Meet Our Leadership Team
Our leadership team has negotiated thousands of commercial real estate transactions on behalf of many retail concepts, and combined they bring more than 100 years of experience in negotiating commercial retail leases. We oversee the entire process from the initial site selection through lease execution. Over our long careers as real estate executives, we’ve negotiated more than 30 million square feet and have been involved in transactions with a value of over seven billion dollars.
David Nicolson
CEO - CO-FOUNDER
David Nicolson is CEO and co-founder of FranSite. David’s career started with Trammel Crow Company where he developed and leased over one million square feet of retail space. Following his tenure at Trammel Crow, David joined Weitzman and rapidly rose to President of the San Antonio office serving all of South Texas. To date he has been involved in over 3 million square feet of retail developments and brokered transactions valued in excess of $2 billion.
Recognizing franchisor and franchisee needs for quality national real estate services, David co-founded FranSite. Over the past twelve years FranSite has completed over three million square feet of real estate transactions which provided clients national oversight along with local knowledge from the FranSite team of 150 local brokers. FranSite’s client list has included Salons by JC, D1 Sports Training, Barre 3, HOTWORX, Golf Envy, CycleBar, Shred 415, BodyBar Pilates and many other national franchise brands.
David is a graduate of Baylor University with a Bachelor of Business and his Juris Doctor from the Baylor School of Law. He is a licensed real estate broker and attorney and is an active member of the International Franchise Association and International Council of Shopping Centers.
Daniel J. Mitchell
President - Co-Founder
Daniel J. Mitchell is a commercial real estate professional having over 55 years of experience with leadership roles at retailers expanding in the UK, Canada and the US resulting in over 30 million square feet of retail transactions. His initial experience was in quick-service restaurants at McDonald’s and Wendy’s where, in his management roles, he was responsible for over 300 restaurant openings. Corporate Big Box retail was the next challenge with responsibility for real estate, design and construction at Highland Superstores, Silo and Melville Corporation. At Melville, a Fortune 100 company, he directed the Linens ‘n Things program, Big Box Self Development and served on the Marshalls Real Estate Committee. Following corporate life, Mitchell became Senior Vice President at Katz and Associates along with a dual role as EVP of Development at Katz. There he represented many national brands including Linens ‘n Things, Galyan’s Trading Company (now Dick’s Sporting Goods), Cost Plus World Market, Shoe Carnival, Party City and many more while co-developing over 1.5 million square feet of highly successful shopping centers.
After forty years as a real estate road warrior around the country, Mitchell moved to San Antonio where he became EVP of Weitzman. Mitchell’s wealth of market knowledge across North America eventually led to co-founding FranSite with David Nicholson, where Mitchell continues to oversee operations as FranSite’s president. Since its formation twelve years ago, FranSite has become the outsourced real estate department for numerous franchise brands “Connecting Great Site to Great Franchises” with ongoing success in street, strip and mall venues. Clients have included CycleBar, @ the LB, Fueled Collective, Shred 415, Basketball Training Systems, BodyBar, Bishop’s and Nekter Juice Bar. Current clients include Salons by JC, D1 Sports Training, Barre 3, HOTWORX, Conquer Padel, Blue Sage Longevity Lab, Golf Envy and Candy Cloud, with many additional brands in pre- development status. A critical element of FranSite’s success has been the development of a local broker team that now numbers over 150 highly skilled and experienced brokers covering markets across the U.S. and Canada. This has allowed for consistent national oversight with knowledgeable boots on the ground targeting the best possible outcomes for both franchisor and franchisee.
Organizations
Mitchell is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and the International Franchise Association.
Education
Mitchell received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from Michigan State University.
Jason Rush
Senior Vice President
Jason enters franchising and National Site Selection with a unique perspective of having career paths in both Construction Management & Real Estate. Jason spent over eight years in Industrial Construction including Site Safety Project Management. Jason then worked two and a half years in Commercial/Residential Construction. In 2003, Jason shifted his focus to real estate full time. He has been licensed and practiced real estate for over 15 years in multiple states in Asset Management, Investment Sales and Management and Site Selection. Jason managed an investment portfolio valued in excess of $185 million. The portfolio was spread throughout 13 states and 32 cities where he oversaw the retail tenant finish out of over one million square feet and completed 3 million square feet of lease transactions.
For 5 years prior to joining FranSite, Jason worked in Franchise Development in the role of Director of Real Estate and Construction Management. He worked with franchisors and franchisees overseeing the site selection and construction processes. During this time, Jason oversaw the national roll out of hundreds of locations for brands such as CycleBar, Shred415, Ten Spot, The Now, and Fueled Collective.
Organizations
Rush is an active member in both International Council of Shopping Centers and International Franchise Association
Education
Jason received his BS from University of Phoenix
Alex Skruch
Vice President
Alex Skruch, an experienced tenant representative for franchise brands, is a Vice President with Fransite, a leading provider of commercial real estate services in the franchising industry.
At Fransite, Skruch offers expert site selections services designed to help FranSite’s clients to achieve best terms and locations for both the franchisee and franchisor alike. Prior to Fransite, he was National Transaction Manager with Morrow Hill, where he provided retail tenant representation services for numerous franchise brands across the United States and oversaw transactions in various stages of the transaction cycle while providing strategic guidance to franchisees and franchisors. He also has experience as a Research Analyst, where he conducted thorough site selection analysis, identifying prime retail locations conducive to franchisee success across the southeastern United States.
Organizations
Skruch is an active member in both the International Council of Shopping Centers and International Franchise Association.
Education
Skruch received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance with a certificate in Customer Relationship Management from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
William McDonough
Vice President
William McDonough is a Vice President with the San Antonio office of Weitzman, one of the largest retail-focused commercial real estate services firms based in Texas. In this position, McDonough handles retail project leasing and retail tenant representation, as well as general brokerage, in the San Antonio area. Prior to joining Weitzman, McDonough worked at Houston-based McAlister Real Estate, where he analyzed and researched commercial real estate properties for investment or brokerage representation.
Organizations
McDonough is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Education
McDonough received a Master of Real Estate degree from the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.
Rob Darnell
Vice President I Research
Darnell specializes in offering insight and location intelligence via spatial, demographic, and psychographic analyses, enabling brokers to provide meaningful contributions to local, regional and national tenant representation clients and project representation packages and pitches. As part of his duties, Darnell directs the activities of a team of professionals who specialize in location intelligence. Prior to his current employment, Darnell served for more than 14 years as director of research with a statewide Texas-based retail real estate firm.
Organizations
Darnell is a member of ICSC, the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Education
Darnell holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Geography with a core focus in Urban Retail Geography from the University of North Texas, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a minor in Geography from Texas Christian University. He is GIS certified via UNT and has continued his education by completing specialized training in ESRI, MapInfo, Synergos | PopStats and Trade Area Systems.