When you first meet Terri Riker,
you probably wouldn’t guess that she was raised on a farm, bucked hay for
a summer job and after graduation high school (in Oregon), or that she is
proficient in fly fishing, arc welding and tractor driving. These turned
out to be a few of the many survival skills in building a foundation for
her many careers. With a sharp wit and a drive to succeed, she wasn’t even
phased by being voted “class clown” rather than the coveted “most likely
to succeed” award at graduation.
By the time Terri was 18, she had lived
in five states and moved, with her family, over ten times. Many of the
moves were necessitated by her father’s work in the missile business.
Thriving on change, she and her sister
(now a successful lobbyist in Sacramento) embraced every new adventure as
both a learning experience and a chance to explore a new lifestyle. Terri
admitted, “When you are uprooted frequently as a child, you learn to be
resilient, fiercely independent, and embrace any opportunities that
present themselves.”
These life survival skills morphed into
a skill set that would prove to be useful many years later when she began
managing distressed properties and handling receivership cases. She
regularly uses these skills, demonstrating that she can change course on a
minute’s notice, rapidly assess new situations, read the environment, and
determine friend from foe.
After graduating from the University of
Utah, Terri worked in banking for several years and ended up working for
an investment advisory firm managing pension fund assets. Her most
memorable client was the Southern Nevada Culinary Bartenders Pension Plan
and Teamsters. “This was ‘trial by fire’ in that the union trustees were
particularly concerned about tracking cash and all activities associated
with their real estate investments. There was no question this is where I
began my habit of detailed documentation in a fiduciary role.” Terri
recalls the first business dinner with a few of the trustees in Las Vegas,
held at a restaurant where one of the Culinary Union bosses was roughed up
in the early 80’s. “They felt this was an ideal setting to impress on me
the importance of full disclosure, trust and transparency in managing
their assets.”
After being initiated into the fiduciary
business, Terri relocated to Sacramento in 1987 to work for CalPERS as an
investment officer. While working through the extensive interviewing
process at CalPERS, she accepted a temporary assignment with Bob
Greeley, now a trustee and receiver. Ironically, she would call upon
Bob 20 years later for guidance in the receivership business. (In
hindsight, Bob continually apologizes for the low wages offered during
that stint!)
Over the next 17 years, Terri continued
along a career path of portfolio management of nationwide institutional
properties for pension funds, REIT’s and developers. In 2004, she was
ready to step outside the corporate arena and into the world of
entrepreneurialism. She invested and managed a variety of
start-ups, was
awarded a patent for Show-Tags® in 2011 (Home Showing Lockbox Tag System)
and continued with a couple of new ventures.
As the real estate market tanked in
2007, so did one of the companies for which she served as a board member
and was a lead investor. She was referred to Richard Ormond and
Mike Wachtell at Buchalter Nemer to represent the Board of Directors
and provide counsel throughout a restructure process. They, in turned,
introduced her to Howard Grobstein to handle the forensic
accounting and reconstruction of the books.
Through these associations and as a
result of the encouragement of Mike and Richard to explore the
receivership business, Terri joined CRF and reconnected with Gordy
Dunfee, a receiver in La Jolla. With the early mentorship of all these
well respected colleagues, Terri has remained active with rents and
profits cases for seven years. She has been focused on securitized assets
and complex cases with lenders special servicers and is currently working
on a Los Angeles County case comprised of a 215,000 SF Office Tower and
225,000 SF Retail Center in West Covina. In addition, she was recently
appointed as the receiver over three K-Marts in Kern and Fresno Counties.
Commenting on the necessity to be ready
on a day’s notice to takeover an asset, Terri said “I have my feet planted
firmly in the sky waiting for the next ex-parte motion to flip my
[otherwise stable] life upside down.” She adds, “I love this business and
am thankful for the camaraderie of the CRF members and to Jennifer Tullius,
Alan Mirman and Richard Ormond for great legal representation on many of
these complex cases.”
Recently relocating back to the
Sacramento area, Terri manages a portfolio of properties throughout the
West and continues to handle receivership cases in California. She has
come full circle and is enjoying being close to family and spending free
time golfing, swimming and travelling.
She has served on two boards, CREW-OC
(Commercial Real Estate Women–Orange County) and CRF – LA/OC for the past
several years, including serving as President in 2015 for CREW–OC. Terri
looks forward to getting involved with CREW and CRF in Northern Cal and
spending time with non-profit organizations in her community.
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