European real estate investment and asset manager Valesco has appointed Derek Williams as managing director.
Williams, who has over 30 years of experience in infrastructure and real estate, will be in charge of expanding and diversifying Valesco's institutional clientele as it seeks to significantly increase assets under management.
Working out of London, Williams will manage the existing investor relationships, attract new capital partners and support CEO Shiraz Jiwa in expanding Valesco’s reach and defining the strategic direction of the company, including the introduction of new investment products.
Williams was most recently the managing director for business development at Edmond de Rothschild’s UK real estate business.
Prior to this, he was head of investment management, EMEA and head of capital, EMEA and Americas at Global Student Accommodation.
Shiraz Jiwa, founder and CEO of The Valesco Group, commented: ‘Derek is a seasoned, multidisciplinary real estate and private equity professional with a rare combination of ‘through the cycle’ investor and investment experience. He is ideally placed to curate products through the lens of the client, ultimately ensuring total alignment with our growing and increasingly global LP base. Furthermore, having been an integral part of the Global Student Accommodation early success story, his entrepreneurial nous makes him a perfect fit with the Valesco ethos.’
Derek Williams added: ‘As institutional investors become more sophisticated and the tools to evaluate performance more accessible, so managers are increasingly being held to account. Valesco’s reputation and success to date has positioned it as a partner of choice for capital seeking to take advantage of current market dislocation, and this is a rare opportunity to build out what is already a hugely successful client servicing platform.’
