People moves: GLP appoints Europe asset management, ESG head [updated]

GLP, Crestbridge, The Bank of NT Butterfield & Son, EQT, Principal Real Estate Europe, IPFM, LaSalle, Catella Real Estate, Redos, Deutsche Logistik, La Française REM, Modulous, Deutsche Investment, Centerscape Deutschland & Co, Atrato, Global Student Accommodation, LTIIA, JLL, Tech Data, TA Realty, SVPGlobal, Commerz Real

GLP – The investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks has appointed Natali Cooper as head of portfolio, asset management and ESG, Europe. Cooper will be responsible for the ongoing implementation and evolution of the strategy across the European business. In addition, Cooper will remain in charge of the portfolio and asset management functions as an ongoing strategic priority for the business.

EQT –  Masahiko Kato has been appointed head of EQT infrastructure Japan. Masahiko most recently held a position as deputy general manager in Mitsubishi Corp’s private equity and infrastructure division.

Principal Real Estate Europe –  Nick Gunn has been appointed fund manager working on the Principal European Core Fund. Gunn will work jointly with Giles Smith, head of fund management at Principal Real Estate Europe, continuing the growth of Principal’s European core strategies. Gunn joins from International Property Funds Management. Prior to that, he worked in the acquisitions and disposals team at Credit Suisse Asset Management and held several other roles at real estate businesses, including CBRE and Propertylink in Australia.

JLL – Mateusz Gołembiewski has been appointed head of HR for the Central and Eastern Europe and Russia region. He has 15 years of experience in developing company strategies and operations in this field, and will lead the HR teams in Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Russia. Prior to joining JLL, Gołembiewski was head of talent management – Europe at Tech Data. He also previously headed the HR function for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia at CooperVision, as well as at Reckitt in Poland and the UK.

Commerz Real – Barkha Mehmedagic, the head of asset financing and group treasury at Commerz Real, has also assumed responsibility for marketing to institutional investors. She is also a member of the management of Commerz Real Capital-Management. Mehmedagic was responsible for the development of business in Asia at Eurohypo before joining Commerz Real in 2006.

TA Realty – Nicole Dutra Grinnell, a 19-year veteran of the TA Realty team, has been named a portfolio manager for TA Realty’s core-plus logistics strategy. Grinnell has also joined TA Realty’s investment committee where she will be looked to for her insights developed over many years managing private equity real estate portfolios. She was most recently a member of the team responsible for the firm’s diversified core strategy. Additionally, she sits on the firm’s acquisition committee and has served as portfolio manager for both core separate accounts and value-add, closed-end funds spanning multiple real estate sectors, including logistics.

Global Student Accommodation – Alec Burger has been appointed non-executive chair. Based in the US, Burger will work closely with GSA’s executive team to support global growth, with specific focus on North America, strengthening the company’s continued expansion following GSA’s entry into the US market in 2020. Burger is a former president and CEO of GE Capital and GE Capital Real Estate. GSA’s founder, Nicholas Porter, will continue to be an active board member in supporting transactions, capital and key stakeholder relationships. Porter will work alongside Burger on GSA’s global expansion plans, develop executive leadership and achieve strategic and performance priorities. Also, as part of the board’s strategic review it was agreed, CEO Will Rowson will depart the firm at the end of 2021, allowing time for a smooth transition with the executive team and new appointments in the US. A process to appoint a new CEO is underway, GSA said.

Catella Real Estate – The Munich-based real estate fund manager has appointed Andreas Wesner managing director and spokesperson. Wesner joins from a role as head of transactions – northern continental Europe at LaSalle Investment Management. Prior to LaSalle, Wesner has worked in investment management and acquisitions in AXA Investment Managers, The Carlyle Group, and Merrill Lynch Management.

