People moves: Wattles to replace Reiskin as Delin Property CEO

Delin Property,  Edmond de Rothschild REIM, Knight Frank, Castleforge Partners, Macquarie, Colmore Capital, EV Realty, BDO, Drooms, Green Street, Salter Brothers, CAF Capital Partners, Invesco Real Estate, Seward & Kissel, DLA Piper, S2 Capital

Delin Property – The European logistics warehouse specialist has appointed real estate industry veteran and board member Tom Wattles as CEO. He replaces Rob Reiskin, who will remain a member of the company’s board. As a member of Advance Real Estate’s board since 2021, Wattles has supported the Mexico City-based company up to its sale last month. He co-founded Prologis, later becoming its co-CEO and chairman. He also co-founded DCT Industrial Trust which was purchased by Prologis in 2018. Wattles has sat on the boards of other real estate companies including Regency Centers, Columbia Property Trust and Security Capital European Realty. From 1991 until the company’s sale in 2002 he was managing director and subsequently CIO of Security Capital Group.

Edmond de Rothschild Real Estate Investment Management – Simon Ball has been appointed to lead the finance and administrative functions for the firm’s UK business. As managing director, head of finance and administration at Edmond de Rothschild REIM UK, Ball will join the firm’s UK management committee, supporting its affordable housing and build-to-rent investment management and operating business. Ball was previously finance director at Castleforge Partners. Ball has also worked in fund controller roles at Europa and Palamon Capital Partners.

EV Realty – The electric vehicle infrastructure development platform has hired Ben Prum as development director. Prum will oversee the strategic development, de-risking and commercialisation of the company’s growing pipeline of multi-fleet EV charging hub projects. Prum has more than 12 years of experience in commercial real estate development and six years of experience in EV charging development. He most recently served as development lead at Tesla. Prior to Tesla, Prum managed site development for 5G wireless projects for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile and Sprint.

Knight Frank – Isobel Green has joined the property consultant’s global data centre valuations and consultancy team as senior surveyor alongside Harry Hannam who has also joined as a senior research analyst from Macquarie. Selda Selgjekaj joins as business support coordinator with the team further supported by graduate Olamide Emiloju.

Colmore Capital - Pav Biran has joined the property investor as an investment analyst. Biran will be responsible for the analysis and modelling of new commercial real estate acquisition opportunities, as well as developing and delivering plans for Colmore Capital’s existing portfolio. In his previous role, Biran worked at international advisory firm BDO, specialising in the audit of not-for-profit housing groups.

CAF Capital Partners – Jason Geer has joined the private equity real estate firm as senior vice president of acquisitions. Prior to joining CAF Capital Partners, Geer spent more than 25 years with Invesco Real Estate. At CAF Geer’s role will centre on driving ongoing expansion efforts in the Southeastern US region. His focus will be directed toward acquisitions, equity partnerships, and specialised client relationships, all within the multifamily domain.

Drooms – Rhys Zownir has been appointed as head of sales UK & Benelux. In his role he will be responsible for driving growth and boosting Drooms’ market presence in these regions. Prior to joining Drooms, Zownir held a number of positions in enterprise sales, working as associate VP EMEA sales at Green Street, head of business development at React News and business development at AppDynamics.

S2 Capital – Connor Austin has joined the firm as VP of capital formation and investor relations to build investor relationships with institutions and wealth management firms in the Western US. Before joining S2, Austin served at iCapital Network for four years, managing relationships with registered investment advisors, regional and independent broker-dealers and bank trust clients, and specialising in alternative investment sales, including real estate. Previously, he held multiple sales positions at Meltwater Group, a global provider of social and media intelligence services.

Salter Brothers – Tash Tobias has been appointed as the inaugural CEO of Salter Brothers Hospitality. Tobias will be reporting to the board and lead the executive committee. Tobias will lead the business and oversee the operations of the retreat hotels, restaurants and bars, and spas and wellness facilities either under management and/or licensing services. Whilst the immediate focus of the platform is the properties acquired by the investment management business, part of Tobias’s remit is to grow the properties branded to Spicers Retreats, Ardour Hotels and Estates and the Spa Anise with third-party owners. She worked at IHG for almost a decade and a half, where she held numerous roles with remits spanning across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, including heading operations for Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. More recently, Tobias spent three years at Virgin Australia, leading customer experience and product. For the past four years, Tobias has been a senior executive at Brisbane City Council.

Seward & Kissel – Sean Thorsen has joined the US law firm’s New York office as a counsel in the real estate group. Before joining Seward & Kissel, Thorsen practiced with a real estate finance group at both DLA Piper and McDermott Will & Emery LLP. He began his career at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, where he advised financial institutions on commercial real estate aspects of multibillion-dollar leveraged finance transactions.