Five Star Group, Peachtree Group, Nido Living, Aldau Development, Enterprise Land, Aviation Capital, GOAL, Keener Management, Marverde Infraestructura, Ancala, CBRE IM, P-Three, BlackRock, HMC Capital
BlackRock – Thorsten Slytå has been appointed to the newly created role of head of European real estate strategic partnerships. Slytå assumes the role alongside his existing position as head of Nordics for BlackRock’s real estate business, which he has held since 2021. In his new role, Slytå will be responsible for driving BlackRock real estate’s relationships with pan-European strategic partners and identifying attractive co-investment opportunities alongside the firm’s European funds. He will focus on investing in the core markets of the UK, the Nordics, Germany, France and Iberia, targeting investments in the logistics, living and alternatives sectors.
Ancala – Frederick Pierru has been appointed director. Pierru joins Ancala following a seven-year period as CEO of Marverde Infraestructura. Before Marverde Infraestructura, he worked for Boston Consulting Group for six years. At Ancala, Pierru will work closely with portfolio company management teams to deliver business plans and create value.
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners – Hilkka Komulainen succeeds Anne Foster as global head of sustainability and impact. Komulainen is based in London and will serve on the Quinbrook investment committee. Komulainen joins from Aegon UK. Prior to Aegon she led the responsible investment strategy at Inter Fund Management, and also previously held roles at EY, the OECD, the United Nations, and the Principles for Responsible Investment. Cathy Jones joins Quinbrook in the newly created role of chief people officer, based in London. Jones was previously at CVC Capital Partners in London, where she led the HR business partners across the UK and EMEA. Prior to her tenure at CVC, she served as chief people officer and partner at Alderwood Capital, Northill Capital, and as head of employee relations EMEA at BNY Mellon. Predrag Dukic has been appointed as a senior director, capital formation and investor engagement in Quinbrook’s Europe team, based in Germany. Dukic joins Quinbrook from DC Placement Advisors, where he served as director of institutional sales, focused on infrastructure capital raising throughout the DACH region. Nick Baker has been appointed as a senior director on the US investment team, based in New York. Baker joins from BAES Infrastructure, where he played a role in originating new investment opportunities and spearheading project development and business strategy within the US energy markets. Baker’s prior roles include VP of corporate development at Buckeye Partners, board director of Freeport LNG, and SVP at Macquarie Capital. Liv Miller joins as a director in Quinbrook’s UK investment team, based in London. Miller joins from Statkraft, where she served as VP of M&A and senior investment manage. Prior to Statkraft, Miller managed investments in solar, wind, and anaerobic digestion assets across the UK at the Ingenious Group and prior to that was a senior development and structured finance manager at Lightsource Renewable Energy.
Enterprise Land – The recently launched UK and European real estate investment company has appointed John Forbes, as a senior adviser. He has advised a number of fund managers and investors on open and closed-ended funds since establishing John Forbes Consulting in 2013. In addition to his consulting work, Forbes is non executive chair of the Urban Splash Residential Fund and a non-executive director of the Patrizia Hanover fund. From 2014 to 2022 he was independent chair of the supervisory board of the UBS Triton property fund. Prior to setting up John Forbes Consulting, he spent 26 years at PwC, where he was a partner and was the firm’s international subject matter expert for real estate funds.
CBRE Investment Management – George Crone has been appointed sustainability lead for UK direct investments. Crone will support asset and portfolio managers in the UK in accelerating the delivery of the firm’s sustainability vision and zero emission building roadmap. A key part of his role will be leading CBRE IM’s engagement with UK-based investors and occupiers. Joining from CBRE Advisory where he has consulted to CBRE IM portfolios since 2018, Crone brings a depth of existing knowledge of the UK AUM and stakeholders in their management.
Arjun Infrastructure Partners – Rohini Pahwa has been appointed partner. Pahwa joined Arjun in 2021 as a managing director, responsible for originating, executing and managing investments. She has been instrumental in the firm’s entry and expansion into digital infrastructure. As a senior member of Arjun’s investment team, Pahwa sits on the boards of two Arjun portfolio companies. Before joining Arjun, Pahwa served as head of distribution for power and infrastructure finance at Investec and held a senior role as an originator in NatWest’s infrastructure and project finance team.
Nido Living – Taco van Heusden has been appointed chief investment and development officer, to drive the company’s strategic expansion into new European markets, with a focus on Italy and Germany. Taco, a seasoned real estate leader with 25 years of experience across Europe and the Middle East, brings expertise as an investor, operator, advisor, developer, and banker. Van Heusden joins the executive team. He will be based in the Amsterdam headquarters. Prior to joining Nido Living, van Heusden held senior roles across real estate, finance, and hospitality, including CIO at Aldau Development, real estate principal at Urbanist Group, MD of real estate at Hanson Asset Management, director at Strategic Value Partners; finance and acquisitions director at Lohnback Investment Partners, and several former operational roles in hospitality.
CapitaLand Investment Australia – Angelo Scasserra and Rahul Bharara have been appointed CEO and CIO respectively. Scasserra was head of real estate private capital, a division he led at Barrenjoey Capital Partners. Before that, he spent almost 20 years in Credit Suisse in Australia and Singapore, with his last held position as the head of Asia Pacific Real Estate and co-head of investment banking and capital markets in Credit Suisse Australia. Prior to joining CLI, Bharara was partner, real estate private capital at Barrenjoey. In other roles, he was also managing director, head of real estate coverage at Credit Suisse Australia and CIO at Gurner Group.
GOAL – The joint venture between KGAL and Deutsche Lufthansa, has appointed Vicente Alava Pons as managing director. He joins GOAL from Aviation Capital Group, where he was managing director of global aircraft financing solutions. Prior to this, he held positions at LR AirFinance and MUFG Bank in London, DVB Bank SE in Singapore and Lufthansa Leasing.
HMC Capital – Adam Roberts-Thomson has joined as co-head of corporate and asset finance. He will oversee corporate/leveraged and acquisition financings, commercial real estate, alternative asset based and structured growth financing. Robert-Thomson spent 17 years at Credit Suisse and UBS where he led the CS Australian financing business since 2017.
CBRE – Hugh Macdonald has been appointed head of Asia Pacific capital advisors. Macdonald joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was previously the head of investment banking coverage and advisory for Australia and New Zealand. He has extensive experience working at institutions such as Citi, Morgan Stanley and Bankers Trust.
Five Star Group – Kimberly Rowell has been named executive vice president of Five Star Hospitality Management. Rowell joined the organisation in February 2023. Dream Capital, Five Star’s affiliated full-service commercial real estate investment firm that sponsors and co-invests in projects across multiple states and segments, has also named Justin Patel senior associate, investments and asset management. With over 35 years of hospitality leadership, Rowell has worked for such industry organisations as Blackstone, Winegardner & Hammons, ZMC Hotels, HP Hotels. Patel most recently was senior asset management analyst with Peachtree Group. Prior to that, he was asset manager for 33 Degrees, a commercial real estate management firm.
Keener Management – Sandra Kainer has been appointed regional vice president. In her new role, Kainer will oversee Keener Management’s expanding portfolio, providing strategic guidance and support to drive operational excellence across the company’s properties. Known for her expertise in managing diverse property types, Kainer’s career includes roles in conventional, bond, tax credit, HUD and lease-up communities. Prior to joining Keener, she served as senior regional supervisor at AOG Living.
P-Three – Louise Hannah has been appointed senior surveyor. Hannah joins P-Three from Montagu Evans, where she spent three years as a surveyor and partner for landlords and occupiers.
