Pat Smith WestPac CEO
CEO of WestPac, WestPac Development, and WestPac Communities
Pat Smith, CEO of California-based real estate developer WestPac, grew up on the west coast and attended California Polytechnic for college in 1972. In 1976, he graduated with a B.S. in Architecture.
Immediately, Smith began applying his education and passion to the world of construction. However, he quickly found that while he had a knack and passion for design, he was also interested in the enterprise that surrounded real estate building. He wanted to dive into not only the design, but the creative strategies that come with investing in, funding, planning, and developing strategic projects in real estate.
This led Smith to found Smith and Company, a real estate investment and development company that included the existing Avila Beach Realty. This began a period of intense growth that resulted in over 5,000 apartment units and much more development across a wide range of categories.
It was during the process of one of these investments that Smith came into contact with Alex Pananides, who had been investing for some time under the name WestPac. Smith and Pananides connected over the project they jointly invested in, and this began a long business partnership that ultimately led to Smith being named theCEO of WestPac in 1998, a position he still holds to this day.
Since then, WestPac operations have grown to include Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Michigan, and even Australia, accounting for hundreds of thousands of square feet of residential, multi-use, medical, office, and retail space.
When it comes to his development strategy, Smith believes in creating fun, vibrant, and functional properties that enliven the surrounding areas and provide a central hub for communities.
Smith currently resides in Santa Barbara with his wife, Jennifer, where he enjoys flying planes, taking in the west coast weather, and thinking creatively about the future of WestPac. Smith has stated that he hopes to continue developing high-quality student housing complexes in the near future while also managing the ongoing goals of WestPac overall.
For more information about Pat Smith and WestPac, you can visit WestPacCommunities.com, where you’ll learn about all of the most recent developments at WestPac.