Global promotion

Underscoring the importance of a global view of the market, CBRE Investors has promoted veteran Lee Menifee to director of global strategy.

Los Angeles-based private equity real estate firm CBRE Investors recently promoted Lee Menifee to director of global strategy, a newly created position within the firm. Menifee was previously a senior director within the firm's global research team.

“When I started here ten years ago as a US-based investment advisor, almost all of our client base was US-based,” Menifee said. “My main objective was to look at US markets. My job has evolved with the need for increasing level of global coordination and increasing need for a view of the global markets.”

Using quantitative and qualitative analysis, Menifee will be responsible for market research to determine which markets offer the best investment prospects given the objectives of the firm's clients. He will also communicate his findings to the firm's current and prospective clients, as well as its consultants.

Menifee has a long history in real estate. “I got into this business straight out of graduate school,” he said. “My interest was always in real estate and in studying markets.”

Following Menifee's promotion, the firm also plans on hiring additional research associates. “We are currently expanding now, filling openings in Los Angeles, as well as in Paris, London and Asia,” he says. Menifee will be responsible for coordinating the global research teams.

In July, the firm also expanded its global investor services team with the appointment of three new members: Nicole Bise, now a director; Laura Wilks, becoming an associate in the UK; and Jane Hufnagel, who will be responsible for investor and internal communications and will also play a larger role in the firm's global communications strategy.

“More and more clients are coming to us asking for guidance on how we see the world and how their global portfolio should look,” said Menifee. “We help our clients have a strategic view on the world.”

Menifee holds a Master's degree in urban planning from the University of Southern California, and a BA in environmental studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

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