Skip Kalb

Skip Kalb

Project Manager

Skip Kalb is North America’s preeminent rail-oriented industrial development strategist, bringing 41 years of executive experience with BNSF Railway Company and its predecessor Santa Fe Railway to every engagement. His core strengths include developing billion-dollar multimodal transportation complexes, pioneering intermodal hub co-location strategies, leading strategic rail-centric site selection initiatives, and transforming raw land into world-class rail-served industrial facilities.

Skip joined the Real Estate & Industrial Development Department of the Santa Fe Railway Company in Topeka, Kansas, immediately after graduating from Kansas University, and went on to retire from BNSF Railway Company after 41 years of service, where he held responsibility for both the Real Estate and Industrial Development Departments of both companies. During this period, Skip initiated several strategic, rail-centric multimodal transportation development projects, including the UPS Super Hub at Willow Springs, Illinois; the Alliance Consolidated Transportation Center in Alliance, Texas; BNSF’s Logistics Park-Chicago multimodal complex at the former Joliet Arsenal; and Logistics Park-Kansas City.

Prior to his retirement, Skip served as Project Lead for several of BNSF’s major customer projects, including what would have been the largest bulk export facility and crude-by-rail terminals in North America. His early work on intermodal strategies for industrial development is considered the seminal work behind what is now widely accepted as the nation’s Intermodal Hub Co-Location real estate development strategy. Skip also led BNSF’s Transload Group and the development of BNSF’s first Logistics Center, Logistics Center-Fontana, and was deeply involved in a landmark rail-to-truck transloading legal case that was ultimately decided favorably by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Skip’s industry leadership includes service as President of the American Railway Development Association and Associate Chair of the former International Development Research Council (IDRC), now known as CoreNet Global, where he was granted the “Master Professional” designation held by only 5% of the membership. He attended the Economic Development Institute in Norman, Oklahoma, where his thesis, “The Private Capital Investment Decision-Making Process, An Analytical Approach to Industrial Development,” received the Outstanding Thesis Award from the Midwest Economic Development Council. Skip joined NAIOP in 2004 and was named a Governor and Trustee of NAIOP’s Research Foundation in 2016, having chaired NAIOP’s Industry Trends Task Force and Research Committee and now serving as Immediate Past Chair of the Research Foundation.

Skip holds a B.S. in Biology/Chemistry from Baker University and an M.B.A. from Kansas University. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Denton County Transportation Authority, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Baker University, and as a founding member of the Argyle, Texas Economic Development Corporation. Skip is presently Principal of Skip Kalb Strategies, LLC, consulting on rail-oriented developments and other logistics projects, and serves as an advisor for two international expert networks on rail logistics and development issues.