Charlotte Industrial & Logistics Summit

John Barker, Jr., SIOR has been a commercial real estate professional for the last 20 years, providing companies with expertise in commercial real estate and development. John has completed millions of square feet of development-related projects from build-to-suit and sale/leasebacks to construction program and project management.

Nick W. Jones, Vice President, is responsible for EastGroup’s operations in the Charlotte and Atlanta markets. Mr. Jones joined EastGroup in 2011 and served as an Asset Manager in the Company’s Orlando office until 2015. Prior to joining EastGroup, Mr. Jones was a Senior Financial Analyst for Marriott Vacation Club. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Masters in Business Administration from Rollins College.

Mr. Skibinski has 31 years of experience in industrial commercial real estate transactions. He has successfully negotiated transactions totaling more than $1.5 billion for manufacturing, research and development, and logistics facilities throughout the country. He has worked in all facets of the industrial sector, including multi-property portfolio leasing and sales, complex land acquisitions for developers, corporate asset dispositions, and build-to-suits. Recently, Mr. Skibinski assisted the Silverman Group in the leasing of their 3.4 million square foot Charlotte portfolio, as well as the development and leasing of Scannell Properties’ 2.1 million square foot business park in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He also assisted Evergreen Industrial Properties in their 944,000 square foot portfolio in Charlotte, NC, Hartz Mountain with their 1 million square foot portfolio and Somerset Properties in their 1,361,756 square foot industrial building. In addition to assisting investors with industrial park development and leasing, he has handled over 2.2 million square feet of property sales for Scannell and multiple transactions for the Silverman Group, Indus Realty Trust, Lightstone and iStar Financial. He is a multi-year award recipient of Costar’s Power Broker Award and Avison Young’s Circle of Excellence.

Steven E. McCraney, President & CEO of McCraney Property Company, has offices in West Palm Beach, Orlando, FL. and Charlotte, NC. A self-made entrepreneur, he and his team have developer of Industrial/distribution and office-flex properties. Additionally, the company has developed and operated some 24 company-owned fuel properties within the Florida markets. The company's present active Industrial / distribution developments in South Florida, Orlando (Central Florida), Charlotte and Atlanta total 6,600,000 sf for 2017 / 2018. Mr. McCraney is an active member of The Florida Council of 100, The Orange Bowl Committee, NAIOP’s National Board of Directors, and past President of NAIOP South Florida. National Real Estate Investor magazine acknowledged McCraney to its Top 50 list of US Industrial Developers for 2017. He was Developer of the Year for Central Florida in 2013, 2014 and 2016. He was the former Chairman of the YPO Florida, and serves on its Southern US Executive Board. He serves on the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Real Estate Advisory Board, Place of Hope Children's Charity, Villanova University DiLella Center for Real Estate, and was honored by the South Florida Business Journal as an Ultimate CEO. He holds the CCIM Designation and is a delegate member of SIOR. Mr. McCraney earned his degree from Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, and has completed additional post graduate work at Harvard Business School and Duke University. He is an active alpine mountain climber, having scaled many of the world’s tallest peaks for Children’s Charity "Place of Hope". Recent climbs include: The Avenue of Volcanos, Cayambe, Ecuador 19,000', Elbrus, Russia – 18,510', Aconcagua, Argentina-22,241', Kilimanjaro-Tanzania, Africa-19,340', Mt. Rainier14,411', the Grand Canyon 48 Mile-24 Hour Challenge, and ran the Marine Corp Marathon – Washington, DC.

Ralph Forbes, PE is a Vice President and Industrial Regional Director with Thomas & Hutton. A Professional Engineer with 39 years of experience, Ralph specializes in consulting, engineering, planning, and design of large tract development and industrial/commercial sites. He is known as the “go to” person for communities and statewide economic development agencies when they are preparing an RFI for presentation to prospects and has helped companies to site locations in Georgia since the 1980s. An alum of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Ralph is an active member of the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) and was named its Volunteer of the Year in 2018 recognizing him for working tirelessly for economic development efforts in the state. Ralph also belongs to the Georgia Society of Professional Engineers, Southern Economic Development Council, and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association. He resides in Richmond Hill, GA with his wife, Celeste, and they have three sons, Kyle, Kevin, and Blake.

