Global Student Accommodation, CBRE, DWS, Nexus Industrial REIT, Universal Hydrogen, Panattoni, Tritax EuroBox, CPIPG
DWS – Ulrich Steinmetz has been appointed head of real estate transactions for Europe. Christian Baecker has taken over Steinmetz’s responsibility as head of portfolio management real estate retail – in particular, for the German real estate retail funds business. Ronen Ribak has been appointed to the newly created position of head of value-add real estate for Europe. Steinmetz, who joined DWS in 2002 covering real estate transactions for North America, South America, Asia-Pacific and the UK, has managed DWS’s open and closed-ended real estate retail funds business in Germany since October 2008. Baecker joined DWS’s real estate platform in 2005 and has managed a global open-ended real estate retail fund since 2016. Ribak, a long-serving member of the European real estate platform since 2004 with recent responsibility for European transactions, has been appointed as head of value-add real estate for Europe.
Newcore Capital – the infrastructure real estate investment manager has strengthened its senior leadership team with the appointment of Christine Milne as finance director. She was previously a managing director at PATRIZIA. Milne will be responsible for the oversight of Newcore’s financial reporting and accounting. Milne brings over 15 years of combined real estate experience, including roles at asset and development manager MEPC and investment manager PATRIZIA. Prior to this, Milne spent 10 years at PwC.
CBRE – The firm’s board has appointed CEO Robert Sulentic to the additional role of chair of the board of directors. Sulentic, who has served as president and CEO of CBRE since December 2012, succeeds Brandon Boze, who has served as chair since May 2018 and will remain on the board. Shira Goodman, former CEO of Staples and a director since May 2019, has been appointed lead independent director.
Global Student Accommodation – Simon Bray has been appointed global head of finance. Bray, who will join GSA’s executive team, will have responsibility for the finance, fund control, tax, people and culture, treasury and risk and compliance functions at the firm. Before joining the company, Bray most recently spent eight years in senior roles at BNP Paribas in Ireland, including as CEO, fund administration services and chief administration officer, securities services. Prior to that he served as CFO of both Credit Suisse Prime Fund Services EMEA and Fortis Prime Fund Solutions.
Panattoni – Nick Preston has been appointed to lead a new investment management division. Preston has been appointed head of the newly created Panattoni Investment Management, which will provide Panattoni with additional pools of capital. Preston will work by forming discretionary pools of capital with longer investment horizons, supplementing the company’s existing investor base. Preston was previously CEO of Tritax EuroBox. Between 2012 and 2016 he worked at Grosvenor Fund Management. Before that, he was instrumental in growing CBRE Investment Management’s UK business.
Universal Hydrogen – Anastasiya Pasterick has been appointed CFO. Pasterick will lead all aspects of Universal Hydrogen’s finance activities, including financial planning and strategy, capital raising, investor relations, financial reporting, treasury, and compliance. Pasterick comes to Universal Hydrogen after more than four years of successful leadership at Nikola Corp, where she served most recently as CFO. Before Nikola, Pasterick held several financial leadership positions at various OEMs, including director of accounting operations at Erickson Inc and Corporate Controller at nLIGHT. Pasterick started her career at KPMG, serving a diverse portfolio of clients in the automotive and technology sectors.
CPIPG – David Greenbaum, CFO of the property group since 2018, has been appointed CEO and managing director and was co-opted to CPIPG’s board of directors. Greenbaum replaces Martin Němeček, who has resigned from his roles of CEO, managing director, and member of the board of directors. After a short break, Němeček will remain with CPIPG in a newly created senior role focused on high-value projects. Zdeněk Havelka, currently the executive director of the group, has also been appointed to the newly created position of COO. Havelka has been with the group for more than 20 years, has already been driving many aspects of CPIPG’s operations, and will formally assume some of Němeček’s internal responsibilities. Pavel Měchura, group finance director, will remain in his role and will become the sole head of the finance division.
Nexus Industrial REIT – Mike Rawle has been appointed CFO. Rawle will replace Robert Chiasson, who is stepping down from his role as CFO to pursue other opportunities. Rawle has over 20 years of finance experience, most recently at Maple Leaf Foods where he has held senior positions as VP, finance and treasurer and has led the investor relations department as VP, investor relations and treasury. He began his career at EY, eventually moving to Barrick Gold Corporation where he held various financial roles in Toronto, South Africa, and Barbados. Later, he worked at Uranium One as VP, treasurer.
Elite Commercial REIT Management – Michael Tong Meng Chong has been appointed chief financial officer of the Singapore-listed REIT with immediate effect. Tong succeeds Joel Cheah Zhuo Yue who resigned as CFO in August 2023 to pursue other opportunities. Tong’s responsibilities will include formulation and execution of Elite REIT’s financial strategies, capital management, risk management, finance and accounting functions, treasury, taxation, budgeting and financial reporting. Prior to joining Elite REIT, Tong was Lendlease’s general manager finance, Asia. He joined Lendlease in 2012 from PwC. Tong reports to Elite’s CEO Joshua, Liaw Liang Huat.
