Global asset manager DWS has appointed Ulrich Steinmetz as head of real estate transactions for Europe.
Christian Baecker has taken over Steinmetz’s responsibility as head of portfolio management real estate retail, in particular for the German real estate retail funds business.
Ronen Ribak has been appointed to a newly created position as head of value-add real estate for Europe.
Steinmetz, who joined DWS in 2002 covering real estate transactions for North America, South America, Asia Pacific and the UK, has managed DWS’s open and closed-ended real estate retail funds business in Germany since October 2008.
DWS has seen impressive growth in its open-ended real estate retail funds under his leadership, almost tripling the NAV from €5.2 bn in 2008 to €15.1 bn in 2023.
In his new role, Steinmetz will drive the long-term strategic focus of DWS’s European transactions function, leveraging his previous proven transactions experience, deep network of established relationships in the real estate industry and respected management approach.
Christian Baecker joined DWS’s real estate platform in 2005 and has managed a globally invested open-ended real estate retail fund since 2016.
As regional head of portfolio management real estate he will assume overall responsibility for all German-based open-ended real estate retail funds, the management of DWS’s closed-end real estate funds and for the liquid asset & financing division.
Ronen Ribak, a long serving member of the European real estate platform since 2004 with recent responsibility for European transactions, has been appointed as head of value-add real estate for Europe.
In this new role Ribak is responsible for building out a dedicated value-add business, incorporating existing strategies and with further focus on value-add club deals.
Ribak has played a critical role in establishing DWS’s centralised European real estate transactions team with an impressive footprint overseeing a total transaction volume of around €25 bn.
Ribak will work closely with Ulrich Steinmetz to identify and implement value-add investment opportunities looking at both operational platforms and specific real estate opportunities.
Clemens Schaefer, head of real estate for APAC and Europe at DWS commented: 'I’m very pleased to make these key appointments within our growing Europe real estate franchise.
'We have a significant depth of experience and leadership capabilities across the platform which has enabled us to promote from within the organisation.
'In addition to our expertise in the traditional asset sectors, we have significant capabilities in the residential, student housing and retail outlet sectors - with more than €6 bn of assets under management in these asset classes - and will continue to focus on value-add strategies in Europe, which is a key area for our clients.'
