Our Officers

BTI's Founder and Chairman, Ben F. Tunnell III, has headed the firm since 1974. Previously, he spent eight years with First Interstate Bank of California as vice president at their corporate headquarters in Los Angeles. Mr. Tunnell received a BA degree in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and completed post-graduate courses at UCLA and the American Institute of Banking, where he also lectured. He served on the board of arbitrators for both the American Arbitration Association and the Better Business Bureau. Mr. Tunnell is also Chairman of BTI Appraisal.

Megan Tunnell O'Rourke, Vice Chairman and General Counsel, began working at BTI in 1990. She earned a BA in English from the University of Southern California, and graduated

magna cum laude from Loyola Law School where she was a member of the Loyola Law Review and the Order of the Coif. Mrs. O'Rourke began her legal career with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP where she practiced in both the real estate and corporate law departments, before returning to BTI in 2003. Mrs. O'Rourke is a licensed California real estate broker and a certified notary public.