Three professionals with complementary expertise—brought together by a shared conviction that the convergence of data center demand and energy infrastructure creates opportunities for patient, equity-oriented development partners.
Dave leads strategy, partnerships, and financial structuring for Highlands CRE. With more than two decades in real estate development, he has delivered more than 30 communities representing over $300 million in total development cost. His expertise spans public-private partnerships, entitlement processes, and investor relations. Dave holds an MBA from Emory's Goizueta Business School, a BS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a CFA charter.
For Highlands CRE: Dave brings the financial discipline and partnership structuring capabilities that turn complex opportunities into executable deals with shared interests.
Leading strategy, partnerships, and development execution. With more than two decades of experience in real estate development, Dave has successfully delivered more than 30 communities—including 19 as an owner and partner—through Walton Communities and Highlands Residential. His leadership has resulted in over 2,000 homes for families and seniors, representing more than $300 million in total development cost.
Dave's career is defined by his ability to bring together municipalities, housing authorities, and non-profits to structure successful public-private ventures. His expertise in entitlement processes and site selection ensures that projects not only meet regulatory requirements but also enhance the communities they serve. Dave holds an MBA from Emory's Goizueta Business School, a BS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a CFA charter.
By aligning deep community development experience with strategic public entity partnerships, Dave is focused on building a repeatable model for data center development that delivers long-term value to utility providers and their stakeholders.
Ward brings over 30 years of experience in strategic land development, infrastructure, and regulated industries. He led data center land entitlement projects, negotiated environmental mitigation deals valued at roughly $400M, and generated more than $85 million in tax credits, subsidies, and incentives across multiple states. His disciplined approach to land development and basis reduction has produced significant returns across a variety of developments. Ward is an alumnus of the University of Georgia.
For Highlands CRE: Ward's proven ability to develop land, lower basis through creative strategies, and deliver entitled sites to major end users—including data center operators—is central to the firm's development model.
Ward brings more than 30 years of experience building companies and executing complex land development strategies across regulated sectors including real estate, healthcare, and infrastructure. His expertise centers on strategic land development—acquiring raw land, lowering basis through timbering, rezoning, and entitlements, and delivering high-value sites to institutional end users.
His track record includes two data center land development projects with a combined entitled land value of $36 million, environmental mitigation deals in the southeast valued at roughly $400M, and infrastructure projects including a private utility project generating roughly $7.5 million in annual revenue. Across seven tax credit development projects, Ward has generated more than $85 million in tax credits, subsidies, and incentives. In a representative land development project, he took a 1,108-acre parcel from a $1.9 million acquisition to a 20x return—recovering 21% of the original investment through timber in the first nine months, rezoning 351 acres to heavy industrial, securing a data center campus transaction at a 23x return, and retaining nearly 500 acres free and clear.
His combination of creative land strategy, regulatory navigation, and entrepreneurial execution is central to delivering development projects that create lasting value for utilities and the communities they serve.
Lesley specializes in renewable energy, regulatory strategy, and market execution. With 20+ years across solar, storage, and energy infrastructure, she has led projects totaling more than 10 gigawatts across 15+ states, working with investor-owned utilities, co-operatives, and public power districts through PJM, MISO, SPP, and Southeast markets. Her expertise spans interconnection compliance, utility engagement, regulatory advocacy, and site control. Lesley holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from Cambridge and is a Chartered Marketer.
For Highlands CRE: Lesley's technical expertise in grid infrastructure, utility relationships across IOUs, co-ops, and public power districts, and her track record shaping energy policy directly address the power certainty challenge at the heart of data center development.
Lesley Williams is a Partner and Senior Advisor to the company, specializing in renewable energy, regulatory strategy, and market execution. With more than 20 years of experience across solar, storage, and energy infrastructure development, Lesley has led projects totaling more than 10 gigawatts through competitive wholesale markets (PJM, MISO, SPP) and vertically integrated utility markets across the Southeast. Most recently, as Senior Vice President of Strategic Development at Geenex Solar, she managed nearly 5GW of projects while providing expertise in interconnection compliance, regulatory engagement, and risk mitigation.
Earlier in her career, Lesley served in leadership roles at Southern Current, PowerSecure Solar, and Tecta America. At Southern Current, she helped build South Carolina's solar market from the ground up—advocating for Act 236 legislation that enabled utility participation, establishing interconnection guidelines, and negotiating standardized contracts with Duke Energy. She also led national advocacy efforts, including multi-million dollar campaigns on solar trade policy and serving as a founding member of RTO coalitions representing the industry before FERC. Her career is marked by her ability to integrate technical, regulatory, and community considerations into complex projects, ensuring both operational success and stakeholder alignment. Lesley holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from Cambridge and is a Chartered Marketer.
Widely regarded as a thought leader in the energy industry, she brings critical expertise in public-private collaboration, transmission, and renewable integration—making her instrumental in aligning data center growth with utility and community priorities.
We welcome conversations about partnership opportunities where our combined expertise can create value.
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