PGIM Names Sara Shank to Head Global Innovation
Her role, dedicated completely to advancement within the real estate group, will harness data and technology in new ways.
NEW YORK CITY—PGIM Real Estate has hired Sara Shank as managing director and global head of innovation, based in its New York City office. Shank will lead the firm’s effort to advance investment decision-making and business operations around the world by harnessing data and technology in new ways.
PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the $1.3 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. In this newly created role, Shank will work across PGIM Real Estate’s global debt and equity platform to bridge technological innovation and other macro trends affecting the real estate business, with the goal of driving exceptional outcomes for the firm’s clients, according to a prepared release.
She will be responsible for developing and implementing technology solutions and data strategies across investment, asset management, operations and client servicing. “Innovation has been a hallmark of our firm since its inception,” says Eric Adler, CEO of PGIM Real Estate, in a prepared statement.
Now more than ever, he continues, “it is imperative to adapt and evolve as an organization to meet the major disruptions that are changing every facet of our business—from our investment process, to asset management, client relationship management and our day-to-day-operations. Sara is uniquely positioned to take on this challenge, and I am thrilled she has joined our team.”
Shank brings to PGIM Real Estate more than 20 years of real estate experience across all facets of strategy, innovation, portfolio management, asset management and transactions. She joins from Beacon Capital Partners, where she most recently served as managing director and head of portfolio management. In this role, she was chair of the company’s portfolio committee and a member of the investment, management, internal credit, due diligence and debt committees, in addition to being responsible for driving innovation across the firm. During her tenure, she oversaw the review, screening and implementation of a number of new technologies and platforms.
Shank is excited to advance PGIM Real Estate’s “strategic priority to employ new and innovative technology solutions, including ones that harness the company’s extensive proprietary data, to drive exceptional results for clients.”
As an active industry participant, Shank has been a founding member of several industry organization councils, including the ULI National Real Estate Technology Council and CREtech Leadership Board. She has also served as an advisory board member for VTS, WiredScore, CompStak, Building Engines and Comfy.
In a recent article on GlobeSt.com, Lee Menifee, head of Americas Investment Research at PGIM Real Estate, talked about the importance in technology and noted that “the winners and losers will shake out depending on how well capitalized they are and how much expertise they have.” Click here to read more on the subject.