Gavinet, who has 15 years experience in real estate accounting and finance with national real estate companies and accounting firms including Los Angeles-based Arden Realty and Douglas Emmett, notes that Younan Properties, in less than seven years, "has become a leader known throughout the entire country." From 2006 on, Gavinet was executive vice president of finance with Douglas EmmettInc., a REIT that owns office and multifamily properties, where he was a member of the executive team that completed the REIT's initial public offering. From 1999 through 2006, he was a senior executive of Arden, which was a publicly held REIT before its sale to GE Real Estate.

From 1998 to 1999, Gavinet served as manager of financial reporting for Westfield America Inc. He began his professional career in 1993 with Ernst & Young LLP, where he was a senior auditor serving privateand publicly traded companies. Younan says that his company has had the CFO position open for some time, looking for the right executive for the job. He says the company was seeking someone to "blend into our aggressive environment, not only to support our significant growth, but to expedite our vision to be the largest office owner in the US."