The William Warren Group (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage brand, has hired James Preacher as director of real estate for its East Coast region. With two decades of experience, he’ll focus on company acquisitions, development and management procurement, according to a press release.

“We are thrilled to get another seasoned storage expert on our team and look forward to expanding our presence in the Florida Gold Coast and beyond,” said Tim Hobin, executive vice president of real estate. “James will work with our existing expert, Kendall Jones, who will continue to represent the company throughout the rest of the Florida market.”

In his career, Preacher has been involved in more than 2 million square feet of ground-up self-storage development in South Florida and Los Angeles. He most recently served as director of development for Irvine, Calif.-based Westport Properties Inc., which operates more than 120 self-storage facilities under the US Storage Centers brand. He previously worked in land acquisitions for Miami City Self-Storage and was development manager for Extra Space Storage Inc. in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, the release stated.

Founded in 1994 and based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG acquires, develops and operates more than 190 self-storage facilities in 14 states.