Blackstone revamps Asia real estate unit as senior executive steps down

[HONG KONG] Blackstone is revamping the senior management at its Asia real estate unit as its long-serving head of acquisitions is set to leave, sources familiar with the matter said.

Alan Miyasaki, who has spent 24 years at the world’s largest alternative asset manager, including 18 in Asia, is returning to the US to be closer to his family in Utah, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

He will be replaced by Luigi Caruso, currently chief operating officer of the real estate team in Europe, the sources said.

Miyasaki, 49, who has been shuttling between the region and the US, will stay with the firm till 2026. Caruso will move to Singapore in January to take over Miyasaki’s role, the sources said. Blackstone also promoted Asheesh Mohta, currently head of acquisitions for India, to country head of real estate.

Tuhin Parikh will take on the roles of vice-chairman of real estate for Asia, and executive chairman of real estate for India, the sources said.

A Hong Kong-based spokesperson for Blackstone declined to comment.

Miyasaki has been a driving force behind Blackstone’s Asia acquisitions, working with Chris Heady, the region’s real estate chief and Asia-Pacific chairman. The two came to Asia in 2007 as part of a small team of only a few professionals in Asia. Since then, the business has grown into one of the region’s largest property platforms, with more than 130 professionals, the sources said.

Blackstone’s recent big-ticket deals include data centre operator AirTrunk, the firm’s largest deal in Asia, along with Crown Resorts and Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho. The overall real estate division, which also comprises asset management, has invested more than US$100 billion in Asia real estate assets since 2008.

Caruso, who joined Blackstone in 2017, oversees the European real estate business with more than US$120 billion in assets. He previously led Southern Europe acquisitions and later became COO of asset management, focusing on hospitality and residential investments.

Earlier in his career, he worked at Rhone Group and Goldman Sachs’ real estate principal investing group in New York and London. BLOOMBERG