Lewis Real Estate founder Bob Lewis was raised in Tennessee, helping his dad run a rural hardware store and the family farm.
“I learned early on to treat other people the way I would want to be treated,” he says. “My dad was always truthful and up front.”  

Graduating from the University of Tennessee with a degree in finance, Lewis pursued a 20-year career in banking in Tennessee and North Carolina before establishing Lewis Real Estate in Asheville as a residential property management company in 1985. “With one child in college and the other in high school, it was a real leap of faith,” he reminisces. “Our business grew by word of mouth, based on our reputation.” Bob Lewis continues to enjoy building the company and maintaining the “very satisfying partnerships” his company has formed. Bob and his wife Linda have five grandchildren from son Martin and daughter Ashley. He spends his free time fishing, hunting, and walking.

Martin Lewis has been a dynamic partner in the growth of Lewis Real Estate since joining forces with his father in 1988. With an instinctive eye for real estate and deep involvement in civic and community organizations, Martin has been active in establishing many of the company’s successful investor partnerships and business relationships in the community, lending his management experience to the company’s extensive portfolio.

Lewis is a 2003 graduate of Leadership North Carolina and a governor-appointed Commissioner on the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. He has served key leadership positions on numerous boards and business councils in the region, including the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment, the Asheville Commercial Investment Realty Association, the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Small Business Council, the Asheville Board of Realtors, the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Council, and the Eliada Home for Children.

Martin is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). He lives in Asheville with his wife, Chris, and four children.

Russ Towers is part of Lewis Real Estate as a sales and leasing agent, with extensive experience in real estate that includes commercial real estate appraising, work with the well-known Summit Properties group, and completion of multiple acquisitions in the Southeast with the publicly traded real estate investment trusts Cornerstone and United Dominion.

Towers found common ground with the close-knit team at Lewis Real Estate, working together with certain clients and key projects before eventually joining the company, attracted by its proactive environment, variety and size of projects, and heavy involvement in the Asheville community.

A 1988 graduate of Cornell University, Russ is a past president and vice-president of the Asheville Commercial Realty Investment Association. He is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Russ has served on the boards of the West Asheville Business Association and the Haywood Road Market, a cooperative market. He is a board member for the Mountain Sports Festival. Russ and his wife Laurie, and their son, Ian, currently reside in West Asheville.

Asheville native Freda Mathews has been part of Lewis Real Estate since 1992, with responsibilities that include coordinating all aspects of the company’s tenant relationships, property maintenance teams, and office management. Mathews and her husband of 39 years are parents to three children and four grandchildren.