Retail Real Estate Strategy & Market Planning Executive

Wells Fargo & Company•Minneapolis, MN

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced, strategic executive to lead retail real estate strategy and market planning for our nationwide branch network. This Managing Director will be responsible for shaping and executing a long-range plan for our physical footprint – optimizing the location, format, and performance of Wells Fargo’s thousands of retail branches and facilities across the United States. This executive will chair our cross-functional Real Estate Steering Committee and collaborate closely with Business Unit leaders, Finance, Corporate Properties Group, and Strategy to ensure our physical network supports our growth, customer experience, and financial objectives.

Requirements

10+ years of Business Execution, Implementation, or Strategic Planning experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
10+ years of real estate strategy and development experience in multi-unit retail, financial services, or a related industry
10+ years of experience creating and implementing strategic plans and roadmaps at the executive level for enterprise wide business initiatives
10+ years in leadership roles shaping and executing strategy
10+ years of contract negotiation and pricing experience
6+ years of management experience
6+ years of experience working in a data driven environment
6+ years of market research experience
6+ years capital budget management experience

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree or higher
Professional certifications in real estate, urban planning, or finance a plus
Background in retail banking/financial services with significant branch networks or analogous experience from multi-location consumer businesses (e.g. national retailers, QSR/hospitality chains, grocery/pharmacy, etc.)
Directly managed large geographic expansions or transformations – e.g. led a major store/branch expansion initiative, multi-unit franchise development program, or nationwide remodeling/reinvestment strategy
Comfort with overseeing a portfolio of thousands of sites and a team spread across multiple regions, with travel as needed
Implemented new site analytics capabilities, transitioning teams to a more data-driven mindset, or adapting a physical network to new consumer behaviors (e.g. integrating digital channels or new service models into physical locations). Innovative thinking about the future role of branches/retail stores is highly valued
Excellent communication, persuasion, and consensus-building skills
Cross-functional work experience
Customer-centric and analytical approach to decision-making

Responsibilities

Strategic Network Planning: Develop and continually refine a comprehensive real estate strategy for the branch network. Identify where to open, relocate, resize, consolidate, or close branches based on market analytics, customer needs, and competitive dynamics. Define the optimal mix of locations and formats (e.g. flagships, traditional branches, micro-branches, kiosks) to maximize market coverage and performance. Present data-driven business cases to senior leadership on an ongoing basis for network investments or rationalization.
Site Selection & Market Entry: Oversee all new site selection and market entry initiatives. Use sophisticated site analytics tools, demographic data, traffic pattern analysis, and local market research to evaluate potential locations. Lead the team in building business cases for each new site or market, including projected financial performance, cannibalization analysis, and risk assessments. Collaborate with Strategy and Business teams to prioritize new markets and develop market-entry playbooks.
Portfolio Optimization & Asset Management: Direct the active management of our existing real estate portfolio, which includes owned properties and leased locations. Implement processes to regularly assess branch performance and capacity utilization, and make decisions on lease renewals, relocations, or closures in line with company strategy. Ensure we are maximizing the value of owned real estate – including exploring opportunities for property acquisitions, dispositions, sale-leasebacks, and development of existing sites for higher ROI.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Serve as the company’s leading authority and advocate for real estate strategy, partnering with other functions to align physical network decisions with broader business goals. Work with Finance on capital allocation, budgeting for new projects, and managing occupancy expenses; with Retail/Branch Operations on ensuring that site strategies support customer experience, sales, and service delivery; with Design/Strategy on format innovation (e.g. new branch concepts) and brand presence; and with Corporate Properties Group on project execution and maintenance of existing assets.
Negotiations & Partnerships: Oversee real estate negotiations and partnership efforts. This includes purchase and lease agreements for new sites, renewals with landlords, and ongoing landlord/tenant relationships for leased locations. Build and maintain high-level relationships with developers, brokers, landlords, and civic authorities in key markets to position Wells Fargo as a partner of choice for development (securing prime locations, favorable lease terms, and smooth zoning/permitting processes). Evaluate potential strategic partnerships that could accelerate growth or optimize our network.
Team Leadership & Development: Lead a high-performing team of real estate professionals (solid and dotted-line), including VPs of Real Estate, site selectors, lease negotiators, and real estate portfolio managers. Set clear goals and metrics for network growth, optimization projects, and cost management (e.g. ROI on new builds, lease cost ratios, branch profitability, time-to-open). Mentor and develop internal talent, building bench strength in strategic thinking and negotiation skills. Foster a culture of rigorous analysis, proactive opportunity seeking, and cross-team collaboration within the real estate function.
Performance Management & Reporting: Establish key performance indicators for the real estate portfolio (e.g. branch profitability, foot traffic and sales lift from relocations, ROI on capital projects, occupancy cost as % of revenue). Monitor and report on portfolio performance and project execution to the executive team. Use data to tell the story of how our real estate strategy is contributing to business objectives (e.g. market share growth, expense management, customer satisfaction) and adjust plans as necessary.