CBRE, Harworth Group, RAKLI, PwC, Elo, JLL, Irwin Mitchell, HIG Capital, GIC, Orega, KKR, Tractr, AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets, Berkshire Residential Investments, Mesirow Financial

AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets – The asset manager has appointed Jonathan Matson as US senior sales manager and Ward McCarthy as vice president and assistant fund manager for the firm’s new US value-add strategy. Matson will be responsible for raising US capital for the firm’s investment strategies. He joins AXA IM - Real Assets following six years at Aberdeen Standard Investments where he was a senior business development manager servicing the needs of Aberdeen’s real estate clients in North America. Prior to Aberdeen Asset Management, he was a principal of the real estate investment banking team at KBW. McCarthy, will be responsible for supporting AXA IM - Real Assets’ focus on value-add investments across the multifamily, office, industrial and student housing sectors in US coastal and Sunbelt markets. Prior to this role, he spent the last eight years at Berkshire Residential Investments, where in his most immediate role as assistant vice president of portfolio management.

JLLRobin Pugh has rejoined the real estate services firm as head of flex innovation, EMEA, to focus on investor and landlord clients. His initial focus will be on clients that are active in the UK offices sector. Pugh joins from flexible office space provider Orega, where he was real estate director. Pugh previously worked for JLL between 2006-2016.

HIG CapitalJérome Fouillé and Jenny Hammarlund have joined the asset manager’s real estate team in London as managing directors. Prior to HIG, Fouillé worked for GIC as managing director and head of tactical opportunities. Prior to this, he was a senior vice president at Colony Capital and at Heitman. Hammarlund was a director in the real estate team at KKR. Prior to this, she was a director at Värde Partners in London and a vice president at Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners in New York.

CBRE – The global real estate advisor has appointed Guy Hurwood as a senior director in its northern England capital markets business. Hurwood will join the company’s Leeds office leadership. In his new role, Hurwood will be responsible for growing CBRE’s capital markets offering in the region, including the development funding and strategic consultancy offer. Hurwood joins from PwC where he spent the last six years in the real estate corporate finance team. Prior to that, he spent five years at JLL corporate finance.

Mesirow Financial Michael Grippi has joined the specialist investor’s direct real estate group. Grippi will serve as a managing director specialising in acquisitions. Grippi will be located in Denver. Prior to joining Mesirow Financial, Grippi was a senior vice president at JLL/Moran & Company and president of investment management at Holland Partner Group.

Harworth Group – The land and property regenerator has promoted Ian Ball to the role of COO. This newly created role will provide additional oversight over the business’ new regional operating model, whilst bringing together the capital growth and income generation teams within a single management structure. Ball originally joined Harworth in 2014 and was promoted to the role of executive director for income generation in 2015.

RAKLI –  Miika Kotaniemi has been appointed as the new head of real estate investments for The Finnish Association of Building Owners and Construction Clients. He left his job at the €22.6bn Finnish pensions insurance company Elo, where he was portfolio manager responsible for international and listed real estate investments. Kotaniemi would be responsible for lobbying and creating schemes to raise the public image and profile of the Finnish property investment industry. He will be replacing Anssi Salonen, who is moving on to head up Tractr, a technology and property start-up, which he co-founded. Kotaniemi worked at Elo since January 2014 and, prior to that, worked at insurance company LocalTapiola in a similar position since 2011, until it merged to form Elo.

Irwin Mitchell – The UK law firm has promoted real estate lawyers Brian Dowling and Nicola Gooch to partner level. Dowling will be based in the firm’s Southampton development team as a partner in real estate. Gooch will be based in the Gatwick office as a partner in the firm’s planning team.