Industrial Southeast Summit

As President, Linda leads Core5 with a strategic vision built through close collaboration with Kajima USA, the company’s parent. She takes an approach that includes alignment of long-term growth with a culture of collaboration and team building, overseeing all real estate development and investment functions for the company. In 2019 Linda was named a “Woman of Influence” by RE Forum for the second time in her career, an award which honors outstanding women in commercial real estate and the Atlanta Business Chronicle named her “CFO of the Year” for her invaluable contribution to the success of her employer as well as the communities the company served. Atlanta Woman magazine chose Linda as one of “20 Women on the Way” in recognition of her career accomplishments and community involvement. In September Women We Admire announced Linda as one of its “Top Women Leaders” for 2023. A devoted community volunteer, Linda currently serves on the board of directors and performs an officer role as treasurer of 3Keys, an organization that provides permanent supportive housing to homeless individuals living with mental illness. Past volunteer efforts with the greater Atlanta community include appointments with the Atlanta Children’s Shelter where she sat on the board of directors and performed officer roles as both treasurer and vice chair and as a member of the grant committee for Ribbons of Hope. Linda has held positions as a member of the board of trustees and is currently chair of the finance committee of Haygood Memorial United Methodist Church. A graduating member of Leadership Buckhead, a program created to help high-potential individuals develop fully as leaders, Linda previously served as the treasurer of the board of directors. Linda holds a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from the University of Mississippi. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and was the Gold Key Award Winner for receiving the highest grade in the state of Georgia the year she took the certification exam. Linda stays actively involved in her industry through memberships in the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Capital Markets Council and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP). A former member of the National Association of Real Estate Companies, she served a past as president. Linda’s past experience includes a 19-year term with Kajima’s former industrial company, IDI, where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining IDI, she was a manager in MetLife’s real estate investments group where she was responsible for portfolio financial analysis and real estate financial reporting. She started her career as an auditor for KPMG Peat Marwick.

Austin McDonald oversees the company’s daily activities related to financing, leasing, asset management, property management, and accounting. This includes coordinating support of the company’s portfolio with cash flow projections, debt and equity strategies, development performance analysis and lease analysis and negotiations. Mr. McDonald maintains relationships with McDonald’s investors and a broad range of financial institutions. Mr. McDonald is also responsible for the company’s development activities in the State of Florida, including direct oversight of leasing and property management of the company’s existing parks and identifying and executing new development opportunities throughout the state. Mr. McDonald began his career at Carter and Associates, a full service regional real estate firm based in Atlanta. He coordinated development proforma analysis, property valuations, acquisition and dispositions, financing packages and lease analysis. Mr. McDonald graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Economics. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). He is a licensed real estate broker in the State of Georgia. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Atlanta Vanderbilt Alumni Association, is Past-President of the Pace Academy Alumni Association Board, and is a current board member of the Atlanta Airport West and Atlanta Airport South Community Improvement Districts.

John Hobart joined Crescent Communities in 2025 and currently serves as Managing Director of industrial. John is responsible for leading the industrial initiatives across Georgia and Florida and growing the AXIAL brand development platform. John brings more than a decade of multifaceted experience in industrial real estate, with a track record that spans development, brokerage, and large-scale portfolio management. Prior to joining Crescent Communities, he served as director of industrial development at Greystar, where he helped grow the firm’s industrial footprint across Georgia and Tennessee. Prior to that, Hobart worked as a broker with KBC Advisors, advising clients on strategic site selection and deal structuring, and also held senior operational roles with Link Industrial Properties and Seefried Industrial Properties.

Mr. Smith joined Seefried Properties in 2000 and serves as Senior Vice President. He is responsible for leasing existing and future industrial product, locating development opportunities, selling excess land and pursuing build-to-suit opportunities on existing land sites. In addition, Mr. Smith oversees Seefried's third-party management business that is currently compromised of 13 million square feet of institutionally owned product. Mr. Smiths' portfolio includes buildings owned by major institutional owners, smaller privately held investors and Seefried developed buildings. His concentrations include leasing and marketing of a 15 million square foot portfolio in Atlanta compromised of industrial product throughout all of Atlanta’s major submarkets.

John I. Ratliff, Vice President, is responsible for EastGroup’s operations in the Atlanta, Greenville, and Charlotte markets. Mr. Ratliff joined EastGroup in 2020. Prior to joining EastGroup, Mr. Ratliff was Vice President at Goddard Investment Group. He has also worked as an analyst at BB&T. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Rhodes College and a Masters in Business Administration from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Chris joined RC Andersen in 2025 as Director of Mission Critical and was subsequently appointed Vice President in recognition of his leadership, technical expertise, and extensive industry experience. He brings a hands-on approach and deep understanding of the Mission Critical, Advanced Manufacturing, Automotive, Food, and Industrial sectors. His expertise spans operations management, site power assessment and distribution, infrastructure logistics and scalability, Lithium/Sodium UPS systems, client portfolio management, project leadership, budget analysis, risk management, engineering coordination, market trend analysis, and team development. Chris is particularly experienced in navigating the complex demands and evolving technologies unique to Mission Critical and Advanced Manufacturing construction environments.

Christina Graham represents real estate developers, owners, and operators across the United States on a wide range of commercial real estate matters. A significant portion of her practice is focused on development, and Christina regularly advises clients on all aspects of the acquisition, financing and disposition of existing assets in various asset classes. She also advises on mixed-use projects and has experience in the student housing sector. Christina is known for guiding clients through each stage of an investment. Her practice often involves complex capital structures, joint venture arrangements, and transactions that require careful coordination across multiple stakeholders. She works closely with developers and investors to structure and close those complex transactions, often involving layered financing and thoughtful exit strategies. Her clients, including large industrial and multifamily owners and developers, rely on her to manage all aspects of their transactions, from negotiating and drafting purchase and sale agreements to handling reciprocal easement agreements, loan documentation, municipal incentives, and tax-efficient transaction structures. In addition to her work in the core sectors of multifamily and industrial assets, Christina advises clients on a wide variety of transactions involving asset classes such as raw land, medical properties, office buildings, residential subdivisions, resort properties, multifamily developments, and retail centers. Her practice includes development, financing, and tax-deferred exchange transactions, as well as public-private partnership (P3) projects.