Michael K. Hayde was born and raised in Compton, California. He has enjoyed and benefited from living in Southern California his entire life. In his formative years his family instilled in him traditional Irish Catholic values. He has had mentors all his life and learned at an early age the benefit of learning from those who had more experience and who were willing to help him. He went to work for Jerrold Glass at a local CPA firm and found a lifelong friend and mentor. Jerry brought him with him in 1971 to his current firm where he found two more mentors in the Founder of the firm M. Douglas and David Stone. Mike has been blessed to remain with the Western National Group for the last 48 years. Since 1994 he has served as its Chief Executive Officer.
The Western National Group is a 60 year old apartment company headquartered in Orange County. It has been an acknowledged leadership company in the industry. Mike believes in a leadership style that demands not only the best of himself, profitable operations but also corporate as well as personal community involvement. He is a member and Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and past Vice Chair of its Multi Family Silver Council as well as being a Trustee of the ULI Foundation. He is a past Chairman of the California Housing Council and active in both the National Multi Housing Council and the California Apartment Association.
Along with Orange County Sherriff, Brad Gates, he founded Drug Use is life Abuse, a nationally recognized non-profit teaching youth in Orange County about the issues of drug abuse. He has been active in fundraising for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Boy Scouts of Orange County, City of Hope and UCI Medical Center. Mike is a member of the United Way Ten Million Dollar Roundtable, Chairman of the United Way Worldwide Leadership Council, a member of the United Way Worldwide Board and the 2013 United Way Tocqueville Award Honoree.
