Steve Leonard passed away unexpectedly in June 2024. Together with the Pacifica team he built a legacy of long-term, value-oriented investing in public equities, commercial real estate, and private equity.

Commercial Real Estate

After graduating from UCLA in 1977, Steve Leonard entered the real estate business. He formed Pacifica Holding Company in the early 1980s to take advantage of commercial real estate cycles, initially in Los Angeles, later in Denver in the early 1990s, and back in Southern California in the late 1990s. By the mid-2000’s, Mr. Leonard had taken advantage of high prices and sold the majority of his real estate holdings. As local economies began recovering on a sustainable basis following the financial crisis in 2008/2009, Mr. Leonard once again initiated investing in undervalued real estate. This time he broadened his target to include Gateway Cities along the West Coast and in Colorado. They included San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Denver, and the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains. This cycle, Pacifica Capital Real Estate with its partners has owned, developed, and operated approximately 5 million square feet of commercial product in those markets. The projects have been established and operated with seasoned managing partners who have local operating expertise.

Public Equities

Returning to Southern California in 1998, Mr. Leonard founded Pacifica Capital Investments, LLC. The firm was created to implement the same value-based investment philosophy in public equities that he deployed successfully in commercial real estate, adjusted for differences in the assets classes. Pacifica focusses on business and industries it understands well and invests in companies that have excellent prospects for success and growth and that are managed by honest and capable leaders. Pacifica waits patiently until those companies’ stock can be bought at a discount to intrinsic value. Staying true to Pacifica’s founding principles and Mr. Leonard’s intentions, the Leonard family remains the firm’s largest investor, and all of Pacifica’s key principals have the great majority of their wealth invested alongside its clients.

During his lifetime, Mr. Leonard spoke at many investment forums, including the Value Investing Congress, both the Los Angeles and Denver Chapters of NAIOP, and the Colorado Real Estate Journal Forum. Mr. Leonard served on the board of directors of both public and private companies, including Anton Properties, Colorado Gaming & Entertainment, BJ’s Restaurants, and Fortis Private Bank. He was a founder of Brokers for Battered Kids, a charitable organization that has raised almost $3 million for disadvantaged children in the Denver area and actively supports several charitable organizations devoted to enhancing liberty and free markets.

Steve is survived by his wife, Cindy, and his adult children, Adi and Robert.