Fir Tree Partners, a value-oriented private investment manager with approximately USD9bn of capital under management, has appointed Zain Koita as director in the firm's private real estate group.
Koita will be responsible for sourcing and managing private commercial real estate investments across all of Fir Tree's funds. Specifically, he will be seeking new opportunities nationally for joint venture and preferred equity investments as well as mezzanine and bridge loans.
Jarret Cohen, head of private real estate at Fir Tree, says: "Zain's extensive experience in repositioning properties and managing joint ventures will be a great complement to our business. We expect that his relationships and expertise will further broaden the transaction types we tackle."
"I am thrilled to join such a diverse, experienced team. Having a broad mandate and flexible capital are big advantages for real estate investors today," says Koita.
Koita, whose appointment was effective 1 January, was previously a director in the real estate private equity group at Angelo, Gordon & Co, where he led acquisitions and asset management across several geographies and product types in both the Opportunity and Core Plus funds. Prior to that, he worked as a development associate for The Related Companies in Chicago.