How do you go from a background in logistics, time in the U.S. Marines, and then a move into CRE and finally a career in investment and finance? Carefully, with a lot of work, study, bottom-up experience, and a regular practice of looking ahead.

Jorjio Hopkins, now an assistant vice president at commercial real estate investment firm MLG Capital, grew up near Madison, Wisconsin. He received an undergraduate degree in logistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Navel Reserve Officers Training Corps saw him through school and then graduation as a second lieutenant, who chose to be a logistics officer, involving additional training. But also, relocation as his wife returned to Wisconsin, a master's, and "good school position," Hopkins tells GlobeSt.com. He kept looking to learn and advance himself, like a long-weekend leadership program from Deloitte "where you're diving into your skillset" and a lot of networking practice.