Norges Bank’s next real estate chief and what he means for its $70bn property portfolio

After a six-month search, Norges Bank Investment Management has found its next global real estate chief: Alex Knapp, who joins after 17 years at Houston-based manager Hines, where he was chief investment officer for Europe.

Starting next month, Knapp will take the helm of NBIM’s massive $70 billion global listed and unlisted real estate portfolio, managed on behalf of Norway’s $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund. But his duties in leading the manager’s property business will look a bit different from those of his predecessors – including the fact that Knapp will remain based in London, rather than Oslo.

This episode spotlights the details of Knapp’s appointment and what it suggests about NBIM’s evolving investment strategy in the real estate sector. Listen as host Lucy Scott, PEI Group real estate editor-in-chief Jonathan Brasse, PERE editor Evelyn Lee and PERE senior reporter Harrison Connery break it all down, with a guest appearance from Serene Hamzawi, managing partner at executive search firm Sousou Partners.

Read also: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund appoints Knapp as global real estate head