Privately held real estate investment firm Cain International has appointed Ellen Brunsberg as chief investment officer and Kirsty Peacock as chief people officer.
Brunsberg will serve as Cain’s chief investment officer from its New York office, having worked with the firm in a consulting role over the past year. She brings over thirty years of operational, lending and investment experience, alongside a proven track record in leadership, management, and building businesses.
Prior to joining Cain, Brunsberg was global head of fixed income product strategy at Blackrock, having previously held the position of chief executive officer GE Capital Real Estate Europe.
Before joining GE, she spent eighteen years at Morgan Stanley where she was a managing director and ultimately the head of the securitised product group EMEA.
Peacock will be joining Cain as its chief people officer and will be based out of its London headquarters at Islington Square.
In this newly created role, her core objectives will be driving Cain’s values and culture, delivering inclusion and improved career pathways through development plans and policies to underpin all aspects of these.
Prior to joining Cain, Peacock worked for a number of international businesses in senior HR positions, including Cushman & Wakefield, Aviva Investors, Dentons and PA consulting.
Since its inception in 2014, Cain has committed over $7 bn across real estate equity, debt, and experiential operating businesses. The firm continues to grow and has doubled its employee headcount in under four years. In May 2021, Cain closed its inaugural European real estate fund with backing from Goldman Sachs.
Jonathan Goldstein, chief executive at Cain International, said: 'Since forming Cain seven years ago, relationships and working with the very best people has been core to executing successful deals and building our portfolio to where it is today. With that in mind, the growth of our senior team with these new roles is a natural next step for us.
'Both Ellen and Kirsty bring incredible leadership and experience to Cain and we could not be more pleased to be expanding our business and ambitions with them both in these newly created roles. They will be instrumental in our future growth and I very much look forward to working with them.'
Brunsberg said: 'From consulting with the firm over the past year, I have learned the intricacies of Cain’s portfolio and am eager to continue building upon its operations and track record in both real estate and investment opportunities in global gateway cities.
'Over the past five years Cain has acquired and managed a portfolio over $7 billion of debt, equity and private equity in numerous sectors across Europe and the United States. This was an exciting opportunity to join a business with a strong track record, great leadership and that is poised for further growth.'
Added Peacock: 'Cain is undoubtedly a people-centric business that has worked hard to bring in industry-leading talent since its inception and double its employee headcount over the last years.
'I am looking forward to working alongside Jonathan and the rest of the senior team to build on this success to date by continuing to attract and retain the best talent from a diverse range of professional backgrounds.'
