Starwood Capital Group Appoints New President

Starwood Capital Group has appointed Jonathan Pollack as president starting 2025. Pollack is replacing Jeffrey G. Dishner, president & COO of Starwood Capital, who will continue to serve as president until Pollack joins the company, after which he will assume the role of vice chairman & head of strategy and business development.

Starwood Capital Group has raised more than $70 billion of capital since its founding in 1991 and has $115 billion worth off assets under management. Chairman & CEO Barry Sternlicht mentioned in prepared remarks that Pollack’s appointment is a testament to his experience at a global level and that he will join and lead all of Starwood’s committees.

Jonathan Pollack will join Starwood Capital from Blackstone, where he has served as global head of the company’s Real Estate Credit business, also known as BREDS, since 2016. Pollack, a Northwestern University graduate with a BA in Economics, was also a member of Blackstone’s Real Estate Executive Committee and Investment Committee, as well as of the firm’s Operating Committee.

In December 2023, BREDS acquired the $17 billion commercial property loan portfolio of Signature Bank, auctioned by the FDIC. Blackstone was the front-runner in the bidding since November and was at that time in competition with Brookfield Asset Management and Starwood Capital Group.

Prior to Blackstone, Pollack was the global head of commercial real estate at Deutsche Bank for 16 years, working for the London and New York headquarters. During his tenure, the bank became a top CMBS issuer and a leading special situations investor following the 2008 global financial crisis.