a wealth of experience in land acquisition, entitlement and development, sales and marketing, and capital management.
Prior to TJH, he spent 23 years with PulteGroup in various roles, most notably as division president. At Pulte, he was instrumental in the acquisition and development of over 15,000 homes. Dan also held various positions at Citation Homes Central, and throughout his career, he’s worked across all real estate business disciplines—from land acquisition to homebuilding to sales and marketing.
Dan earned a Bachelor of Science from Santa Clara University, followed by a California real estate broker’s license. When he’s not working, Dan enjoys spending time with his family—especially when rooting for his beloved Dodgers baseball team.
Adam Kates
PRESIDENT
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DIVISION
Adam leads the acquisitions and disposition teams, real estate development, and strategic direction for Thomas James Homes’ Northern California division. He is also responsible for product development, purchasing, and construction operations, as well as the profitability of the business.
A seasoned Bay Area real estate professional, Adam previously held executive roles with Classic Communities and Meritage Homes before joining Thomas James Homes as executive vice president of asset management for Northern California. Promoted to division president in December 2023, he is applying his demonstrated skill in land development, real estate development, dispositions, entitlements, and real estate economics to lead a best-in-class homebuilding operation of 70+ professionals.
A graduate of Duke University School of Law, Adam began his career as an associate at the law firm Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich and later became director of real estate and legal affairs at Parachute, Inc. He is a licensed attorney with the State Bar of California and credentialed real estate broker.
Jim Riela
PRESIDENT
PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Jim was born and raised in the New York Metropolitan Area and New England. He studied economics at Hamilton College, and achieved Master Degrees from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, and University of Washington’s College of Built Environments.
Jim has spent most of his career working for large national homebuilders including Toll Brothers, Shea Homes, Richmond American Homes, and DR Horton. He has worked in nearly every aspect of home building, including entitlements, purchasing, construction management, sales, and warranty, holding executive positions in acquisitions, land development, and operations.
