Andres Aiza and the Power of Practical Thinking

Houston’s industrial real estate market moves quickly. Warehouses change hands. New logistics hubs appear. Old industrial land gets repositioned for modern use. Behind many of those changes are brokers who understand both the numbers and the people involved. Andres Aiza is one of them.

Aiza is a Senior Associate at Alpine Partners in Houston. His focus is industrial investment sales and project leasing. Most of his work centers on representing property owners. But his approach to the business did not start in brokerage. It started with understanding how businesses actually operate.

“I don’t just look at buildings as square footage,” Aiza says. “I look at how companies use the space. That changes everything.”

Growing up in Houston and learning resilience

Aiza was born and raised in Houston. The city’s industrial corridors, rail yards, and warehouse districts were part of the landscape around him growing up. He attended St. Thomas High School and later graduated from the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business.

His outlook on work and relationships was shaped early in life. When he was sixteen, his father passed away in an oil and gas accident. The experience left a lasting impression.

“It made me realize how precious life is,” Aiza says. “You can’t take a single day for granted.” He credits his mother for showing him what resilience looks like in practice.

“She always pushed forward,” he says. “She taught me to keep showing up and to put your best foot forward.”

A job in manufacturing that changed his perspective

Before entering real estate, Aiza spent three years working for Top Foods Inc., a company that manufactured and imported tortilla chips from Mexico. The role gave him an inside look at logistics and operations. He saw how products move from factories to warehouses to store shelves. He also saw how important the right industrial space can be.

“Working in manufacturing helped me understand how businesses think about space,” Aiza says. “You start to see how layout, loading docks, and location affect real operations.” That experience shaped how he evaluates industrial properties today. Instead of focusing only on square footage or price, he looks at how a property supports a company’s workflow.

“You stop seeing a building as a box,” he says. “You start seeing how it helps a business run.”

Building a career in industrial real estate

After leaving the manufacturing sector, Aiza moved into industrial real estate. He joined Alpine Partners, a Houston-based firm that brokers industrial properties across the country. Today, his primary focus is representing property owners in leasing and investment sales.

Many of the opportunities he works on come from relationships rather than public listings. “Most good opportunities don’t start with a sign in the yard,” Aiza says. “They start with a conversation.” His deep connections in the Houston market help him uncover off-market deals. These are opportunities that never reach traditional listing platforms.

That local knowledge has become a key part of his work. “When you grow up somewhere, you understand the neighborhoods and the people behind the businesses,” he says. “That context matters.”

Why tenant representation still matters

While owner representation is the core of Aiza’s business, he also works with tenants. That side of the industry helps him stay connected to how companies use industrial space. “Tenant work keeps you honest,” he says. “You hear what businesses actually need.”

This balance allows him to approach transactions with a broader perspective. He has worked on deals involving both local entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies. Many of those transactions required creative financial structures or customized lease terms.

“I like complex situations,” Aiza says. “They force you to slow down and think about solutions.”

Communication as a business advantage

One of Aiza’s strengths is communication. He is bilingual in English and Spanish, which allows him to work with a wider range of clients across Houston’s diverse business community. But language is only part of it. He also focuses on making complicated transactions easier to understand.

“Clear language builds trust,” he says. “If people understand what’s happening, decisions get easier.” In an industry where deals can become complicated quickly, that approach often helps keep negotiations moving forward.

Big ideas built on simple principles

Aiza does not describe his career in terms of big breakthroughs. Instead, he talks about steady habits and long-term thinking. For him, the big idea is simple, understand how businesses operate, stay connected to the market, and communicate clearly.

“Doing what you say you’ll do still matters,” he says. “It sounds basic, but it’s the foundation of everything.”

Outside of work, Aiza enjoys playing golf, spending time with his family, and watching Houston Astros baseball. He also supports Heroes for Children, a charity that helps families with children battling cancer, and volunteers with Loaves & Fishes in Houston. These activities keep him grounded while Houston’s industrial market continues to grow.

“The market will always change,” Aiza says. “But the way you treat people shouldn’t.”

For Aiza, that belief remains the guiding idea behind his work and the career he continues to build in Houston’s industrial real estate world.