Blackstone Names Katie Keenan Next Chief Executive Officer of BREIT
Katie Keenan has been appointed chief executive officer and a director of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust Inc., i.e., BREIT – a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust that invests primarily in stabilized income-generating commercial real estate – as well as global head of the core+ real estate business.
Keenan, age 41, succeeds Wesley M. LePatner, who served in both roles until a mass shooting at the firm’s Manhattan headquarters took her life in late July.
This was one of several senior leadership updates that investment giant Blackstone (NYSE:BX) announced today.
Keenan is a long-tenured Blackstone executive and has held numerous leadership positions since joining the firm in 2012. She currently serves as global co-chief investment officer of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, or BREDS, and CEO of Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:BXMT), a publicly-traded commercial mortgage REIT managed by a subsidiary of Blackstone. According to the firm, Keenan has been integral to the success of BXMT and the broader BREDS business, helping grow the BREDS platform to $77 billion today.
LePatner, just 43 years old and a mother of two, was a highly respected and influential senior executive. Robert Harper had been serving as the interim CEO of BREIT since LePatner’s death and with Keenan’s appointment, will resume his long-time role of BREIT head of asset management.
“Thanks to the dedication of Wesley and many others, BREIT represents some of Blackstone’s finest work. Its strong performance is driven by a portfolio that is [nearly] 90% concentrated in sectors that are benefitting from long-term, secular megatrends, particularly data centers,” said Keenan. “BREIT is incredibly well-positioned, and I am looking forward to working with the team to capitalize on the ongoing real estate recovery, with new supply falling sharply, the cost of debt capital coming down, and transaction activity picking up.”
Additionally, Zaneta Koplewicz – currently BREIT head of shareholder relations – has been named co-president and director of BREIT with current co-president, Blackstone veteran A.J. Agarwal.
BREIT’s has reported a 9.2% annualized net return on Class I since inception more than eight and a half years ago, over 60% higher than the public REIT index on a cumulative basis.
Last month, AltsWire reported a 3.1% year-to-date return for its Class I shares. In 2024, 96% of BREIT’s distribution was classified as a return of capital, bringing its 4.8% pre-tax Class I distribution rate to 7.5% on a tax-equivalent basis.
Launched in 2017, BREIT is a $53 billion real-estate fund that majority invests in housing, data centers, and e-commerce-affiliated warehouses.
In still more leadership updates for Blackstone:
- Tim Johnson was named CEO of BXMT, succeeding Keenan. As the global head of BREDS and chair of BXMT’s board, roles he will continue, Johnson has played an active role in overseeing BXMT for over a decade and has deep expertise across Blackstone’s commercial real estate credit investment strategies. Johnson is a seasoned investor and has been with Blackstone since 2011; and
- Austin Peña, currently executive vice president, investments of BXMT, has been named president and director, and will continue leading the company’s investment, capital allocation, and balance sheet strategy.
In a written statement, Nadeem Meghji and Kathleen McCarthy, global co-heads of Blackstone real estate, said: “The resilience demonstrated by our team in recent weeks has been nothing short of extraordinary. We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented colleagues with a relentless focus on delivering for our investors. Katie and Tim both have invaluable leadership and investing experience that we believe will continue to drive strong performance across both businesses.”
All changes are effective Nov. 10, with the exception of Keenan’s appointment as global head of core+ real estate, which is effective immediately.
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