Oxford Properties Hires MetLife Exec As New Head Of U.S.
The Canadian co-developer of the nation's largest mixed-use development appointed a new executive vice president and head of U.S. — the latest in a series of changes at the top of the company over the past year.
Oxford Properties Group tapped Sara Queen to lead the company’s U.S. operations starting over the summer. She will be based in New York City and oversee the performance and growth of the company’s U.S. assets, which total $19B, according to a release.
Queen is joining the company after five years as managing director and head of real estate equity at MetLife Investment Management, where she led a team of more than 150 people.
“Oxford’s long-term perspective and commitment to its people strongly align with how I’ve led throughout my career,” Queen said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to building on the momentum in the US and leading the next evolution of this incredible platform.”
Queen also serves on the Urban Land Institute’s global executive board and as a global governing trustee and works with WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate.
Toronto-based Oxford, which owns and operates more than 140M SF and 650 assets across four continents, partnered with Related Cos. on Hudson Yards, a 28-acre, mixed-use development over rail yards in Manhattan, with office towers occupied by BlackRock, KKR and Meta, an Equinox hotel, luxury residential and a mall that Wells Fargo is converting to offices.
Another office tower, anchored by Deloitte's headquarters, is under construction after landing a $1.6B financing package.
Queen is taking over the role from Randy Hoffman, a 20-year Oxford vet who served in the position for seven months before taking the role of CEO at Realstar last May, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Oxford Chief Investment Officer Chad Remis has been serving as the interim head of U.S. since, a spokesperson said.
The real estate investor — a subsidiary of the Ontario Municipal Employees' Retirement System, a pension fund with $145B of net assets — has seen its fair share of turnover over the past year.
Diana Shieh left her role as head of U.S. asset management in January to serve as chief operating officer and head of asset management at Cohen & Steers. An Oxford spokesperson didn't say if the company was looking for a person to fill that role.
This is also the first U.S. hire under Oxford’s new president and CEO, Eric Plesman, who rejoined the company in November after leaving in 2021, according to a release. He took over from Daniel Fournier, who was named executive chairman.
CORRECTION, APRIL 30, 3:30 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story did not accurately describe the company's leadership changes. The story has been updated.
