Sharing lessons learned with the next generation of business professionals .
John Griffith
Managing Partner
Griffith Real Estate, LLC
Greater Minneapolis—St. Paul, MN
Education
Bethel University, St. Paul, MN
Bachelor of Arts
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, Minneapolis, MN
Master of Business Administration
Professional Experience and Background
John Griffith is the Managing Partner of Griffith Real Estate, LLC, a real
estate investment company located in Minnesota. John serves on the Board of Directors for CBL & Associates Properties, Inc. a real estate investment trust. The Reserve is a co-working company in Minnesota
where John also serves on their Board of Directors. John is the Governor’s appointee as a Commissioner
on the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which is currently building the new Minnesota Vikings NFL
Stadium.
Formerly, John was the EVP of Property Development at Target Corporation, a North American retailer with
more than $70 Billion in annual sales and real estate operations around the world. John was a member of
the Executive Committee reporting to the CEO and regularly presented to the Board on company strategy
and large capital requirements. He retired from Target in May of 2014 after 15 years of service.
While at Target, John oversaw extraordinary growth on a variety of fronts – building more than 1000 new
stores, adding millions of square feet of distribution center capacity and headquarters office space all over
the world. At the close of John’s tenure, he was responsible for more than 325 million square feet of
space, located in over 2000 buildings, in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim.
Additionally, John represented Target in government relations with the City of Minneapolis, the County of
Hennepin, and the State of Minnesota. He drove Target’s interest in maintaining strong public infrastructure, safe and clean streets, and a reliable, multi modal transportation network. Using strong deal making
skills, he helped to engineer transactions for new professional sports venues for the MN Vikings and the
MN Twins, as well as the remodeling of the MN Timberwolves basketball arena.
Prior to Target, John was VP of Real Estate Development at Ryan Construction where he led a three block
redevelopment in downtown Minneapolis resulting in 3 million square feet of office space in four towers,
200,000 square feet of retail space, and related parking structures. He was director of Real Estate Development at Opus Corporation for 3 years and prior to that was a Partner in the Trammell Crow Company.
Mr. Griffith has served on boards and executive committees for Bethel University, the International Council
of Shopping Centers, the Minneapolis Downtown Council, the Greater MSP economic development agency, and the Viking Council of Boy Scouts of America.
Personal Information
John has been married to Lisa for 30 years. They have three children. He enjoys
family time at the cabin, mountain biking, fly-fishing, and skiing.