Hines’ New Structure Bolsters Acquisitions

The new structure for the investment management platform will strengthens Hines’ ability to develop, acquire and operate real estate assets globally in partnership with institutional and retail investors.

Five new chief investment officers make up Hines’ investment management team.

HOUSTON—Hines announces a new structure for the firm’s investment management platform, a change that is expected to strengthen the firm’s ability to develop, acquire and operate real global estate assets in partnership with institutional and retail investors.

The new investment management platform will be co-led by global chief investment officer David Steinbach and CEO of capital markets Chris Hughes. The platform is designed to support current and future investment products, and meet the demands of investors who are increasingly taking a strategic approach to investment manager relationships.

Joining Steinbach and Hughes are three new geographic chief investment officers overseeing investment strategies in the Americas, Europe and Asia. These new CIOs—Alfonso Munk, Alex Knapp and Lee Timmins—will direct all institutional and retail investment vehicles in their geographies and will join the firm’s investment committee to make it a more-global decision-making body that can respond to the best real estate opportunities around the world. The new CIOs are board-level positions with seats on the firm’s executive committee.

Alfonso Munk, who joins the firm from PGIM Real Estate, will oversee the Americas. He has more than 20 years of experience in real estate investing activities in the US, Europe and Latin America. Munk will be based in Hines’ Houston headquarters.

Hines veteran Alex Knapp assumes the new role of CIO Europe providing investors with more than 15 years’ experience in commercial and residential transactions. He has developed new product lines and operational strategies for the firm, and will be based in the firm’s London headquarters.

Lee Timmins, who has led the firm’s Eurasia region from Moscow since 2014, has been appointed CIO of Asia. With a 30-plus-year track record, he will soon be establishing a regional Hines investment management office in the region, where the firm is looking to significantly expand its real estate footprint and investor outreach.

The firm’s global investment committee will be supported by the Hines proprietary research group, a new investment risk team and a newly created global investment strategy team to help shape investing strategy and provide analytical support to the CIOs, as well as the firm’s regional business units.

With $124.3 billion of assets under management, Hines is currently the second-largest real estate investment manager in North America and the fourth globally, according to Institutional Real Estate Inc.