JAMES FRANKLIN | CEO (Co-Owner)

James Franklin has worked for decades in the real estate and property restoration industry. He owns and manages over half a million square feet of commercial real estate.

His construction experience includes high-rise office, large-scale commercial, multi-family structures, condominiums, commercial/industrial tilt-ups, and high-end residential projects. He has worked with both private and public sector clients on their restoration, Cap-x, tenant improvement, and new construction projects. In his past business efforts, Mr. Franklin led over 300 employees in 14 locations to provide specialized services for properties damaged due to fire, water, earthquake, and other catastrophes.

As a 40-year veteran in the real estate and restoration industry, Mr. Franklin is a source of leadership, knowledge, and experience. With a hands-on approach and a team of outstanding professionals, Mr. Franklin leads by example, instilling his colleagues with passion, integrity, dedication to quality, and the desire for customer satisfaction.

Prior to establishing Watercress Holdings LLC., an asset management company, Mr. Franklin was the CEO of Harbro Restoration Companies which merged with BluSky Restoration in early 2020.

Beyond Mr. Franklin’s influential role in the real estate and restoration industries, he is deeply involved in his community. He is currently serving or has served, on several “for-profit” Boards including El Dorado Banishers, CIBA Insurance Services, Morris Contractors, and Caprock Partners. Current and past nonprofit/para-church ministry boards on which he has served include The Free Wheelchair Mission, The Legacy Center of New York, The National Christian Foundation of California, Mariners Church, and Trochia Ministries.

INÉS FRANKLIN | COO (Co-Owner)

Inés Franklin is an entrepreneur with experience in starting and managing businesses toward growth and stability. She started her construction management career working as a paralegal at Brown & Brown, a construction litigation law firm. She joined Harbro Restoration Companies in 1990 as the business manager and then transitioned to managing new ventures for the corporation as well as directing all marketing efforts. For the past twenty years, Inés and her husband, James Franklin have worked together in their commercial real estate business, now collectively managed under Watercress Holdings LLC.

Inés is also the founder and President of Trochia Ministries, a Christian discipleship ministry providing resources designed to equip and encourage believers to servant-lead in their spheres of influence. She serves as a teaching pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, California, where she preaches and writes/teaches discipleship courses. Inés is the author of Uncharted: Navigating Your Unique Journey of Faith. She completed a Master of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary. She serves on non-profit boards such as Priority Living, Forum of Christian Business Leaders, and THINQ. Jim and Inés have a blended family of five children and nine grandchildren (affectionally called the “Franklin Smoothie”), and live in Irvine, California. 

BRYAN LIPINSKI | CFO

With over 30 years of experience, Bryan brings a diversified skillset and expansive financial knowledge to Watercress Holdings, LLC including tax and accounting expertise in commercial real estate. 

Bryan built and managed his own tax and accounting firm for 10 years.  Prior to that, he held Controller positions for two commercial real estate companies – Burke Real Estate Group and Bixby Land Company.  Bryan’s foundational experience results from tax positions held across multiple public accounting firms including Arthur Andersen, Ernst & Young and Haskell & White. 

Bryan graduated from Cal State Fullerton, is a Certified Public Accountant (now inactive) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  Bryan lives in Dallas Texas and in his free time he enjoys spending time with his 3 kids, watching football and hockey, playing drums, and training Krav Maga. 

ANDY LUKEI | ASSET MANAGER

Andy entered the CRE business in the Fall of 2001 with SVN Equities, a division of Sperry Van Ness. For 6 years he oversaw acquisitions & dispositions totaling over $350 million in transactional volume. The syndication arm of SVN specialized in multitenant industrial assets and averaged a 36% IRR to both private and institutional investors during Andy’s tenure. 

In 2007, as one of three founding partners of RLA Real Estate, Andy spearheaded the acquisition of just under a million square feet of industrial properties in Reno, San Antonio, Denver, & Austin. With 22 years of CRE experience Andy’s various rolls have included:  acquisitions, dispositions, financial underwriting, asset management, environmental remediation, leasing and investor relations. Andy has most recently leveraged his diverse CRE background to assist in the repositioning & stabilization for several Private Family Trust Portfolio’s in Silicon Valley, Southern California, Salt Lake City, Reno & Las Vegas.

Outside of work, Andy spends time on his boat fishing offshore, surfing, and running the Regal Beagle, a private social club for dad’s in Newport Beach. Lukei also enjoys traveling with his two kids and volunteering through Mariners Church. 

LESLIE GREITL | ACCOUNT MANAGER

Leslie started her journey in Property Accounting in Spring of 2015. Originally brought in temporarily as year end support for one of Jim’s investment partners, she quickly learned the ins and outs of the accounting process and never looked back. She is now responsible for the management of a complex multi property accounting system and supports the Asset Manager with tenant relationships. He role incudes month-end reconciliation, CAM charges, all billing, and accounts payable. Before entering the accounting field, Leslie attended Cal Poly Humboldt, and worked on ocean research vessels. She is also an eight year veteran of Girl Scout Summer Camp and Outdoor Program, including lifeguarding, sailing instruction, and rock climbing.

Leslie resides in Long Beach with her husband Matt and two cats, Chip and Link. They enjoy visiting Aquariums and Zoos, and attending concerts and music festivals.