Colony hires former Amgen exec

The Los Angeles-based firm has expanded its team of professionals with the addition of former Amgen, Disney and Starwood Hotels executive Richard Nanula.

Colony Capital has hired Richard Nanula to join the firm as a principal reporting to chairman and chief executive Thomas Barrack. Nanula will play a senior role in the firm’s global operations and will focus on operating company transactions. He will be based in the firm’s Los Angeles headquarters.

Nanula was previously executive vice president and chief financial officer of biotechnology company Amgen. During his six years as a member of the company’s executive committee, he was responsible for finance, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions as well as internal and external relations. Prior to joining Amgen, Nanula was president and chief operating officer for Starwood Hotels and Resorts in New York, as well as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer at the Walt Disney Company.

Nanula has a MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Colony was founded by Barrack in 1991 and has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Hawaii, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Beirut, Hong Kong, Seoul, Beijing, Taipei and Tokyo. The firm has invested more than $36 billion (€24 billion) in real estate-related assets.