MSREF reshuffle sees Klopp, de Poulpiquet land top jobs

Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, the New York-based real estate investment arm of Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley, has appointed John Klopp and Olivier de Poulpiquet as joint chief executive officers and joint chief investment officers as part of a senior reshuffle of the platform.

The reorganisation sees Owen Thomas, who became chairman and chief executive officer of the real estate investment group last February, relinquish his chief executive officer capacity.

It will also enable Thomas to concentrate on his other position as head of Asia for the investment bank’s wider operation, however he will remain the chairman of the real estate platform. Additionally, Jay Mantz, who was chief investment officer has been made vice chairman of the platform.

The appointments of Klopp and de Poulpiquet, who report to Mantz, is effectively a return to a duel leadership structure last in place with the firm’s previous joint global heads Sonny Kalsi and John Carrafiell, who departed in February 2009 and December 2008 respectively. Their departures led to Thomas assuming control of the business.

Kalsi was placed on administrative leave following actions by a Morgan Stanley employee in Asia that appeared to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, however was later disassociated from the matter following a nine-month investigation by the firm. He has since teamed up with Carrafiell and the firm’s former Asia real estate head Fred Schmidt in launching a new business, GreenOak Real Estate.

New York-based Klopp, 56, joined Morgan Stanley in January from Capital Trust, initially as head of Americas and global head of debt investing while London-based de Poulpiquet re-joined following a spell at Pirelli Real Estate, three months later, as head of Europe.

Morgan Stanley has also appointed its global head of asset management Greg Fleming to lead an executive committee charged with overseeing the real estate investment business. Like Klopp and de Poulpiquet, Fleming also joined earlier this year.

The appointments come as Morgan Stanley, which raised $4.7 billion for its latest vehicle in its Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund series earlier this year, aims to reverse its fortunes following a challenging investment climate of late.

According to regulatory filings, the firm had assets under management valued at $43.6 billion and $887 million of its own capital committed to its funds as of June 30.