Senior Vice President, Real Estate

Position Senior Vice President of Real Estate
Company National Automotive Tire and Service Retailer (PE Backed)
Location Westchester County, New York
Reporting Relationship Chief Executive Officer

Company Background

Our client owns and operates retail Tire and Service Centers in the United States under four major brand names. Through its different brands, the business offers tires and general services including brakes, mufflers, shocks/struts, suspensions and oil changes. They also operate an online tire business.

In 2017, the business consisted of about 420 stores located mostly in the Northeast. Today the business leads the industry in consolidation and operates 830 stores throughout the United States with other key office locations in Birmingham, Alabama and Denver, Colorado. Future expansion plans will require a talented and dynamic corporate real estate executive to help lead the build out.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior VP of Real Estate will lead the Real Estate function and manage the existing portfolio and aggressively drive the short-term business goals alongside long-term strategic objectives. The individual will lead and support all Real Estate-related aspects of the Company’s growth strategy and he/she will be responsible for the hands-on leadership of the department and a broad range of initiatives related to the acquisition of and building/redevelopment of new stores.

Responsibilities will include: managing the new deal pipeline, managing all aspects of the ground-up and brownfield store build/construction on pad sites and at other stand-alone locations as well as managing the real estate aspects of acquisitions.
The Senior VP of Real Estate will lead all activities related to the due diligence, entitlement, negotiation of LOIs, store design and layout, construction, and permitting. Note that the Real Estate team is anticipated to scale up to 8 or more Project Managers, a small team of CAD designers and the required Acquisitions talent. In addition, the business plans to add regional Real Estate managers to carry out initiatives in key geographic regions.

The business is now at an inflection point in advance of the next stage of growth and it will be vital that this individual will be a recognized business builder and that he/she is engaged and energized to build an adaptable and scalable Real Estate function to support the business.

Strategic Oversight of the Real Estate Function

• Full end-to-end management of the Real Estate function, including leading the site selection and negotiation of all purchase and lease and related document terms and conditions, project management of all development and redevelopment Construction projects, including land development, optimization of lease portfolio, and the ownership of a strategic market growth plan – it is essential that the qualified individual is capable of managing and growing a considerable pipeline of activity in order to grow the next stage business to 80-100+ new stores along with facilitating the real estate needs of large chain store acquisitions.
• Ownership of the Real Estate lease renewal process including leasing strategy and managing all real estate transactions
• Participate in short and long-term planning for the Real Estate function including organizational structure, staffing/team building requirements and ongoing training.
• Optimize processes, tools and technology to continuously improve the Real Estate function
• Mentor, inspire, and instruct members of the Real Estate team and their colleagues as it relates to a broad range of real estate areas including development, construction and transactional matters. Lead in the establishment and enhancement of best practices to enable the achievement of business goals and the execution of corporate strategies.
• Act as key partner to the Corporate Office team on all real estate matters related to the firms growth strategy, via mergers and acquisitions, build to suit, and construction and redevelopment projects.
• Be accountable for the management of the Real Estate function’s capital budget and the approval of expenses.
• Act as the leader for all Real Estate due diligence efforts, including environmental assessments and mitigation strategies.
• Partner closely with Legal team on all Real Estate issues.

Professional Experience/Qualifications

Our client is seeking a strategic and seasoned Real Estate executive with significant deal and construction project management experience. Experience in stand-alone chain store Real Estate is extremely relevant to this position, however, we would consider backgrounds with significant multi-location Real Estate activities including: construction; deal-making; negotiating; and, budgeting.

This individual must be a strong and visionary leader and a team player with a desire to drive best-in-class performance.

Specific aspects of the profile are as follows:

• Demonstrated experience in Commercial Real Estate with a background managing a freestanding retail store portfolio including related site development/construction in a high growth environment.
• Highly organized and able to prioritize and manage time efficiently and the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment.
• Experience and knowledge of real estate-related Mergers and Acquisition and site Redevelopment, Development and Construction.
• A high level of accountability and an ability to effectively work with the Senior Leadership team, landlords, investors/transaction targets, direct reports and peers.
• A high degree of discretion in managing sensitive and confidential information.
• Willingness to work smart and hard in a challenging and fast paced/ dynamic environment.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a leader and a trusted colleague.
• Deliver results while building organizational and team member capability and foster individual learning and career growth
• Ability to work under time constraints and handle sensitive data and multi-task so that deadlines can be met.
• Knowledge of deal flow and experience with store ground up construction and redevelopment
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills.

Education

A BA/BS degree is required, and a Masters/MBA is desirable for this position.

Compensation

We are prepared to offer a market-competitive executive compensation package comprised of a base salary plus bonus and performance incentives.