Starwood Replaces SREIT Head With Goldman Sachs Exec
A year after liquidity pressures began to tighten due to a surge in investor redemption requests, Starwood Capital Group has announced new leadership at the helm of its Starwood Real Estate Income Trust.
Miami Beach-based Starwood Capital Group’s SREIT CEO Sean Harris is exiting his role to pursue other opportunities, according to a release. His replacement is Goldman Sachs’ REIT CEO and President Nora Creedon, who is set to step in by July this year.
Harris, who had been with Starwood for almost nine years, resigned on May 8.
Less than a week later, Creedon was announced as his successor, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Creedon has more than 14 years at Goldman Sachs under her belt. She oversaw about $4B of core real estate at GS REIT, according to the SEC filing.
The 46-year-old previously held roles at Fidelity Investments and Fortress Investment Group.
“We are proud to have an executive of Nora's caliber leading our commitment to the long-term success of SREIT,” Starwood President Jonathan Pollack said in a statement.
Goldman Sachs declined Bisnow’s request for comment.
The leadership transition follows a wave of redemption stress that was triggered when SREIT nearly exhausted its $1.6B credit line last year to meet investor withdrawals, leaving just $225M remaining and prompting fears of a liquidity squeeze.
The move sent ripples through the nontraded REIT market, leading other funds to exceed their usual redemption limits in an effort to maintain investor confidence.
As of March 31, SREIT reported $900M in liquidity — about 10% of its $8.9B net asset value — including $270M in cash, according to the company’s most recent quarterly report.
SREIT has sold $1.4B in assets and plans to close on another $300M over the next quarter, an effort to prioritize redemptions while protecting asset values amid market uncertainty, according to the report.
Founded in 2018, the company is a nonlisted REIT with a portfolio that is 87% allocated across rental housing, industrial assets and real estate loans, according to the release.
