Blackstone has appointed head of real estate Jon Gray as president and chief operating officer after Tony James stepped down from the role.
Gray joined Blackstone in 1992 and has led the firm’s real estate group since 2005, expanding it into a business with more than $115bn (£83bn) in investor capital and that has accounted for half of Blackstone’s earnings over the past few years.
He will remain chairman of the real estate investment committee, while Ken Caplan and Kathleen McCarthy take over as co-heads of real estate.
James, who joined in 2002 and led Blackstone through its IPO in 2007, will continue at the firm as executive vice chairman.
He will also continue to sit on its investment committees, help develop new business and serve as a spokesman.
Stephen A Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman and chief executive of Blackstone, said: “I’ve learned over the past 26 years that Jon Gray has great judgment, enormous energy and unique personal charisma, which has enabled him to garner enormous respect within the global financial community.
“The appointment of Jon as president and chief operating officer lays the foundation for the next generation of senior management and positions the firm well for future leadership.”
Speaking about James, Schwarzman added: “Tony James has had a bigger impact on Blackstone than anyone in the firm’s history. Since he joined, he has been instrumental in evaluating fund investments and conceptualising and implementing numerous growth initiatives, expanding AUM many times over and delivering industry-leading investment performance.”
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