Managing Director - Industrial

MHW Search; United States; On-site; USD 350,000 - 750,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Promote & profit sharing

Job summary

MHW Search is partnering with a Dallas-based industrial development/investment firm to identify a Managing Director of Industrial who will lead sourcing, capitalization, development, and investment execution of industrial opportunities in Dallas-Fort Worth with the potential to expand across the Southwest and Southeast.

The role demands an experienced industrial real estate professional who can manage the full investment lifecycle—from site selection and acquisition through development,

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years in commercial real estate with industrial investment and development experience.
• Proven track record in ground-up Class A industrial development.
• Strong network with Dallas–Fort Worth brokers, landowners, developers, and tenants.

Responsibilities

• Lead the firm's industrial investment and development activity throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, with the ability to expand into additional Southwest and Southeast markets as the platform grows.
• Source and identify ground-up development, acquisition, redevelopment, and value-add industrial opportunities through relationships with brokers, landowners, tenants, municipalities, developers, and other market participants.
• Lead site selection and land acquisition, including initial feasibility analysis, market assessment, site planning, due diligence, underwriting, and negotiation of purchase agreements.
• Evaluate opportunities from an investment perspective, including development costs, rents, lease-up assumptions, exit values, returns, risk factors, and overall project economics.
• Prepare and present investment opportunities and recommendations to senior leadership and Investment Committee.
• Lead transactions through LOI, contract negotiation, due diligence, acquisition, development, stabilization, and disposition.
• Establish the overall development strategy for each project while working closely with internal development personnel responsible for execution-oriented functions.
• Oversee major decisions related to site planning, design, construction strategy, budgets, schedules, leasing, capital deployment, and project positioning.
• Partner with architects, engineers, contractors, brokers, consultants, municipalities, and other third parties to ensure projects remain aligned with the approved business plan.
• Identify opportunities to acquire and reposition Class B industrial properties, including redevelopment, capital improvements, leasing strategies, and other value-creation initiatives.
• Work closely with leasing teams and brokerage partners to establish positioning, rental assumptions, tenant strategy, and stabilization plans.
• Maintain ownership-level responsibility for project performance, proactively identifying risks and opportunities throughout the investment lifecycle.
• Develop disposition strategies and work with senior leadership and brokerage teams to determine appropriate timing and positioning for asset sales.
• Build and maintain a strong network of industrial brokers, landowners, developers, capital partners, tenants, municipalities, and other market participants.
• Serve as a senior representative of the firm throughout the DFW industrial real estate community.
• Over time, help identify and execute opportunities throughout the Southwest and Southeast, leveraging the DFW strategy to expand the firm's industrial development platform into additional growth markets.

Skills

Deal sourcing

Investment judgment

Development expertise

Negotiation

Relationship management

Leadership

Networking

Education

Bachelor's degree in real estate / finance / related field

Job description

MHW Search has exclusively partnered with an Industrial Development/Investment firm in Dallas who historically have transacted on roughly $3 billion in transactions. We are seeking a Managing Director of Industrial to lead the sourcing, capitalization, development, and investment execution of industrial opportunities throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, with the opportunity to expand the platform across the Southwest and Southeast over time. The right person will get promote + profit sharing.

This individual will be responsible for the full investment lifecycle—from site selection and acquisition through development, stabilization, and ultimate disposition. The initial focus will be on ground-up Class A industrial development, with additional opportunities to acquire and redevelop or reposition Class B industrial assets.

The role is designed for an experienced industrial real estate professional who combines strong deal sourcing and investment judgment with development expertise. The MD will be responsible for identifying opportunities, establishing relationships throughout the market, evaluating investment economics, driving transactions through acquisition, overseeing development strategy, and ultimately maximizing value through stabilization and sale.

The individual will have support from internal team members responsible for much of the day-to-day development execution, including entitlements, permitting, consultant coordination, and other project-level processes, allowing this person to remain focused on sourcing, investment strategy, major development decisions, relationships, and overall deal performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the firm's industrial investment and development activity throughout Dallas-Fort Worth, with the ability to expand into additional Southwest and Southeast markets as the platform grows.
• Source and identify ground-up development, acquisition, redevelopment, and value-add industrial opportunities through relationships with brokers, landowners, tenants, municipalities, developers, and other market participants.
• Lead site selection and land acquisition, including initial feasibility analysis, market assessment, site planning, due diligence, underwriting, and negotiation of purchase agreements.
• Evaluate opportunities from an investment perspective, including development costs, rents, lease‑up assumptions, exit values, returns, risk factors, and overall project economics.
• Prepare and present investment opportunities and recommendations to senior leadership and Investment Committee.
• Lead transactions through LOI, contract negotiation, due diligence, acquisition, development, stabilization, and disposition.
• Establish the overall development strategy for each project while working closely with internal development personnel responsible for execution‑orientation functions such as entitlements, permitting, consultant management, and project coordination.
• Oversee major decisions related to site planning, design, construction strategy, budgets, schedules, leasing, capital deployment, and project positioning.
• Partner with architects, engineers, contractors, brokers, consultants, municipalities, and other third parties to ensure projects remain aligned with the approved business plan.
• Identify opportunities to acquire and reposition Class B industrial properties, including redevelopment, capital improvements, leasing strategies, and other value‑creation initiatives.
• Work closely with leasing teams and brokerage partners to establish positioning, rental assumptions, tenant strategy, and stabilization plans.
• Maintain ownership‑level responsibility for project performance, proactively identifying risks and opportunities throughout the investment lifecycle.
• Develop disposition strategies and work with senior leadership and brokerage teams to determine appropriate timing and positioning for asset sales.
• Build and maintain a strong network of industrial brokers, landowners, developers, capital partners, tenants, municipalities, and other market participants.
• Serve as a senior representative of the firm throughout the DFW industrial real estate community.
• Over time, help identify and execute opportunities throughout the Southwest and Southeast, leveraging the DFW strategy to expand the firm's industrial development platform into additional growth markets.

Qualifications

• 10–15+ years of commercial real estate experience, with significant experience in industrial investment and development.
• Proven track record executing ground‑up Class A industrial development projects.
• Experience with Class B industrial acquisitions, redevelopment, repositioning, or value‑add strategies strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to take transactions from site identification and acquisition through development, stabilization, and disposition.
• Strong network within the Dallas‑Fort Worth industrial real estate market, particularly among brokers, landowners, developers, tenants, and other deal sources.
• Strong understanding of land acquisition, site selection, due diligence, development economics, entitlements, construction, leasing, and dispositions.
• Sophisticated investment judgment with the ability to evaluate development opportunities from both a real estate and financial perspective.
• Strong underwriting capabilities and understanding of development pro formas, project‑level returns, sensitivities, and investment risk.
• Ability to originate opportunities independently and develop a consistent pipeline of actionable transactions.
• Entrepreneurial and highly self‑directed, with the ability to operate as the senior industrial development leader in a market.
• Strong communication, negotiation, presentation, and relationship‑management skills.
• Bachelor's degree in real estate, finance, business, construction, engineering, or a related discipline preferred.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an industrial developer and dealmaker, rather than someone whose experience has been limited primarily to project execution. This person should know how to find the right site, understand why a deal works, negotiate the acquisition, establish the development strategy, manage the major decisions throughout execution, create value through lease‑up and stabilization, and ultimately determine the appropriate exit.

They should have deep relationships in DFW, an entrepreneurial mindset, and the ability to operate with significant autonomy while leveraging the firm's existing development resources. Longer term, this individual should have the capability to evolve from leading DFW into a broader regional leadership role across the Southwest and Southeast.