As Chief Executive Officer, Michael K. Hayde is responsible for the operations and organization of Western National Group, one of the nation's largest privately held apartment owner/developer companies. Having joined the firm in 1971, he became president of Western National Properties, the development arm of WNG in 1981. He became CEO of the Group in 1994 and since that time has led the Western National Group, which now owns, develops, manages and constructs apartment communities throughout Southern California and the West. Mr. Hayde has been involved in the development and construction of over 30,000 multifamily units since joining WNG. Mr. Hayde is former chair of the California Housing Council, member of the Urban Land Institute, and member of the Board of Directors for the National Multifamily Housing Council. Mr. Hayde and former Orange County Sheriff, Brad Gates, have been honored locally and nationally for their efforts in founding and supporting the "Drug Use Is Life Abuse" program. He is also involved in a number of local charities including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Sisters of the Sacred Heart and the Orange County Sheriff's Advisory Council, the Medical Center Hospital at the University of California, Irvine and is a member of the Million Dollar Round Table of the Tocqueville Society of Orange County United Way.