James Gravante
Orlando,FL
Summary
Results-driven Senior Real Estate Manager with 15+ years of experience in retail strategy, acquisitions, and portfolio management for global brands including Amazon, Disney, and Taubman. Expertise in negotiating high-value leases and acquisitions, leading cross-functional teams, and driving revenue growth through strategic planning and market analysis. Proven track record of closing deals generating millions in revenue, optimizing portfolios, and expanding retail networks nationwide, while enhancing operational efficiency and customer experiences.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Sr. Real Estate Manager
Amazon
Orlando, FL
10.2024 - Current
- Formulate and implement Amazon’s retail real estate strategy for leases and acquisitions across banners, including Whole Foods, Daily Shop, Amazon Fresh, and a future supercenter retail and fulfillment hybrid concept.
- Source lease and acquisition opportunities nationwide, with a focus on key markets such as the New York Tri-State, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Sacramento, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington, D.C.
- Lead a team of four transaction managers and 11 unique broker teams supporting retail real estate acquisitions. Foster relationships with fee developers, external due diligence partners, landlords, and sellers.
- Collaborate on initial site plan development to ensure compliance with program requirements, site characteristics, safety standards, and customer experience goals.
- Negotiate LOIs, leases, work letters, purchase-sale agreements, and fee development contracts directly with landlords and sellers.
- Partner with cross-functional teams, including site development, pre-construction, civil engineering, architectural design, workplace health and safety, economic development, in-house counsel, outside land use counsel, and operations to advance opportunities through critical approval and due diligence milestones.
- Present site opportunities to the Real Estate Committee (REC), including Amazon Grocery’s CEO and senior leadership, securing approvals for multimillion-dollar projects.
- Coordinate internal process improvements with real estate program management to enhance site acquisition efficiency.
- Own portfolio management activities including lease extensions, expansions, relocations, renewals, and dispositions (assignments and subleases).
Program Management Lead, Real Estate
Amazon
Orlando, FL
08.2020 - 10.2024
- Owned the 10-year network plan for all Amazon banners, recommending new market entries, site acquisition pacing, supply chain growth, and grocery delivery topology to support long-term expansion.
- Served as the primary real estate point of contact for business and operations support, advising on strategic initiatives.
- Authored and presented executive-level documents, including annual operating plans (OP1/OP2), monthly and quarterly business reviews, and new concept proposals, to drive informed decision-making.
- Led a team of four program managers overseeing real estate pipelines and the REC process across banners, achieving key performance targets. Oversaw the approval of over 80 sites added to the lease portfolio.
- Developed process initiatives, SOPs, and SLAs to enable organization-wide collaboration; created scalable, automated tools for real estate workflows, reducing average deal procurement timeline (site identification to lease execution) by 33%.
- Established annual team goals, tracked KPIs, and reported on progress, risks, and business impacts to leadership.
Operating Participants Development Manager
The Walt Disney Company
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
07.2015 - 08.2020
- Led asset strategy, business development, and leasing for Disney’s global Parks & Resorts portfolio, integrating third-party tenants in retail, dining, entertainment districts, theme parks, and resorts.
- Analyzed portfolio performance using market research, guest insights, industrial engineering, and benchmarking to identify development opportunities.
- Developed and executed tenanting strategies for complexes like Disney Springs and Downtown Disney District, maximizing revenue, operating income, efficiency, and guest experience measures.
- Built relationships with retail, restaurant, entertainment, and service partners; pitched opportunities under landlord-tenant or licensed models, guiding them through concept, design, due diligence, and integration with tenant coordination and Walt Disney Imagineering.
- Negotiated and closed 28 lease agreements, generating $116 million in projected revenue and $19.8 million in annual operating income in 2019.
Leasing Agent
The Taubman Company
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
05.2013 - 06.2015
- Managed 30+ national and regional retail accounts in a portfolio of 24 super-regional retail properties totaling 21 million square feet under management.
- Engaged with retailers, restaurateurs, and brokers through portfolio review to identify opportunities for new locations.
- Negotiated and closed 41 new leases and 35 renewals, generating $21.7M in annual rent revenue (3.9% of enterprise revenue).
- Prepared quarterly and annual shopping center merchandising plans and 3YF net operating income forecasts for five Class-A regional shopping centers representing 6.5 million square feet of leasable area.
Strategy & Research Analyst
The Taubman Company
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
09.2010 - 04.2013
- Supported leasing, development, operations, and executive teams through ad hoc research, financial analyses, market feasibility studies, and consumer insight reports.
Education
MBA -
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL05-2019
Bachelor of Science - Finance / Real Estate
University of Denver
Denver, CO06-2010
Skills
- Long-term Strategic Planning
- Market Analysis & Network Planning
- Business Development
- Real Estate Development
- Contract Negotiations
- Financial Modeling
- Relationship Management
- Asset Management
- Team Leadership & Mentoring
- Program & Process Management
Timeline
Sr. Real Estate Manager
Amazon
10.2024 - Current
Program Management Lead, Real Estate
Amazon
08.2020 - 10.2024
Operating Participants Development Manager
The Walt Disney Company
07.2015 - 08.2020
Leasing Agent
The Taubman Company
05.2013 - 06.2015
Strategy & Research Analyst
The Taubman Company
09.2010 - 04.2013
MBA -
University of Florida
Bachelor of Science - Finance / Real Estate
University of Denver