CBRE Group, Inc. has announced that Charles (“Chuck”) Leitner will join the company as Global CEO of CBRE Global Investors, CBRE’s investment management business. Mr. Leitner will succeed Ritson Ferguson, who had informed the company of his intention to step down from the role of Global CEO of CBRE Global Investors. Mr. Ferguson will continue with CBRE Global Investors as CEO of CBRE Clarion Securities, the real assets securities business he co-founded in 1991.
Mr. Leitner will join CBRE Global Investors from Berkshire Group, where he has served as President & CEO since 2013. Berkshire is an investment management and operating company specializing in US residential property. Prior to Berkshire, he served as Global CEO of RREEF/Deutsche Asset Management, a global alternative asset management enterprise with $80 billion of assets under management.
“Chuck has all the qualities we are looking for in the leader of our investment management business. He is an accomplished investor and operator and a strategic thinker with wide-ranging experience. Our people and our business will flourish under his strong leadership,” said Daniel Queenan, Global CEO of CBRE’s Real Estate Investments business segment, which consists of investment management (CBRE Global Investors), development services (Trammell Crow Company) and flexible-space solutions (Hana). Mr. Leitner will report to Mr. Queenan.
“I am thrilled to join CBRE Global Investors,” Mr. Leitner said. “We have a great team, highly regarded brand, global footprint and diversified offerings – the perfect combination to deliver outstanding returns for investors in today’s global real assets marketplace.”
Mr. Leitner is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he currently serves as a Trustee and member of the Board and Executive Committee of Penn Medicine. He is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute, where he formerly served as Chairman of the Greenprint Center for Building Performance.