Bill serves as the Managing Director and Principal for Foundry Commercial and leads the Investment Sales platform in Charlotte focusing on the origination and execution of office and industrial product in the Carolinas. Bill brings a substantial breadth of commercial real estate experience across all major asset classes. Prior to joining Foundry Commercial, Bill also lead the Investment Sales Platform for Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer in Charlotte, NC. Immediately prior to joining Thalhimer, Bill was responsible for disposition of commercial REO assets for national and regional commercial banks throughout the Southeast while at a competitive national real estate firm. Bill’s background includes 25 years of commercial real estate experience, 15 years of which were spent with Bank of America in the Real Estate Investment Banking, construction lending, and structured finance groups. Eight of these years, Bill was a Managing Director within the CMBS Capital Markets group responsible for origination and securitization of billions of dollars of commercial mortgages. Bill began his career in the commercial appraisal industry with Shiplett-Wilkins & Associates developing valuation experience in all major asset classes.

​Alan Lewis is an Industrial and Office Development Partner at The Keith Corporation (TKC), with over 28 years of experience in commercial real estate. Since joining The Keith Corporation in 1992, Alan has steadily grown TKC’s industrial build-to-suit and business park development platform into one of national preeminence. Alan attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and Finance. He is a past-president and board member of the Charlotte Region Commercial Board of Realtors, a member of the North Carolina Economic Developers Association, and a licensed broker in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Alan is also an elder at Myers Park Presbyterian Church and has supported and served on the Board of Directors of numerous charitable organizations.

​Mr. Coffey joined Gramercy in July 2013 and is a Senior Vice President in the Investments Department, responsible for investments in the East & Southeast regions of the U.S. Prior to joining Gramercy, Mr. Coffey was an Investment Banking Associate in the Real Estate, Gaming & Lodging Group at Bank of America. Mr. Coffey graduated with a B.B.A. in Finance from The George Washington University and an M.B.A. & M.P.S. in Real Estate from Cornell University.

Current responsibilities Brad Cherry is involved in all aspects of industrial real estate, including investment sales, project leasing and tenant representation. Experience During his over 30-year career, Brad has completed over 2,000 industrial real estate transactions, and has managed over 1,200,000 square feet of industrial development. In 1997, he was named by The Charlotte Business Journal as one of the city’s “Top 40 Influential People Under 40.” The Charlotte Region Commercial Board of Realtors (CRCBR) has recognized him as a “Top Producer” for many years, and in 2002 he was the “Overall Top Producer for the Charlotte Region.” Brad was a founding member of Keystone Partners from 2001 to 2011. He worked for Trammell Crow Company from 1992 to 2001 and for CB Richard Ellis from 1986 to 1992. • SilverPark: 30-acre land acquisition • Graybar/GLP: 200,000 SF agency leasing • Greylyn Business Park: 651,000 SF investment sale • Chesapeake Industrial Park: 561,000 SF investment sale • NorthPark Business Park: 321,000 SF investment sale • Premier Transportation and Storage 135,000 SF tenant representation Education and affiliations Brad is a member of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). Brad is also a current member and past Vice President (2011) of the Charlotte Regional Commercial Board of Realtors (CRCBR). Brad is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and a Licensed Real Estate Broker in North and South Carolina. Prior to entering the real estate business, Brad played on the ATP professional tennis tour, playing in the qualifying for both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and obtaining a world ranking of 347. Brad is married to Amanda with 3 children,1 son-in-law, and 1 grandson. Brad is actively involved in Urban Promise, TLVA Tennis Academy and FHL Mentoring program. In 2014, Brad was the awarded the JLL Carolinas Spotlight Catalyst Award which “recognizes role models for their influencing skills, confidence and decisiveness.”