In this episode of The Distribution, host Brandon Sedloff sits down with Aasif Bade, founder and CEO of Ambrose, to explore how he built one of the country’s leading modern industrial real estate platforms from the ground up. Aasif shares his journey from watching his father work in a warehouse on the west side of Indianapolis to founding Ambrose in 2008—just weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. He explains how that moment of uncertainty became an opportunity to reimagine how industrial real estate could be developed and operated with an entrepreneurial, client-first mindset.
They discuss:
• The childhood experience that sparked Aasif’s lifelong passion for warehouses and real estate
• Lessons learned from Duke Realty and how they shaped Ambrose’s “boots on the ground” approach
• Launching Ambrose during the Great Financial Crisis and the conviction behind taking that risk
• The evolution from deal-by-deal partnerships to raising a $400 million institutional fund
• How modern industrial design and advanced automation are redefining America’s supply chain
• The growing overlap between industrial and data center development opportunities
• Why power access and hands-on market knowledge create a competitive edge
LInks:
Ambrose - https://ambrosepg.com/
Aasif on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aasif-bade-a3b1851a4/
Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsedloff/
Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:42) - Aasif's early interest in warehousing
(00:12:25) - Starting Ambrose during economic turmoil
(00:18:28) - The growth and scale of Ambrose
(00:23:54) - Challenges in raising an institutional fund
(00:25:45) - Building relationships with institutional investors
(00:28:34) - Boots on the ground approach
(00:29:39) - Understanding market nuances
(00:33:27) - Organizational structure and outsourcing
(00:38:12) - Impact of onshoring and reshoring
(00:42:20) - Supply and demand dynamics in industrial real estate
(00:47:18) - Inside a modern industrial warehouse
(00:49:43) - Power constraints in modern warehouses
(00:51:21) - Conclusion and final thoughts
