John Isakson
Chief Executive Officer
ARK Homes for Rent

John Isakson is the CEO of ARK Homes for Rent, overseeing the growth of the business and managing the company’s entire SFR/ BTR portfolio. Isakson brings 30 years of experience across multiple segments of the public and private real estate industry including finance, asset management, development, and construction/renovation management.

Prior to joining ARK Homes For Rent, Isakson served as Chief Financial Officer to Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc., a leading property management corporation that acquired and operated multifamily properties throughout the United States.  Partnering with John Williams, former CEO and founder of Post Properties, Isakson took Preferred Apartment Communities public in a $51MM IPO. During Isakson’s tenure between 2011 and 2022, the company grew from a $51 million market capitalization and a portfolio of $90 million to a market cap of approximately $3.2 billion and $6 billion in total assets.

Primarily invested in multifamily assets, Preferred also had a significant investment in grocery anchored retail and a smaller investment in trophy offices. Growing through a combination of public market capital and the non-traded REIT network, under Isakson, the company raised over $3B between inception of the company and the sale to Blackstone. The sale resulted in an almost 17% IRR to any common stock IPO investor who held the stock from IPO to the sale (including the dividends paid).

Prior to that Isakson served as CEO and co-founder of Williams Asset Management, managing a $300MM private equity fund focused on acquiring and renovating multifamily properties in the Southeast and Southwest.  Isakson merged the company he founded, a small fund focused on multifamily, with John Williams’ group to create Williams Asset Management.  Early in his career, Isakson ran the acquisitions and finance group for a private developer in Atlanta and also worked at Wachovia Bank in Real Estate lending.

Isakson’s philanthropic endeavors include serving on the Dean’s Advisory Council at Tulane University, and he has served on the national board of the Arthritis Foundation and the National Building Museum.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics at Tulane University, and a master’s degree in economics at the University of Georgia.