Norton Rose Fulbright, Clifford Chance, Leyad, Agellan Commercial REIT, CBRE IM, Sallie Mae, Rubin Rudman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Invesco Mortgage Capital, Rubin Rudman, Betterbot, Pallas Capital, Hampshire Trust Bank, Newmark, Barings, NewRiver, EY, OakNorth, PPM America, Voya Investment Management, Aegon Asset Management
CBRE Investment Management – Alice Wilcox has been appointed as head of EMEA client solutions to succeed Chris Wood and oversee capital raising, client engagement and strategic growth initiatives across the region. Wilcox joins from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where she served as managing director and EMEA head of real estate capital formation, and previously held senior roles at CBRE Investment Management. With almost 20 years of experience, she also spent nine years at CBRE Investment Management between 2013 and 2022, where she established a track record in delivering client solutions across real estate and infrastructure in private and public markets. In her new role, she will support CBRE Investment Management’s target of strengthening its market position in EMEA and delivering real assets solutions to meet evolving investor needs.
Newmark – Akbar Tajani has been appointed managing director based in London to lead the expansion of the firm’s European debt, equity and structured finance business. Tajani joins from Barings, where he served as managing director on the portfolio management team overseeing real estate investment activities across private credit, private equity and securitised investments. He previously held senior investing, fund management, and capital markets roles at BlackRock, Cantor Fitzgerald, and Pine River Capital Management in New York. In his new role, he will support Newmark’s target of building its integrated European capital markets platform, focusing on supporting property-level financings, equity capital raisings, corporate finance, and M&A advisory for European and US-based clients.
Invesco Mortgage Capital – Peter Graham has been appointed as a director to the board, where he will serve on the audit, compensation and nomination and corporate governance committees. Graham joins from Sallie Mae, where he serves as co-president and CFO overseeing finance, treasury, capital markets and investor relations, and previously held the role of chief financial officer at PRA Group. With more than 30 years of experience, he also spent over a decade at General Electric, where he established a track record in executive finance and corporate leadership roles. In his new role, he will support Invesco Mortgage Capital’s target of enhancing its corporate governance and strategic oversight, focusing on financial services expertise and corporate finance strategy.
Norton Rose Fulbright – Mike Niekoop has been appointed as a partner in the Amsterdam banking and finance practice to lead the firm’s digital infrastructure and broader project and infrastructure finance capabilities. Niekoop joins from Clifford Chance, where he served as a partner advising developers, operators, sponsors, lenders and investors on complex project financings. With over 15 years of experience, he also spent over a decade establishing a track record in data-centre transactions, hyperscaler arrangements, and energy-transition financing across Europe, APAC and the Middle East. In his new role, he will support Norton Rose Fulbright’s target of expanding its international projects, energy, and infrastructure platform, focusing on digital infrastructure, data centres, renewable energy and multi-jurisdictional cross-border transactions.
CBRE – Stephen Barr has been promoted to head of UK debt and structured finance to lead the growth of the firm’s capital advisory business. Barr transitions from his previous role as part of the UK D&SF leadership group at CBRE, where he advised on acquisition, refinancing and restructuring mandates across all sectors. In his new role, he will support CBRE’s target of expanding its capital advisory capabilities across Europe, focusing on leading the UK debt and structured finance team. George Peake has been appointed director to lead financing strategy advisory across a range of real estate sectors. Peake joins from Barclays, where he served as an adviser on real estate finance transactions and capital solutions. In his new role, he will support CBRE’s target of expanding its capital advisory capabilities across Europe, focusing on providing financing solutions across real estate sectors. Joshua Mailling has been appointed director to lead financing strategy advisory across a range of real estate sectors. Mailling joins from OakNorth, where he served in the debt finance team. In his new role, he will support CBRE’s target of expanding its capital advisory capabilities across Europe, focusing on providing financing solutions across real estate sectors.
Rubin Rudman – Shawntel Randi has been appointed as partner in the trusts and estates department to advise high-net-worth individuals, multigenerational families and fiduciaries on sophisticated domestic and international estate planning, trust administration and cross-border tax matters. Randi joins from Nixon Peabody, where she served as an attorney advising clients on wealth transfer and estate planning. With over a decade of experience, she also spent time living and working in Switzerland, where she established a track record advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals and fiduciaries on global succession planning and US tax and reporting matters. In her new role, she will support Rubin Rudman’s target of expanding its trusts and estates practice, focusing on cross-border tax planning, trust restructuring, and international tax compliance for US and foreign beneficiaries.
Betterbot – Jon Pastor has been appointed to the board of directors as a member to lead the company’s strategic growth as it expands its AI execution platform across multifamily operators. Pastor joins from Skilly AI, where he served as co-founder, and previously held the role of chief product officer at RealPage. With over two decades of experience, he also spent several years at The Rainmaker Group as chief technology officer, where he established a track record in real estate technology and revenue management platforms. In his new role, he will support Betterbot’s target of scaling its platform across top industry operators, focusing on autonomous leasing workflows and portfolio-wide operational efficiency.
Leyad – Juan Calixto Tria has been appointed as senior vice president of financial reporting and compliance, where he will oversee the company’s financial reporting, corporate compliance, accounting policies, treasury reporting, and governance functions. Tria joins from Agellan Commercial REIT, where he served as vice president of finance, and previously held senior roles at MNP, PwC, EY and Rawlinson & Hunter. In his new role, he will support Leyad’s target of expanding its national platform and strengthening its operational capabilities across Canada. Alex Ratté has been appointed as vice president of construction to lead the company’s national construction and capital projects platform. Ratté joins from Cominar, where he served as senior director of project management and previously held management roles at First Capital REIT. In his new role, he will support Leyad’s target of expanding its national platform and executing redevelopments, mixed-use projects, and large-scale commercial construction for its growing Canadian portfolio.
Pallas Capital – Darren Rix has been appointed head of credit risk to lead the firm’s UK risk management strategy. Rix joins from Hampshire Trust Bank, where he served as head of real estate credit risk. He previously held senior corporate real estate and credit risk roles at Barclays, Bank of Scotland and Santander, and served as head of credit at two start-up non-bank lenders. In his new role, he will support Pallas Capital’s target of scaling its UK lending pipeline, focusing on overseeing the firm’s applications process, credit papers and lending decisions for SME and mid-level developers.
PPM America – Dennis Kracik has been appointed managing director to lead sponsor relationship development and loan sourcing across the Northeast and New England regions. Kracik joins from Voya Investment Management, where he served as vice president of real estate finance. With over 30 years of experience, he will support PPM America’s target of meeting growing client demand for commercial mortgages and supporting ongoing record origination volumes. Justin Lata has been appointed managing director to lead loan origination across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Lata joins from Manulife/John Hancock, where he served as assistant vice president and regional director. With over 20 years of experience, he will support PPM America’s target of meeting growing client demand for commercial mortgages and supporting ongoing record origination volumes. Andrew Lockhart has been appointed regional director to lead commercial loan origination. Lockhart joins from Manulife/John Hancock, where he served on the commercial real estate team. In his new role, he will support PPM America’s target of meeting growing client demand for commercial mortgages and supporting ongoing record origination volumes. Paul Mroz has been appointed regional director to lead commercial loan origination. Mroz joins from Aegon Asset Management, where he served on the commercial real estate team. In his new role, he will support PPM America’s target of meeting growing client demand for commercial mortgages and supporting ongoing record origination volumes.
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