Eric Spencer, a Nashville, Tennessee-area native who’s worked for a couple of major commercial real estate companies in Atlanta for the past several years, has returned home.

Spencer started a job this spring as vice president of investment and strategic planning at GBT Realty Corp., a national development and investment company based in Brentwood, Tennessee, near Nashville.

In his new role, Spencer focuses on the finances and cash management for the company and serves as a strategy liaison between several departments at GBT, including accounting, capital markets and asset management.

Spencer grew up in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin, Tennessee, and graduated from Vanderbilt University in the Tennessee capital.

“My family decided to move back to Nashville because my wife received an offer that is a dream opportunity with the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University,” Spencer said in an interview. “In the search for my next opportunity, my first call was to GBT Realty.”

Before joining GBT, Spencer served as vice president and head of asset management analytics at Jamestown, the Atlanta-based investment firm that owns trophy properties across the United States. At Jamestown, he oversaw a team that supported a portfolio of more than 50 assets with an aggregate value of more than $10 billion. Prior to Jamestown, he held positions at Jones Lang LaSalle, ACG Professionals Inc. and CWCapital Asset Management.

“Eric brings a wealth of commercial real estate experience to our executive team,” GBT President and CEO George Tomlin said in a statement. “His various roles throughout multiple real estate sectors provides him with a well-rounded background as GBT seeks to grow our business as well as preserve and add value to all assets.”

Spencer said he had worked with GBT in the past and had known members of its executive team for several years.

“After a few months of staying in touch, I was excited they had a position for me to not only offer my expertise, but to learn from some of the best in the business,” Spencer said.

During his first several weeks at GBT, Spencer said he has been getting up to speed about existing investments and learning about its diverse portfolio. As he helps GBT consider new investments as stay-at-home orders are lifted and cities across America reopen, Spencer said GBT’s entrepreneurial spirit will be a benefit.

“Opportunities will present themselves, particularly in the Southeast, as the economy returns to normal,” he said. “The traditional forms of commercial real estate investing will certainly return over time, but the best opportunities will come from the creative and entrepreneurial thinkers in the industry.”

As Spencer settles into his new job at GBT, he doesn’t hesitate when asked what he’d be doing if he weren’t working in commercial real estate.

“I would be working as a dive master for a scuba shop in the Dominican Republic,” he said.