Bill Bayless

As Chief Executive Officer, Bill shares his vision and passion in leading Maslow’s mission to become the student- housing industry’s best-in-class company. Involved in more than $30 billion of student housing transactions, he is credited with transforming the industry by opening the door to institutional investment and introducing innovative transaction structures for on-campus public private partnerships. He is also a long-time champion of affordability in the student housing market, often referring to this mission as “building for the masses, not the classes.” 

Bill’s philosophy and approach to student housing can be traced back to his college days at West Virginia University, where he served as a resident assistant and first learned about the motivational theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He believes that student communities can further residents’ personal growth and fulfillment through innovative programming and design, unique approaches to property operations and an array of resident engagement and  programming. Maslow’s is the latest chapter in a long career dedicated to providing residents with a lifestyle that facilitates opportunities for progression along Maslow’s Hierarchy toward the ultimate goal becoming the best version of themselves.

The son and grandson of steelworkers, Bill was born and raised in the northern panhandle of West Virginia and worked as a dishwasher, grill cook, night desk attendant and resident assistant while a student at West Virginia University. 

After graduation, Bill spent the first six years of his career with traditional real estate companies that were intrigued by student housing as a side business. In 1993, with less than $3,000 in the bank, the 29-year-old moved his wife and two small children to Austin, Texas, where he co-founded American Campus Communities with Wayne Senecal and Joseph Domberger.  

From 1993 to 2003, Bill worked to establish the company as the nation’s premier third-party developer and manager of on-campus student housing, pioneering large development transactions with the SUNY System, the University of California System and the Texas A&M University System. 

In 1997, he secured venture capital from a fund controlled by Reckson Associates to buy out his original partners and fund the company’s expansion from a third-party service provider to an owner of student housing communities. In 2004, after building the company to more than $300 million in owned assets, Bill led the student housing industry to new heights when American Campus became the first student housing company to go public on the New York Stock Exchange, introducing the sector to Wall Street and institutional investors.

During ACC’s 18 years as a public company (2004-2022), its stock was one of the top performing real estate stocks in America. Over that time, ACC’s enterprise value increased from $300 million to $12.8 billion delivering a total shareholder return of 703 percent—outperforming the Morgan Stanley REIT Index by 2.1x, the Dow Jones Industrials by 1.7x, the S&P 500 by 1.6x, and keeping pace with the tech-driven NASDAQ at 736 percent. In 2022, Bill worked with ACC’s public board of directors to take the company private via a nearly $13 billion sale to Blackstone. Just months ahead of the fall of 2022 downturn in the real estate market due to rising interest rates, the transaction received a vote of more than 99 percent approval from ACC’s public shareholders. Bill stepped down as CEO in January of 2023 and left the company in April of that same year.

Under Bill’s three decades of leadership, American Campus was widely recognized as one of the nation’s “Best-in-Class” companies. The National Home Builders Association named ACC  “Development Firm of the Year” in 2013 and “Property Management Firm of the Year” in 2022. The company was recognized as one of America’s Most Trusted Companies by both Forbes and Newsweek during Bill’s tenure and achieved the Great Place to Work certification in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Under his leadership, ACC also received more than five dozen regional and national awards for its innovative developments and leadership in sustainability. 

Bill was featured by Commercial Property Executive as one of commercial real estate’s Most Innovative Executives in 2015 and two years later was named the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of real estate, construction and hospitality. In 2022, he was recognized by Globe Street as one of real estate’s top CEOs for his work in leading the company, and the industry, through the Covid pandemic. 

Bill served on the Board of Governors of NaReit, as well as on the Board of Directors, Executive Committee and the Government Affairs & PAC Committee of the National Multifamily Housing Council (“NMHC”). He has been honored by his home state, being inducted into the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame and by his alma mater, West Virginia University, where he has been inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Bill is also a member of Mensa.

On the charitable front, Bill was instrumental in the formation of and served as the Chairman of American Campus Charity Foundation, which during his tenure at ACC, supported charitable activities focused on disadvantaged youth and education in ACC’s hometown of Austin, as well as in the local markets served by ACC’s communities. During his time leading the company, the foundation raised nearly $7.5 million for the causes consistent with its focus. 

Bill currently serves as a Board Trustee for the Rise School of Austin, which provides high-quality early childhood education for children with Down syndrome and developmental delays alongside traditional and gifted students. He also championed the re-constitution of the Hi, How Are You Project, a non-profit organization focused on tackling issues of mental health. Bill has been married to his college sweetheart, Jamie, for 38 years, has two adult children and five grandchildren.