Hines has appointed three regional chief investment officers as part of a drive to expand investor relationships globally, and increase assets under management.
The US-headquartered, private real estate giant, which has $124.3 bn (€114 bn) of AUM, has promoted Alex Knapp to be European regional CIO. Knapp will work alongside European CEO Lars Huber who continues to have responsibility for deal sourcing and execution in the region, and for the circa 400-strong European team.
Knapp’s focus will be on directing all institutional and retail investment vehicles and partnerships in Europe. He said the new structure was a natural evolution after recent rapid growth. 'Europe has really taken off in the last six to seven years and our AUM here is circa €18 bn,' he told PropertyEU.
'We hope to double European AUM in the next five years.'
Knapp will work alongside new CIOs in the US and Asia to co-ordinate global investor relationships, develop investment products and make timely investment decisions about real estate opportunities around the world. 'A big part of this is about reinforcing the global strength of our business,' he said.
Alfonso Munk will join Hines this month from PGIM Real Estate to be CIO of the Americas while Lee Timmins, who led the company’s Eurasia region from Moscow since 2014, becomes CIO of Asia. Hines plans a significant expansion in Asia, including opening an office in Singapore.
The new investment management team will be co-led by global chief investment officer David Steinback and CEO of capital markets, Chris Hughes. Steinback said: 'We see a market opportunity to create something new in real estate, connecting the dots of product innovation, future-proofing, on-the-ground market knowledge and global scale to be a disruptive force of change in the industry.'
Knapp joined Hines in 2008 and was most recently responsible for Hines’ expansion into the residential sector on a pan-European basis.
