Key Takeaways
- • Giovanni Cutaia and David Levine have been named co-heads of Blackstone's real estate group after Nadeem Meghji unexpectedly stepped down, nine months after co-head Kathleen McCarthy announced her departure.
- • The real estate group oversees more than $300 billion in assets under management with nearly $50 billion in dry powder, according to The Real Deal.
- • Real estate has been Blackstone's worst-performing sector for nearly three years; over the past 12 months its opportunistic investments are down 4 percent and its core-plus segment is up 4.3 percent.
- • Blackstone's stock is down roughly 40 percent since late 2024 to about $119 per share.
- • Blackstone president Jon Gray cites improving fundamentals, including 45 percent leasing growth in logistics, 6 percent hotel gains, and data center leasing on track for 6 gigawatts this year.
Summary
Blackstone has named Giovanni Cutaia and David Levine as co-heads of its real estate group following the unexpected departure of Nadeem Meghji, who stepped down after less than a year in the role. Meghji's exit came nine months after his partner, Kathleen McCarthy, announced her own departure on LinkedIn. McCarthy left to pursue other opportunities she has not yet announced, while Meghji cited time with his family. According to The Real Deal, the new co-heads have been addressing investor concerns about turnover, with Cutaia saying, "The change was unexpected, so we understand why we're getting these questions." Levine said the pair has been traveling and meeting investors together to explain how they will lead the business and divide responsibilities.
The leadership change comes against a difficult backdrop. Real estate has been Blackstone's weakest-performing sector for nearly three years, pressured by high interest rates and exposure to troubled areas such as Sunbelt multifamily. Blackstone's stock has fallen about 40 percent since late 2024 to roughly $119 per share. Company president Jon Gray has pointed to improving fundamentals, including a 45 percent increase in leasing in the logistics business, which accounts for about 40 percent of the real estate portfolio, hotel gains of 6 percent, and data center leasing on track for 6 gigawatts this year, triple last year's total. Gray said on the third-quarter earnings call that more than 60 percent of real estate exposures sit in logistics, hotels and data centers.
Cutaia, 54, previously served as president of the real estate group and as head of global asset management, overseeing about 13,000 properties. Levine, 38, led the Americas real estate group and built Link Logistics, which he described as the largest private owner of U.S. logistics assets, and he oversaw Blackstone's $19 billion acquisition of a 115 million-square-foot U.S. warehouse portfolio from GLP in 2019. Both said they were ready to lead the group, and Cutaia said there would be no major strategic pivot, noting that both were already part of the leadership team. Levine described the differences between them as stylistic.
The turnover extends beyond real estate. At least 14 senior managing directors have left the real estate group over three years, though some departures were retirements. Blackstone's head of private equity, Joe Baratta, announced his departure in September after 28 years, BCRED co-CEO Jonathan Bock left in July, and Blackstone Growth head Jon Korngold left in August. A spokesperson disputed commentary from the CRE Analyst account on LinkedIn that linked the turnover to diminished carried-interest economics and a shift toward permanent capital, saying talent needs have grown as investment teams expanded. The spokesperson noted that institutional business represented half of year-to-date inflows and that five drawdown funds this year saw investor demand exceed capacity.
Looking ahead, Blackstone has not backfilled Levine's Americas role, and Mike Forman, Rob Harper and Eric Wu have relevant experience. Levine said legacy distressed assets are "a very small portion of our portfolio" and that the majority of the business is concentrated in industrial, data centers, global hospitality and multifamily, which he said have strong long-term tailwinds. Blackstone's largest bet is on digital infrastructure, including QTS, which it acquired in 2021 for $10 billion, and the Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust, which raised $1.75 billion at its IPO in May.
The leadership change comes against a difficult backdrop. Real estate has been Blackstone's weakest-performing sector for nearly three years, pressured by high interest rates and exposure to troubled areas such as Sunbelt multifamily. Blackstone's stock has fallen about 40 percent since late 2024 to roughly $119 per share. Company president Jon Gray has pointed to improving fundamentals, including a 45 percent increase in leasing in the logistics business, which accounts for about 40 percent of the real estate portfolio, hotel gains of 6 percent, and data center leasing on track for 6 gigawatts this year, triple last year's total. Gray said on the third-quarter earnings call that more than 60 percent of real estate exposures sit in logistics, hotels and data centers.
Cutaia, 54, previously served as president of the real estate group and as head of global asset management, overseeing about 13,000 properties. Levine, 38, led the Americas real estate group and built Link Logistics, which he described as the largest private owner of U.S. logistics assets, and he oversaw Blackstone's $19 billion acquisition of a 115 million-square-foot U.S. warehouse portfolio from GLP in 2019. Both said they were ready to lead the group, and Cutaia said there would be no major strategic pivot, noting that both were already part of the leadership team. Levine described the differences between them as stylistic.
The turnover extends beyond real estate. At least 14 senior managing directors have left the real estate group over three years, though some departures were retirements. Blackstone's head of private equity, Joe Baratta, announced his departure in September after 28 years, BCRED co-CEO Jonathan Bock left in July, and Blackstone Growth head Jon Korngold left in August. A spokesperson disputed commentary from the CRE Analyst account on LinkedIn that linked the turnover to diminished carried-interest economics and a shift toward permanent capital, saying talent needs have grown as investment teams expanded. The spokesperson noted that institutional business represented half of year-to-date inflows and that five drawdown funds this year saw investor demand exceed capacity.
Looking ahead, Blackstone has not backfilled Levine's Americas role, and Mike Forman, Rob Harper and Eric Wu have relevant experience. Levine said legacy distressed assets are "a very small portion of our portfolio" and that the majority of the business is concentrated in industrial, data centers, global hospitality and multifamily, which he said have strong long-term tailwinds. Blackstone's largest bet is on digital infrastructure, including QTS, which it acquired in 2021 for $10 billion, and the Blackstone Digital Infrastructure Trust, which raised $1.75 billion at its IPO in May.
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