People moves: Garcia joins CBRE GI as chief pension investment strategist

Knight Frank, Caerus Debt Investments, BNP Paribas, Crestbridge, Augentius, B8 Real Estate, Bruntwood, High Street Residential, Fairfield Residential Company, GTIS Partners, Mack Real Estate, Beechwood Homes, Morgan Taylor Homes, CBRE Global Investors, PERA of New Mexico, Grosvenor

CBRE Global Investors – Dominic Garcia has joined the global real assets investment management firm’s infrastructure team as chief pension investment strategist. The new role is focused on developing solutions for pension funds looking to expand their investments in infrastructure. Garcia, who has 16 years’ experience in the investment and pension industry, joins from the Public Employees Retirement System of New Mexico, where he has served as CIO since 2017. Prior to his role at New Mexico, Garcia served on the investment committee and was a senior funds alpha manager for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board.

Caerus Debt Investments – Peter Anthuber has been appointed to the management board to take over the position of CIO. Anthuber replaces Patrick Züchner, who is leaving the executive board. Anthuber will be primarily responsible for loan origination and loan portfolio management. In addition, in collaboration with CEO Michael Morgenroth and COO Bernhard Berg, he will develop strategies for the further growth of Caerus. Anthuber was previously managing director at BNP Paribas SA in the corporate and investment banking/real estate capital markets division. Prior to this, he was executive director at BNP Paribas for nine years in the area of leveraged finance EMEA and supported international private equity investors with financings in the DACH region. Further positions in his career were held at UniCredit/HypoVereinsbank, Lazard and Deutsche Bank.

Knight Frank – The global real estate advisor has appointed Shabab Qadar as a partner in its commercial research team. Qadar will lead on all London commercial research and support the existing team. Qadar joins Knight Frank from Invesco, where he worked as a senior analyst on the real estate securities portfolio team. Qadar spent nine years at the investment management company, before which he was head of UK and Ireland real estate research at Grosvenor Britain and Ireland, and was an economist at the Engineering Employers Federation. 

Grosvenor Group – The international property group has appointed Melanie Gee as non-executive chair of the Grosvenor Britain & Ireland board. Gee will initially join as a non-executive director with immediate effect, succeeding Jonathon Bond in the role of chair from September this year. As previously announced, Bond takes up the newly created role of CIO, Grosvenor Estate. Gee is a senior adviser in London to Lazard, the global financial advisory and asset management firm, having joined as a managing director in 2008. Melanie spent the previous 25 years in the financial advisory business with SG Warburg & Co and then UBS. She is chair of FTSE250 life sciences investor Syncona, also chairing its nomination and governance Committee. She is a non-executive director at Standard Life Aberdeen. Gee also sits on advisory groups for two private family offices and a charity.

Crestbridge – James Watts has been appointed director, head of client operations within the company’s institutional segment. In his new role, Watts is responsible for the development and enhancement of cross-function systems, controls and procedures that support the strategic management and growth of client relationships. His previous roles include COO of Augentius, a global provider of alternative investment solutions to private equity and real estate funds.

GTIS Partners –  The real assets investment firm has hired Gary Davis, Bill Mumford, and Kurt Rouse. They join Teddy Karatz, senior director of acquisitions and development, and Scott Bordogna, director of asset management, within the firm’s single-family build-to-rent platform to expand regional site and project sourcing and technical expertise and bolster the firm’s in-house development capabilities. Davis, head of development, will oversee the development of the firm’s build-to-rent communities and was most recently director of development for Mack Real Estate. Prior to his role at Mack Real Estate, he worked with Rob Vahradian, partner and head of US Investments at GTIS, at The Athena Group, a residential developer in NYC, Washington DC, and South Florida, as a partner and head of development. Mumford, senior director of acquisitions and development, will launch and operate out of the GTIS office in North Carolina and be responsible for overseeing acquisition and development in the Southeast US for the GTIS BTR platform. He was previously tasked with expanding the presence of Beechwood Homes in North Carolina. Before Beechwood, he spent 17 years with Newland Real Estate Group, a premier national master plan development company, as a senior VP and division manager. Rouse, VP of Development, will focus on project and development management for GTIS’ BTR projects in the Phoenix MSA. Previously, he was a GM at Morgan Taylor Homes, VP of operations at Meritage Homes and Ryland Homes, and director of purchasing at Engle Homes.

High Street Residential – The residential subsidiary of Trammell Crow Company has hired Brent Ball as senior VP, multifamily asset management. In this newly created role, Ball will be responsible for coordinating the asset management activities of the business, working in collaboration with the development teams and capital partners in various markets across the US. He will be based in Dallas and report to COO Adam Weers. Ball joins from Fairfield Residential Company, where he spent 20 years and most recently served as senior VP. He also formerly led the firm’s Eastern disposition efforts and the property management division. Ball additionally held positions in asset and portfolio management with Archon Group and Concap Equities. 

B8 Real Estate – Joe Sinclair has been appointed to join the industrial property agent’s capital markets team investment surveyor. Sinclair joins from property company Bruntwood, where he spent three years on the transactional team within their portfolio. At B8 Real Estate, he will be working with a wide variety of developer and investor clients and based at its office in Daresbury, Cheshire.