SVPGlobal – The investment firm has appointed Anders Hemmingsen and Joseph Pontrello as managing directors in London and Greenwich, respectively. Hemmingsen and Pontrello will play critical roles in sourcing, evaluating, and executing investment opportunities for SVPGlobal’s real estate platform, as well as offering support and insights to the firm’s existing investments. SVPGlobal also recently hired Dan Raffe as managing director on the North America investment team focusing on managing real estate assets. The firm also named Jeff Johnson to its advisory council to assist the real estate franchise in North America. Hemmingsen joins from Deutsche Bank where he served as head of CRE special situations Europe. Prior to Deutsche Bank, he held various positions at HSBC in both Canada and London in real estate finance and investment banking. Pontrello joins from Fortress Investment where he held various roles, most recently serving as managing director in the real estate and credit funds. Pontrello began his career at Credit Suisse as an investment banking associate where he rotated through the leverage finance and financial institutions groups. Raffe was global head of portfolio/asset management at Colony NorthStar. Prior to Colony Northstar, Raffe served as managing director of Cushman & Wakefield, VP of structured finance and equity investments at GE Business Property, and a senior VP at USBX. Johnson was the managing partner for Lakeshore Holdings and CEO of Black Creek Diversified Property Fund. Johnson also served as CIO and chairman of the investment committee at Equity Office Properties Trust and its predecessors from 1990 to 1999 and from 2003. He was a founding partner, MD and co-head of US investments for Lehman Brothers’ first global real estate private equity fund.

Atrato – The alternative asset management and advisory group has appointed William Gould to the new role of general counsel. Having qualified at SJ Berwin, he subsequently worked for Ashurst and Eversheds, predominantly in relation to real estate financings. More recently he has spent a number of years in-house at specialist banking businesses UTB and Cynergy Bank. Gould will have oversight of the legal function, providing comprehensive legal and commercial advice to Atrato, and coordinating external legal relationships for the group’s clients including its listed fund Supermarket Income REIT.

La Française Real Estate Managers – Arthur Brizard and Benjamin Fanget have both been promoted to the position of deputy director of investments. Since 2014, Brizard has helped to establish the foundations of the institutional real estate product range. In 2016, Fanget – with seventeen years of experience in real estate – joined the institutional division and provided his expertise, in particular for the acquisition and development of value-added operations and managed residences. Pierre-Edouard Niel and Emeric Poyer have been appointed investment manager and investment associate respectively. Niel brings more than nine years of extensive experience to La Française REM in office real estate (development and promotion) while Poyer has an in-depth knowledge of real estate financing and experience at an international level.

Redos Group – Marco Dibbern has been appointed to create and head the urban logistics business area as its managing director. Dibbern joins from Deutsche Logistik Holding, where he was responsible for project development in logistics and industry in northern Germany. 

Deutsche Investment – Achim Ellguth has been appointed head of asset management at DIR Deutsche Investment Retail. Ellguth assumes responsibility for all asset management activities in the growing retail real estate portfolio. His first job will be to assemble his team as part of the ongoing effort to build up the company’s business. Ellguth worked as asset and portfolio manager, most recently as head of group portfolio management at Centerscape Deutschland & Co. DIR Deutsche Investment Retail is part of the Deutsche Investment and was formed in 2019 specifically to cover the grocery retail segment. 

Crestbridge – The private equity and real estate administration solutions firm has appointed Siân Dalrymple group chief risk officer. Dalrymple will be responsible for the oversight and enhancement of Crestbridge’s risk function and the development of its risk management services platform for its global client base. Prior to joining Crestbridge, Dalrymple was executive VP, group head of compliance and group MLRO, and a member of the executive committee at The Bank of NT Butterfield & Son. Prior to that, Dalrymple was a managing director at Deutsche Bank. Dalrymple also worked in compliance roles for companies including Bank of America, ABN AMRO, J Henry Schroder & Co, Société Générale and Guinness Mahon.

Modulous – The construction technology company has appointed Jason Bennett-Meere, as head of finance. Bennett-Meere worked at Microsoft, where he was responsible for nurturing commercial business partnerships and partnering with Microsoft leadership teams. He also worked at Nominet and at Deloitte as finance partner. 

Long-Term Infrastructure Investors Association – Thierry Déau, CEO and founder of Meridiam, has stepped down from his position as chair of LTIIA. He will be replaced by Vincent Levita, founder and CEO of Infravia Capital Partners. Déau, who will become honorary chairman, helped found LTIIA in 2014 as a not-for-profit organisation which today represents close to $450bn of infrastructure assets owned or managed by institutional investors and fund managers. Levita has been an LTIIA board member for two years.

Alantra – The company has reinforced its investment banking capabilities by incorporating a real estate and hospitality team in Paris. The new real estate and hospitality sector team consists of five professionals, including three partners. Working together since 2016 in the capital markets department of the Babylone Group, the three new partners—Yonel Marelli, Richard Desgroppes and Jérémie Sénior.