There will soon be change at the top of the $68B commercial real estate arm of insurance giant New York Life.

After 22 years at the helm, Senior Managing Director Mark Talgo plans to retire from leading New York Life Real Estate Investors in June, and Thomas O’Hanlon, NYLREI's managing director, is set to take over.

While keeping his role as managing director, O’Hanlon will report to Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Tony Malloy, joining his senior leadership team, according to a release.

“Thomas is an approachable and genuine leader who embodies the core values of New York Life,” Malloy said in a statement. “His 30-plus years of real estate experience, coupled with his proven track record and growth mindset, make him well-positioned to guide NYLREI forward.”

O’Hanlon joined New York Life in 2004 as an acquisitions officer and aided in building portfolio management when the company began investing in real estate equity. He worked his way up to head of real estate equity in 2019.

Talgo built the New York Life Real Estate Investment arm to 180 employees across five offices, grew the portfolio to $68B and generated value for both the general account and third-party clients, Malloy said.

“He also played a crucial role in evolving our culture, developing talent, and setting a standard of excellence,” Malloy said. “While Mark will be missed, I’m grateful for, and proud of, the legacy he has built.”

New York Life is the largest mutual insurance company in the U.S. and has been an active lender and investor in office buildings. Its portfolio has shown signs of distress — last week, it sold an 11-story office building in Irvine, California, to Greenlaw Partners for $37M, a large discount from the $82.5M it paid for the site in 2015, Commercial Observer reported.

Also last week, it foreclosed on a landmark Chicago office building for which it originated a $60M loan in 2016, Crain's Chicago Business reported. That came just two months after it filed to foreclose on a Washington, D.C., office building where it holds a $115M mortgage, according to the Washington Business Journal.

But the weakness in its office portfolio hasn't soured it on the asset class. In April, New York Life purchased a 78K SF office building at 410 Townsend St. in San Francisco, in partnership with New York-based Bridgeton, for $22M. The deal was a 75% discount from the 2019 sale price of $85.7M.