AMERICAS NEWS: Time to reshuffle

Few private equity real estate platforms have undergone as much high-profile leadership turnover in recent memory as Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI), the real estate investment business of New York-based investment bank Morgan Stanley.

MSREI had enjoyed more than five years of consistency under John Klopp and Olivier de Poulpique, who had acted as joint chief executive officers and joint chief investment officers at MSREI, since the fall of 2010. The duo had replaced Owen Thomas, who took over as chairman and chief executive of the business following the departures of the previous joint global co-heads, Sonny Kalsi and John Carrafiell, who left in February 2009 and December 2008, respectively. In their new posts, Klopp and de Poulpiquet initially had reported to vice chairman Jay Mantz, but the latter left the firm only months later to take a new job as president at Rialto Capital Management.

Now, MSREI has reorganized at the top once again ā€“ albeit under less tumultuous circumstances. As PERE reported last month, Klopp has been named head of the newly formed real assets group at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Morgan Stanleyā€™s investment management arm. With his elevation to his new post, Klopp will transition out of his roles as co-chief executive and co-chief investment officer and head of Americas at MSREI This leaves de Poulpiquet as MSREIā€™s sole CEO and CIO, effectively reporting to Klopp. Lauren Hochfelder Silverman, previously co-head of US acquisitions, will assume Kloppā€™s former post as head of the Americas.

In February, MSIM announced the restructuring of its investment teams in real assets, solutions and multi-asset, active fundamental equity, private equity and credit, global fixed income, and global liquidity. Under the restructuring, MSREI became part of MSIMā€™s real assets group, which also includes the global listed real assets and private infrastructure businesses.

Klopp joined MSREI in February 2010 as head of Americas real estate investing and global real estate debt investing ā€“ just months before he was appointed to the global co-head position. Prior to joining MSREI, Klopp served for more than a decade as chief executive of Capital Trust, a publicly-traded real estate finance and investment management company that he co-founded.

de Poulpiquet has clocked in considerably more time at Morgan Stanley, having started his career in its investment banking division in 1994 before moving to MSREI two years later. He went on to become head of MSREI in Italy and then co-head of European real estate investing, before leaving in 2004 to join Pirelli Real Estate as chief investment officer and head of asset management. He returned to Morgan Stanley in May 2010. The reader knows the rest of the story.