Global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group adds Jonathan Pollack as its president. Pollack brings more than 26 years' experience in real estate investing to his new role and will work with Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht and the rest of Starwood Capital's senior leadership team.
"I am excited to officially welcome Jonathan to Starwood Capital," Sternlicht said in a statement. "The firm and our investors will benefit immensely from his global expertise and complementary skill set as we prepare Starwood Capital for continued growth and innovation into the future. For more than three decades, our firm has successfully navigated multiple economic cycles and invested in nearly every real estate asset class. Starwood Capital is one of the top firms of its kind in the world today. We have set a standard for excellence in real estate investing, for client partnership and for fiduciary duty. Jonathan will build on this successful legacy, helping expand our existing platforms, identifying new ones, and attracting and retaining key talent. He shares my passion for making Starwood a top place to work for aspiring, creative and caring people."
Pollack is joining all the firm's committees, including the Executive, Investment, Disposition, Valuation and Operating committees.
Prior to joining Starwood Capital, he most recently worked at Blackstone Group, where he served as global head of the firm's Real Estate Credit business since 2016. He was also a member of Blackstone's Real Estate Executive Committee and Investment Committee, as well as the firm's Operating Committee. Under Mr. Pollack's leadership, AUM at BREDS grew to $84 billion from $10 billion, with capital sources including drawdown funds, insurance capital and an NYSE-listed mortgage REIT.
"I am thrilled to be joining Starwood Capital and its talented team of executives as we continue to seek out high-quality investment opportunities around the globe and grow the firm's footprint," Pollack said. "The firm's proven track record of investing thoughtfully across geographies and asset classes positions it perfectly for success in this market and I am looking forward to lending my expertise and hitting the ground running from day one."
Concurrent with Pollack beginning his role and as previously announced, Jeffrey Dishner has assumed the role of vice chairman and head of strategy and business development.
Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Pollack was the global head of commercial real estate at Deutsche Bank, and established DB as the top CMBS issuer and a leading special situations investor following the global financial crisis in 2008. Pollack also spent eight years in Deutsche Bank's London headquarters, helping to build the European CRE business as the head of Capital Markets.