In January 2007, Michael J. Biggar and Tyler W. Higgins co-founded Orchard Partners in order to combine and leverage their own expertise and reputations under a common platform.  The formation of Orchard Partners represents the joining together of two of the Bay Area's most respected industry veterans, each of whom has more than 20 years of real estate experience.

Lisa Abad, Associate
Abad coordinates due diligence and various other aspects of the Company’s acquisition and development activities.  Abad has been active in commercial real estate since 1999 having worked previously for Cushman & Wakefield and Citigroup.  Abad earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a licensed real estate broker and member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).


Michael J. Biggar, Managing Partner
Biggar has been active in Silicon Valley real estate since 1981. Prior to co-founding Orchard Partners, Biggar co-founded Orchard Investors, LLC with David Brown in 1994 to continue the investment and development activities of the predecessor company, Orchard Properties. As Managing Partner of Orchard Investors, LLC, Biggar was responsible for acquisition, development, financing, and operation of over 1,400,000 square feet of R&D/office product and over 360 acres of land valued at over $450,000,000.
 
Prior to forming Orchard Investors, LLC, Biggar ran the Silicon Valley office of Bishop-Hawk, Inc. (a major regional commercial real estate services firm).  Biggar also served as an Industrial Broker and Industrial Group Head over the course of his nine years with the firm. Previously, he was Development Manager at Holvick deRegt Koering, supervising the development of the HdK's Silicon Valley R&D/Industrial projects.
 
Biggar received a BA in Political Science from Stanford University and his MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.  Biggar was the 1997 President of NAIOP-Silicon Valley Chapter, serves on the Policy Advisory Board of the UC Berkeley Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, and is a two-time recipient of the San Jose Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce/Association of South Bay Brokers award as Outstanding Industrial/R&D Real Estate Broker.  He is active in the leadership and coaching of youth sports.


David S. Fries, Partner
Fries has been a nationally known real estate player for almost two decades.  In addition to being a partner and investor in Orchard Partners, LLC, Fries is a Strategic Member of Greyfields Investors, a New York-based real estate private equity company, and, through Lake Harriet Advisors, provides senior counsel to a variety of businesses on a range of strategic issues.

Fries spent over seven years with AMB Property Corporation (NYSE: AMB) in San Francisco, Boston and Shanghai, most recently as Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Corporate Affairs and Chairman and CEO of AMB China, Ltd., before retiring in 2005.  During his tenure at AMB, Fries was a member of AMB's Management and Investment Committees and was responsible for overseeing AMB's human resource, information technology, legal, environmental, engineering and risk management departments, as well as its airport facilities group, venture capital investments and other strategic business initiatives and transactions.  In 2004, in addition to his other responsibilities, Fries opened AMB's Shanghai office and spearheaded AMB's market entry into China.  Prior to joining AMB, he was a partner with the international law firms of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and Morrison & Foerster LLP, where he was lead counsel on in excess of $10 billion of real estate transactions.

Fries received a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. degree from Stanford Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He has served on a variety of company boards in the real estate and technology sectors and has been a frequent writer and lecturer in the real estate, technology, logistics and legal areas.


Tyler W. Higgins, Managing Partner
Higgins is a fifth generation native of the Bay Area, and has been involved with commercial real estate since 1986.  Prior to co-founding Orchard Partners, Higgins was Managing Director of AMB Property Corporation (NYSE: AMB), where he was employed for 16 years.  While at AMB, he served in a variety of capacities, most recently as Managing Director of its West-Central region and as a member of its Investment Committee.  Prior to this position, Higgins directed the firm’s acquisitions program and investment strategy for North America. From 1990 through 2006, Higgins acquired or structured joint ventures to develop over 100 projects totaling more than 45 million square feet of commercial space and exceeding several billion dollars throughout the United States.  In addition to transactions in other markets, he acquired AMB’s industrial and R&D portfolio in the Bay Area and many of its projects located on the West Coast.  Before joining AMB, Higgins worked with The Shidler Group where he acquired and financed properties throughout the United States.

Higgins graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.  Currently, Higgins is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and serves his council, IOPC--Red, as its Vice Chairman.  Higgins is a past director of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) San Francisco chapter, and is a past president of the Belden Club of San Francisco.  Higgins has served as a member of several boards and is currently involved with several charitable and conservation-oriented causes.


John Samotyj Associate
Samotyj is an Associate responsible for the Company’s financial analysis, due diligence and various other aspects of the Company’s acquisition and development activities.  Prior to joining Orchard Partners, Samotyj spent four years with Eastdil Secured and underwrote more than $5.0 billion in office, retail and industrial real estate transactions.  Samotyj earned a B.S. degree in Economics from Duke University, is a licensed California salesperson and a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Samotyj is currently attending UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to attain his MBA.


Dan Sarhad, Development Manager
Dan Sarhad works with Orchard Partners as a Development Manager. Sarhad has been active in commercial real estate development in the Bay Area for over 40 years and was one of the first employees of Orchard Properties when it was founded in 1973.  Over the years, Sarhad has held a variety of positions within Orchard Properties, most recently serving as Vice President of Development and Construction.  Sarhad has been integrally involved with all facets of project development, including obtaining development entitlements, construction management, tenant improvement design, and overseeing property management.  Over the years, Sarhad has been a fixture in the Silicon Valley on a variety of task force groups involving major commercial development projects, including the Golden Triangle Task Force, Gateway Technology Park, and the San Jose Development Process Review Committee.  He has served as a director of NAIOP’s Silicon Valley Chapter and on the Property Owner’s Association for many of Orchard Properties’ business parks totaling over seven million square feet of commercial space.


Nicole Sidlauskas, Controller
Sidlauskas started her accounting career at Ernst & Young in San Francisco.  After receiving her CPA license, she continued her career at Bank of America, where she held various finance and accounting positions, including Vice President in the Global Retail Bank Finance division.  After five years at Bank of America, she served as Controller of WorldGroup Consulting, a software consulting company.  Sidlauskas earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley and an MBA in finance from San Francisco State University.