Chicago-headquartered Harrison Street has announced two senior hires to its European asset management and transaction teams.
Amy Tonnessen, former senior asset manager at Franklin Templeton Investments, has joined the firm as a director on the European asset management team.
Meanwhile, Vanisha Thakrar, who was previously a senior associate in Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s (CPPIB) real estate investment group, has joined the firm as a vice president in the Transactions group. Both will be based in the firm’s London office.
Christopher Merrill, Harrison Street’s CEO said: 'Amid this highly uncertain environment, Harrison Street continues to expand our global platform and add senior talent throughout the organization as evidenced by our recent appointments of Paul Bashir, CEO, Europe, and Jonathan Turnbull, managing director and head of Canadian Transactions. The additions of Amy and Vanisha strengthen our European team and reflect Harrison Street’s commitment to expanding our presence across the UK, Ireland, and broader continent.'
Apart from Franklin Templeton, Tonnessen's previous experience includes a spell as senior asset manager at Heitman in Europe. She served in the US Peace Corps in Poland prior to starting her career at Heitman.
Before joinging CPPIB, Thakrar was a vice president on the real estate investment banking team at Macquarie where she focused on M&A transactions, capital raising and principal investments.
Since establishing its European platform in 2015, Harrison Street has invested approximately €2.5 bn in the student accommodation and private rented sectors and most recently entered into the European life sciences sector with the acquisition of five life sciences and innovation properties.
In May 2019, Harrison Street announced it raised €700 mln for its second European closed-end fund. Harrison Street currently manages over 13,000 student housing beds, 1,700 build-to-rent units and 1.7 million square feet of life sciences real estate in Europe.
