Best Minds: Jim Kilberg, Weyerhaeuser

October 10, 2019

By Gregg Logan, Managing Director

Podcast Landowner Business Strategy

How does Weyerhaeuser derive value from its vast land holdings as one of the world’s largest timber REITs?

In this episode, RCLCO Managing Director, Gregg Logan, speaks with Weyerhaeuser Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources, Jim Kilberg, for a conversation about balancing entrepreneurial spirit with organizational discipline, the role of partnerships and joint ventures in leveraging value from an extensive land portfolio, and navigating the complexities of the regulatory environment on the state and federal levels.

“When you work on this scale, you have an opportunity to affect communities in perpetuity. You have a chance to change the future of a community.” – Jim Kilberg

About Jim Kilberg and Weyerhaeuser

Jim Kilberg is a named executive officer and senior real estate executive with 35 years of experience in all facets of real estate and natural resource strategy development and execution. Over the course of his career, Jim has directed small and large-scale development across a broad array of asset classes, outsourcing services in multiple industries, restaurant, and retail unit development, and energy & natural resources. Jim’s experience spans urban, suburban, and rural markets, and includes market analysis, transaction management, community engagement/visioning, branding, zoning & entitlement, leasing & marketing, joint venture structuring, acquisitions, dispositions, recreational lease management, mitigation banking, conservation, and large-scale master planning.

Jim is currently the Senior Vice President of Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources at Weyerhaeuser, a Fortune 300 company with a market cap of $27 billion. Weyerhaeuser is a timber REIT and the largest private landowner in the world with over 13 million acres in 19 U.S. states. Jim oversees all “alternative value” business lines, including real estate, mitigation banking, conservation, development, recreational lease management, cell towers, billboards, renewables (wind and solar), construction materials, coal, oil & gas, and industrial minerals.

About Gregg Logan & RCLCO

Over the past 30 years Gregg Logan has worked with leading real estate developers, landowners, investors, builders, and public sector entities, helping them make the best development, investment and/or planning decisions for their real estate. Gregg’s advisory work has included market evaluations and strategies for residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments; town centers and suburban business districts; and economic development studies for cities, counties, and community improvement districts.

RCLCO is proud to be the “first call” for real estate developers, investors, the public sector, and non-real estate organizations seeking strategic and tactical advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. RCLCO leverages quantitative analytics and a strategic planning framework to provide end-to-end business planning and implementation solutions at an entity, portfolio, or project level.

Topics in this episode include:

What led to real estate? (02:30)
Balancing entrepreneurial spirit with organizational discipline (07:00)
How does Weyerhaeuser look at real estate relative to the earnings of the overall organization? (10:45)
Developing the Weyerhaeuser “playbook” (13:20)
Increasing the value of the land portfolio on an annual basis (16:55)
The role of partnerships and joint ventures in leveraging land values (18:23)
Strategically prioritizing projects to ensure operational success (22:50)
Navigating the complexities of the regulatory environment on the state and federal levels (25:05)
Most rewarding parts of the job (26:02)
Advice for young executives & business leaders (29:32)
Mistakes made over the course of a successful career (34:20)
What does the future look like for real estate? (42:45)