Charlie Trotman is a Montgomery, Alabama native with a distinguished background in athletics, academics, law, and commercial real estate development. The son of John M. Trotman, a prominent leader in the cattle industry, Charlie attended Auburn University on a football scholarship and served as the starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers from 1977 to 1979. During his collegiate career, he earned Academic All-SEC honors in both 1978 and 1979 and received Auburn’s prestigious Cliff Hare Award in 1979, one of the university’s highest athletic honors.

After graduating from Auburn in 1980 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Business, Charlie continued his education at Cumberland School of Law. He earned his law degree and successfully passed the Alabama Bar Exam in 1983. Although qualified to practice law, he chose to pursue opportunities in commercial real estate, a field that better aligned with his entrepreneurial interests.

Charlie began his real estate career with Jim Wilson & Associates, where he specialized in leasing retail space within regional shopping centers. He later joined Helms-Roark, Inc., focusing on the development of grocery-anchored retail centers. Building on this experience, Charlie founded The Trotman Company, Inc. in 1990, establishing a firm that continues to serve the commercial real estate industry today.