LaSalle to make senior leadership change

LaSalle Investment Management has elevated a new executive to its global real estate team, PERE has learned.

The Chicago-based manager is promoting Samer Honein, currently head of EMEA investor relations, to global head of investor relations, effective November 30. In his new role, he will join LaSalle’s global management committee and continue to be based in Paris. He will oversee LaSalle’s 38-person global IR team across all regions and will remain head of  EMEA IR.

Honein has been with LaSalle and parent company JLL for more than 21 years. He was named LaSalle’s head of EMEA IR in April 2021. PERE understands that Honein has distinguished himself as one of the biggest capital raisers at the firm during the past five years, thanks in part to the strong relationships he has forged with key clients in the EMEA region, particularly in the Middle East. He previously worked with LaSalle’s acquisitions team, sourcing investment opportunities and executing acquisitions in France on behalf of the firm’s strategic partnerships.

Honein will succeed Alok Gaur, who joined LaSalle in 2016 to co-lead the global capital raising team with Jon Zehner and then became sole global head in January 2021 after Zehner was named head of its global partner solutions business. Gaur, who is based in Chicago, will be moving to EQT Exeter, the real estate arm of Swedish private equity firm EQT, on December 1 to lead the firm’s global capital raising team.

“We are grateful to have a leader of Samer’s caliber step up to this critical leadership role, and thankful for the many contributions Alok has made during his time at LaSalle,” global chief executive Mark Gabbay said. “Our IR team is well-positioned to continue driving growth for LaSalle, as we seek to scale our flagship vehicles and deliver new offerings in the market.”

Honein added that he was looking forward “to building on the momentum our team has created in recent years, having raised more than $35 billion of capital since 2017.” Over the past five years, the firm has closed on some of its largest funds in more than a decade, including several billion- or multi-billion dollar funds: the $2.2 billion LaSalle Asia Opportunity VI, €1.1 billion LaSalle Real Estate Debt Strategies IV and the $1.15 billion LaSalle Asia Opportunity V, according to PERE data.

The new global head of IR is the latest senior leadership change at LaSalle since Gabbay succeeded Jeff Jacobson as CEO in January 2021. Last month, Tom Rose, LaSalle’s current head of UK relative returns, was named successor to Julian Agnew as head of custom accounts, Europe, beginning December 1. In April, Allison McFaul was appointed chief operating and financial officer for the firm’s Americas private equity business, replacing Joe Romenesko. In March 2021, Kristy Heuberger and Brad Gries became co-heads of the Americas, succeeding Jason Kern.