WeWork vet hired to launch Two Sigma’s real estate fund

Hedge fund brings on Rich Gomel, who was head of co-working firm’s real estate investment arm

Rich Gomel, chief investment officer of Two Sigma Real Estate platform (Crunchbase)
Rich Gomel, chief investment officer of Two Sigma Real Estate platform (Crunchbase)

The former head of WeWork’s real estate investment arm has joined the quantitative hedge fund Two Sigma to help launch its new property investment platform.

Rich Gomel joined the data-centric hedge fund as chief investment officer for its new Two Sigma Real Estate platform, the company announced Wednesday.

“We’re focused on where we think the data and technology give us the most competitive advantage,” Gomel said. He added Two Sigma will use data sets like credit card info and geolocation data to identify areas of value and growth.

He declined to comment on the size of the company’s new real estate platform, but said it’s “enough capital that we can get started doing investments of various sizes and be in business.”

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The business will eye investments across all property types with a focus on growth areas such as industrial and multifamily or value opportunities like hospitality and retail, Gomel said.

Two Sigma, based in Soho, was founded 20 years ago by D.E. Shaw veterans with backgrounds in computer science and mathematics. The firm has $58 billion in assets under management.

Prior to joining Two Sigma, Gomel spent about 4 and a half years at WeWork’s property investment fund, ARK.