Brookfield takes on former Bear Stearns placement agent

Leo van den Thillart, a former global co-head of private funds group at Bear Stearns, has joined Canadian firm Brookfield Asset Management to help with international equity raising and client services.

Toronto real estate firm Brookfield Asset Management has hired Leo van den Thillart to be responsible for international client service functions.

Van den Thillart was formerly senior managing director and global co-head of the private funds group at Bear Stearns, the bank that was acquired by JP Morgan Chase in 2008.

Brookfield manages several private funds in real estate, timber, infrastructure, and speciality funds incorporating bridge financing, technology, and restructuring. It also has an energy division investing in hydroelectric power facilities and more recently, wind farms, as well as an investment banking company, Brookfield Financial, focused on real estate, infrastructure and asset-based industries throughout North America.

It has a total of $80 billion assets under management.

In a statement, Brookfield said the new hire would become managing partner, private institutional equity from June, responsible for overall strategic and operational management of an international advisory and placement business with offices in London, Munich, New York, Toronto, San Francisco, and Melbourne.

Van den Thillart will be based in London.

Prior to joining Bear Stearns, he worked at Crane Capital Associates, which he co-founded in 1997 in London.