The Rockefeller Group Names Nakajima Acting President, CEO

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Atsushi Nakajima has been named acting president & CEO of The Rockefeller Group, succeeding Kevin Hackett, who recently completed a four-year term in those positions and joined the global law firm Proskauer as a member of its Private Equity Real Estate practice.

“The Rockefeller Group is primarily focused on development and investment management and my initial focus will be on maintaining the momentum we have in these areas in the U.S. and Europe,” Nakajima told Commercial Property Executive. “In addition, we will be focusing much of our time and resources to increasing the long-term value of our core assets.”

Nakajima joined The Rockefeller Group in 2011 as vice president and chief investment officer and since that time, has had a leadership role in all of The Rockefeller Group’s development and investment initiatives throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

“I have partnered with the existing senior management team for more than two years as chief investment officer, so this is very much a seamless transition,” Nakajima said. “In addition, in the past I have been involved in creating corporate strategies, so I look forward to tapping that experience on behalf of The Rockefeller Group.”

Previously, Nakajima worked at Mitsubishi Estate Company Ltd., and served in various areas of the company including urban development and investment management, as well as finance and accounting. His career with MEC began in 1986 and he rose to deputy general manager of its Corporate Planning Department.

The Rockefeller Group owns or manages approximately 6.5 million square feet of Class A office space in major central business districts throughout the United States, and is a strategic investor in Europa Capital, a pan-European property fund company.

During Nakajima’s time as CIO, the company formed a joint venture relationship with Mitsubishi Estate New York to acquire 1.3 million square feet of Class A office buildings in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, and its development pipeline totals approximately 30 million square feet, primarily office and industrial projects in various stages of planning and construction.

Looking ahead, Nakajima expects a sharp focus on urban development and industrial development, as well as an expansion of the company’s investment management capabilities.

“We have a significant development pipeline across the U.S. of approximately 30 million square feet, and several investment management initiatives that we are pursuing simultaneously,” he said. “My goals will be closely associated with accelerating our success in these two areas.”

Mr. Nakajima holds an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley and a bachelor of laws degree from the University of Tokyo.