Blackstone Names New Co-CIOs | Chief Investment Officer

Blackstone Inc. has announced the creation of global co-CIO roles and appointed Ken Caplan, global co-head of real estate, and Lionel Assant, European head of private equity, to the positions.

Caplan will be succeeded as global co-head of real estate by Nadeem Meghji, who will serve alongside Kathleen McCarthy, the firm’s other global co-head of real estate.

“We are delighted to elevate three of our longest-tenured investors into these critical positions, as the firm readies itself for an active investment period,” said Steven Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Blackstone, in a statement. “They bring strong track records of delivering for our customers, considerable institutional knowledge, and exceptional investment acumen to these new roles.”.

Caplan joined Blackstone in 1997 and led the firm’s European real estate business from 2012 through 2015. He became the firm’s real estate CIO in 2017 and has been co-head of Blackstone’s global real estate business since 2018.

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Assant, who joined Blackstone in 2003, has been in charge of the firm’s European PE business since 2012. He will continue to serve as European head of private equity.

The firm, which has $880.9 billion in assets under management, also announced the promotion of Gio Cutaia to global chief operating officer of real estate.

“The promotion of these highly talented executives will help the firm better identify compelling global investment themes while also enhancing our disciplined investment process,” said Jon Gray, president and COO of Blackstone, in the press release.

Asset Management Leadership Changes

The news comes during a week of leadership moves in asset management. Earlier this week, Voya Financial Inc. announced the retirement of CEO Christine Hurtsellers, with Matt Toms, previously the CIO of Voya IM, succeeding her.

Voya, which has $306 billion assets under management, also hired Eric Stein from Morgan Stanley to become Voya IM’s head of investments and CIO of fixed income. He was previously CIO of fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Principal Asset Management, which manages $651 billion in assets, announced the appointment of its new CEO, Kamal Bhatia, effective Thursday, replacing Pat Halter, who is retiring after 40 years with Principal.

Bhatia will be responsible for delivering investment performance and client growth by expanding the firm’s footprint and its offerings of specialty public and private investment capabilities and retirement solutions for institutional, wealth and retirement clients across the firm’s 80-market footprint.