Description Position at GVW Group, LLC
Head of Industrial Growth and Leasing
Location: Birmingham, AL
Regular travel throughout the Southeast is required.
We offer a generous relocation package to help make your move as smooth and stress-free as possible.
- Birmingham is one of the Southeast's most dynamic and affordable cities, recognized nationally as a growing business hub and an attractive destination for professionals. The area offers a lower cost of living than many major metropolitan markets, a thriving culinary and entertainment scene, and convenient access to lakes, parks, and weekend destinations throughout the region.
- Enjoy the best of both worlds-our Autocar facility is located just 20 minutes from downtown Birmingham, providing easy access to the city's amenities while maintaining a convenient commute.
Build the Leasing Engine of a Growing Industrial Platform
Ruddell Group is seeking a Head of Industrial Growth & Leasing to help scale our industrial real estate platform across the Southeast. This is a high-impact leadership role focused on leasing existing assets, creating tenant demand before buildings are developed, and helping drive the next phase of the company's growth. You will work directly with company leadership to increase occupancy, originate build-to-suit opportunities, cultivate relationships with expanding industrial companies, and influence where and how future developments are built. This role is designed for a commercially minded operator who enjoys building relationships, creating opportunities, and turning market intelligence into executed transactions.
The Opportunity
This role combines industrial leasing, business development, tenant origination, market intelligence, and strategic growth. Success is measured by creating relationships with growing companies before they enter a formal real estate search process and converting those relationships into leases, build-to-suits, expansions, and long-term partnerships.
The ideal candidate will help Ruddell:
- Maintain industry-leading occupancy
- Increase cash flow and portfolio value
- Create a pipeline for future tenants
- Support future public-private partnership opportunities
- Shape future development decisions based on real tenant demand
Key Responsibilities:
- Portfolio Leasing & Asset Performance
- Lead leasing strategy across the existing portfolio
- Maintain occupancy targets of 95%+
- Protect rental rates and drive NOI growth
- Identify expansion opportunities within existing tenant relationships
- Develop retention strategies that strengthen occupancy and tenant satisfaction
Tenant Development & Business Generation
- Build relationships with expanding industrial companies throughout the Southeast
- Develop a qualified pipeline of prospective tenants before formal site searches begin
- Generate build-to-suit opportunities
- Create anchor tenant relationships for future developments
- Develop long-term relationships with company executives and decision-makers
- Identify expansion requirements before they become active market requirements
Market Development
- Strengthen relationships with brokers, site selectors, economic development organizations, and municipal leaders
- Stay informed on labor trends, incentives, infrastructure investments, and industrial market conditions
- Help identify future development opportunities and target markets
- Increase visibility and awareness of the Ruddell platform throughout the region
Strategic Growth
- Advise leadership on future building programs and development timing
- Provide market intelligence that influences investment decisions
- Support public-private partnership initiatives and municipal relationships
- Help shape the long-term growth strategy of the platform
Who Thrives in This Role
We recognize that successful candidates may come from a variety of backgrounds, including:
- Industrial leasing
- Industrial development
- Industrial brokerage
- Build-to-suit development
- Corporate real estate
- Site selection
- Economic development
- Manufacturing business development
- Industrial operations or expansion planning
Successful candidates typically bring several of the following strengths:
- Experience developing business relationships and generating opportunities
- A proven ability to negotiate and close complex transactions
- Confidence building relationships with executive decision-makers
- Understanding of industrial operations and facility requirements
- Strong networking and business development skills
- Commercial and financial acumen
- Knowledge of Southeastern markets and economic drivers
- An entrepreneurial mindset with a desire to help build something meaningful
Most importantly, we are seeking someone who wants to help grow an industrial real estate platform, not simply manage an existing portfolio.
Compensation & Long-Term Upside
Ruddell Group offers a highly competitive compensation structure designed to reward transaction execution, portfolio performance, and long-term value creation.
Compensation includes:
- Base salary
- Performance-based cash incentives
- Phantom equity participation
- Development promotes participation
- Potential carried-interest opportunities
- Medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits
- For the right candidate, this role provides a significant opportunity to participate in the growth of an entrepreneurial industrial real estate platform.
Join Us
Ruddell Group is building a differentiated industrial real estate platform focused on the growing light industrial sector across the Southeast.
We are looking for a relationship-driven operator who can increase occupancy, create tenant demand, originate build-to-suit opportunities, and help shape where we grow next.
If you are energized by building relationships, creating opportunities, and making a direct impact on the growth of a company, we'd welcome the opportunity to speak with you.
Job Duties Disclaimer:
The duties and responsibilities outlined here are representative but not exhaustive of the tasks that the employee may be required to perform. Management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and to assign other tasks as necessary to meet business needs.