Our Team of Experts
Many firms are unable to advertise their team due to high industry turnover – but Mills Development takes pride in offering careers that attract and retain the best talent in the industry.
Meet the Team
Fred G. Mills
CEO
Fred has led the industry for over 50 years. He has served as both a Director of the North Carolina Home Builders Association as well as a director of the National Association of Home Builders. Fred has also served as a board member for many industry and non-industry related organizations. With a focus on affordable housing, he has been responsible for the creation of over 10,000 single family and over 3,000 multi-family homes. Fred founded and currently serves as managing member for FGM Development, LLC and United Property Management, LLC both closely related entities that work in concert with Mills Development to continue to provide affordable and workforce housing.
Fred G. Mills Jr. “Freddie”
COO
After receiving a BS in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Freddie joined Mills Construction in 1995 as an assistant project superintendent and ascended into role of CEO over the next 6 years. Under Freddie’s leadership the company’s revenue has grown from $7.3 million in 2000 to over $75 million in 2018. By bringing site work development “in house” in 2005, Freddie was able to help underwrite the biggest risk developers typically face and provide additional value to clients. Freddie has extensive experience working with HUD, USDA, Housing Finance Agencies, Housing Authorities, nonprofits and both public and private developers on a wide variety of multifamily product types utilizing many different financing mechanisms. Freddie currently serves as President of Mills Construction Company of SC., Inc, successor to Mills Construction and founded and serves as managing member of Mills Property Development, LLC another closely related entity that works in concert with Mills Development. Following in his father’s footsteps, Freddie has served on many industry related as well as non-industry related boards.
Ian Byrne
General Counsel
Ian joined the Mills team as in-house counsel in 2016 after representing the Mills’ interests since 2008. After receiving his Juris Doctorate from Duke University in 2004 Ian joined a full-service law practice in Charlotte, NC and he focused on commercial real estate, taxation, M&A, business formation, contracts, construction, general litigation and estate planning. Ian currently serves as General Counsel to the Board of Directors of the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association and coaches several travel soccer and baseball teams.
Bobby Funk
Director of Development
Bobby serves as the Development Director for Mills Construction, helping coordinate housing development opportunities throughout North Carolina. Before joining the Mills team, he spent over ten years in community and economic development roles in North Carolina with the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership and DFI. He currently serves on the Town of Carrboro Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and previously served on the Board of the North Carolina Downtown Development Association. He holds a BS in Business from Appalachian State and a Master of City and Regional Planning from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tammy Stern
Development Staff
Tammy joined the Mills development staff in 2020, and her work focuses on the site search, entitlement, and permitting processes. She earned a Master of City and Regional Planning from UNC Chapel Hill in 2020 with a concentration in Land Use. While at UNC, Tammy worked as a Graduate Fellow with the Development Finance Initiative (DFI), where she conducted pre-development studies for revitalization projects in different parts of the state. She holds a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Maryland as well as a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University. Tammy recently joined the City of Raleigh’s Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.
Mary Lee
Closing Specialist
Mary began working with the Mills team in 2007 and has developed an expertise in property management and development since then. She began her career with Mills in an accounting position with United Property Management (UPM) and later took on compliance and property management roles, eventually serving as a regional property manager with UPM for many years. Since 2018 she has worked with the development team, specializing in the funding and due diligence processes. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from William Peace University. She is a certified Housing Credit Certified Professional.
Development Made Easy
When you want experts who have years of experience handling the entire development process from front to back, Mills Development is here to help. We take care of the full picture and save money along the way.
