Madison Ward’s first memory of industrial real estate was when her mother, industrial veteran Lisa Ward, brought her along on a warehouse tour.
Bisnow/Jarred Schenke
Trammell Crow Co. Vice President Madison Ward
“I looked around and I said, ‘Mom, did you get a good degree? Did you go to college?’ Because I just thought the job seemed kind of dirty, being in a warehouse with the cobwebs and everything,” Madison Ward told Bisnow.
She does similar tours herself today as part of her new role as vice president in Trammell Crow Co.’s Atlanta office. She was hired in May to help develop new warehouses in the Southeast.
“I just wanted to try something a little more entrepreneurial and closer to the deals,” the younger Ward said. “Obviously, seeing my mom do it for however many years, I kind of saw how that business can be really interesting, and I really like the relationship aspect of it.”
Madison Ward is among several Metro Atlanta commercial real estate professionals who followed their parents’ footsteps into the industry. Other rising stars include Colliers principal Meredith Selvey, whose mom is office tenant rep Jodi Selvey, and Cousins Properties Senior Vice President Jeff Dils, son of former Minnesota Vikings quarterback and retired Avison Young executive Steve Dils.
Lisa Ward spent more than 25 years with industrial development giant IDI and was managing director of Atlanta-based Core5 Industrial Partners before retiring last year. She was one of the first women in Atlanta’s industrial real estate sector and blazed a trail as a heavy hitter. She helped develop and lease such projects as J.M. Smucker Co.’s 1M SF facility in Fairburn and Clorox’s 1.1M SF facility in Atlanta.
Despite the exposure, Madison Ward didn’t immediately get into commercial real estate. After graduating in 2019 from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a certificate in supply chain and operations, Madison Ward set out to be a business consultant at Accenture.
“I was always interested in real estate, but when I decided to go to Tech, there’s not like a real estate track, so I chose finance,” she said. “All my peers were getting into consulting and startups, and so while I was interested in real estate and took all the real estate classes that Tech offered, I guess I kind of fell into some peer pressure or just decided to go a different path.”
Courtesy of Madison Ward
Atlanta industrial veteran Lisa Ward and her daughter Madison Ward
But the pandemic soured her first job as a consultant, and Madison Ward left and sought a career change. She joined CRE brokerage firm KBC Advisors in 2021 as an industrial real estate associate, leasing last-mile industrial space for Amazon.
“I didn’t really think she would stay in commercial real estate. I just thought this would be a stop along the way in her supply chain career,” Lisa Ward said.
But the younger Ward’s career stuck.
In 2022, she joined investment management giant PGIM, where she spent four years leasing industrial properties throughout the Southeast.
In May, Madison Ward joined Trammell Crow because she wanted to get into the development side of the business, she said.
“When I took this job, I wanted to be in this for the long haul,” she said. “I think being able to take something from nothing to a full building leased and sold sounds just like, honestly, very satisfying.”
Kathleen Bonesz, senior vice president of Ryan Cos. and one of Madison Ward’s industry mentors, said she sees her mentee as driven and ambitious, and having Lisa Ward as her mom and mentor will help her thrive in the industry.
“Her mom is a great leader, kind of a legend, I would say. Especially for women,” Bonesz said.
Lisa Ward said her advice to her daughter when she was contemplating taking the Trammell Crow position was straightforward.
“Be a professional, and you will rise to the top. She intuitively understood that,” Lisa Ward said. “She’s smart and she’s tenacious. She knows how to read people really well.”
