MIAMI—Elizabeth Truong has handled billions of dollars of commercial real estate deals during the course of her career. Now, she's bringing all that experience to multifamily developer Altman Companies.

Truong has come on board as COO, Chief Investment Officer and executive vice president. As her title suggests, she'll carry a heavy load.

In her new role at Altman, for example, she'll be responsible for overseeing the company's operations, leading the team that provides resident services, and offering management services to related parties. Truong is also heading up Altman's acquisition of existing multifamily communities to grow the company's footprint throughout the Southeast US. Altman currently owns over 24,000 multifamily units in Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina.

“Currently, cap rates are so aggressive that we have to be extra diligent in our underwriting when it comes to acquisitions,” Truong tells GlobeSt.com. “As long-term owners, we need to make sure that we buy at prices that can be justified so that the market won't fall out from under us like it did in the last cycle. We recently made an offer on a local project and was 10th in line in terms of pricing. This tells us that the market is overwhelmed with equity and it is certainly a seller's market.”

Before coming to Altman, Truong was Chief Investment Officer and senior managing director for Landmark Apartment Trust, a $2 billion REIT. During her 12 years there, she was instrumental in growing the company from 2,000 multifamily units to over 30,000 units throughout the Southeast. She closed more than 100 assets.

“Her experience and results speak for themselves,” says Joel Altman, chairman of Altman. “Having worked at a large multifamily REIT, she brings a new dimension to our organization which should serve us well.”

Truong earned her degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was also a recipient of a full scholarship to Babson College where she received her MBA degree. Truong is a mentor for the Children's Home Society and a new member of Impact 100 of Palm Beach County.