Jonathan Pollack Joins Starwood Capital Group as President

Rhea-AI Summary

Starwood Capital Group has announced the appointment of Jonathan Pollack as President, effective April 1, 2025. Pollack brings 26 years of real estate investing experience and joins from Blackstone Group, where he served as Global Head of Real Estate Credit (BREDS). Under his leadership at Blackstone, BREDS' AUM grew from $10 billion to $84 billion.

Pollack will work alongside Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht and the senior leadership team to guide the firm's future growth. Starwood Capital currently employs nearly 7,000 people across 17 offices in eight countries. As part of the transition, Jeffrey G. Dishner has assumed the role of Vice Chairman and Head of Strategy and Business Development.

Prior to Blackstone, Pollack was global head of Commercial Real Estate at Deutsche Bank, where he established DB as the top CMBS issuer and leading special situations investor post-2008 financial crisis.

Positive

• Strategic hire of industry veteran with proven track record of growing AUM (74B increase at Blackstone)
• Expansion of senior leadership team to support future growth
• Addition of executive with extensive global real estate investment experience (26 years)

Negative

• None.

News Market Reaction – STWD

+0.40%

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+0.40% News Effect

On the day this news was published, STWD gained 0.40%, reflecting a mild positive market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

MIAMI, April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Starwood Capital Group ("Starwood Capital"), a global private investment firm with a primary focus on real estate, today announced that Jonathan Pollack officially joined the firm as its President effective today, April 1^st. Mr. 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 to guide the firm into the next stage of its growth. Starwood Capital, together with its affiliates, today employs almost 7,000 people in 17 offices in eight countries, investing on behalf of hundreds of limited partners around the globe.

"I am excited to officially welcome Jonathan to Starwood Capital," said Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital. "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." Mr. 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 (BREDS) 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," Mr. 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 Mr. Pollack beginning his role and as previously announced, Jeffrey G. Dishner has assumed the role of Vice Chairman and Head of Strategy and Business Development.

Prior to joining Blackstone in 2015, Mr. 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. Mr. Pollack also spent eight years in Deutsche Bank's London headquarters, helping to build the European CRE business as the head of Capital Markets. Mr. Pollack graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in Economics. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of East Harlem Tutorial Program, a leading charter school and after school program in New York City.

About Starwood Capital Group

Starwood Capital Group is a private investment firm with a core focus on real assets globally. Since its inception in 1991, Starwood Capital Group has raised over $80 billion of capital, and currently has ~$115 billion of assets under management. Through a series of comingled opportunity funds and Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (SREIT), a non-listed REIT, the Firm has invested in virtually every category of real estate on a global basis, opportunistically shifting asset classes, geographies and positions in the capital stack as it perceives risk/reward dynamics to be evolving.

Starwood Capital also manages Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States, which has successfully deployed over $102 billion of capital since inception and manages a portfolio of over $25 billion across debt and equity investments. Additionally, Starwood Capital manages approximately $4 billion in several private debt funds investing across the globe.

Starwood's large owned portfolio and its active affiliates provide significant real-time information that can be acted on, across asset classes and geographies. These affiliates include: Starwood's in-house property management company with over 2,000 people, Starwood Digital Ventures – Starwood's in-house data center platform with over 60 people fully dedicated to Starwood's data center investment strategy, Starwood Hotels – Starwood's affiliated hotel brand management team with almost 4,000 professionals, Essex Title – which acts as a title agent for one or more underwriters in issuing title policies and/or providing support services, and Starwood Oil & Gas – which leverages Starwood's industry knowledge and extensive transactional experience to capitalize on conventional and unconventional assets in North America. Over the past 33 years, Starwood Capital Group and its affiliates have successfully executed an investment strategy that involves building enterprises in both the private and public markets. Additional information can be found at www.starwoodcapital.com, www.starwoodnav.reit, www.starwoodpropertytrust.com and www.starwoodhotels.com.

Media Contacts:

H/Advisors Abernathy

Tom Johnson: tom.johnson@h-advisors.global, (212) 371-5999

Dan Scorpio, dan.scorpio@h-advisors.global, (646) 899-8118

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SOURCE Starwood Capital Group

FAQ

What is Jonathan Pollack's role at Starwood Capital Group as of April 2025?

Jonathan Pollack joined Starwood Capital Group as President, effective April 1, 2025, working alongside CEO Barry Sternlicht to guide the firm's growth.

How much did AUM grow under Pollack's leadership at Blackstone's BREDS?

Under Pollack's leadership, Blackstone's Real Estate Credit business (BREDS) grew from $10 billion to $84 billion in AUM.

What is Starwood Capital's current global presence in 2025?

Starwood Capital employs almost 7,000 people across 17 offices in eight countries, investing on behalf of hundreds of global partners.

What was Jonathan Pollack's role at Deutsche Bank before joining Blackstone?

Pollack was global head of Commercial Real Estate at Deutsche Bank, establishing it as the top CMBS issuer and leading special situations investor after the 2008 financial crisis.