MetLife Investment Management Hires New Head of Real Estate, Agriculture From Blackstone

Andrea Drasites

MetLife Investment Management appointed Andrea Drasites as global head of real estate and agricultural finance, effective October 1. Drasites will oversee the firm’s commercial mortgage and equity real estate portfolios, as well as its agricultural investments, totaling $108.9 billion in assets.

Drasites will succeed Robert Merck, who retired last year after 43 years at the firm. She will report to Brian Funk, MIM’s president, who was appointed to the role last June. She is currently a senior managing director in Blackstone’s real estate group, where she has worked for 13 years.

“I’m thrilled to be joining MIM at such a pivotal moment and look forward to working with the team to build on the platform’s success and leverage the firm’s scale to drive even more opportunities for clients worldwide,” Drasites said in a statement.

Previously, Drasites worked at shopping center real estate investment trust Equity One Inc. and Florida-based real estate investment firm Woolbright Development. Drasites earned a bachelor of arts degree in international business from Rollins College in Florida and an MBA in finance from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.

MIM manages a total of $741.7 billion in assets, including assets acquired through its acquisition of PineBridge Investments in December 2025.