First Washington Realty, a fully integrated, national real estate investment and management firm that specializes in the ownership of convenience, necessity, and experience-oriented retail real estate, has hired Lemuel Kong as Senior Director, Asset Management in Newport Beach, Calif. First Washington Realty currently owns an interest in 142 shopping centers with a value of over $8.8 billion located in 22 states and the District of Columbia. He will lead and oversee the financial performance and business planning of their west coast shopping center portfolio and reports to the COO. Lemuel was previously a Senior Director for KBC Advisors. Executive search firm RETS Associates handled the search.