Starwood Brings in Centerbridge Exec to Oversee Real Estate

There’s a new real estate bigwig at Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group.

The private investment firm named John Gonnella as senior managing director and head of U.S. asset management, the company announced, giving him oversight of the company’s vast real estate portfolio. Gonnella will assume his position in late April.

He moves over from Centerbridge Partners, where he led the firm’s asset management strategy for its global real estate portfolio. His other real estate experience includes an executive role at Northwood Investors and an associate role with Morgan Stanley when he was just starting out.

“I am excited to contribute to [Starwood’s] continued success across asset classes while helping to create enduring value at both the portfolio and asset level,” Gonnella said in a statement.

Starwood has a complex web of affiliates and entities, but overall boasts more than $90 billion in capital raised since its founding in 1991 and more than $125 billion in assets under management today.

Starwood oversees the publicly traded Starwood Property Trust, the largest commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the country. It manages more than $30 billion in debt and equity investments, distributing more than $112 billion since its founding.

There’s also the nontraded Starwood Real Estate Income Trust, property management firm Highmark Residential, data center investment platform Starwood Digital Ventures and Starwood Hotels.

In a statement, CEO Sternlicht said Gonnella’s “significant expertise managing diverse real estate portfolios across geographies and property sectors will benefit our teams, assets and investment partners.”

Starwood made a big move six months ago, acquiring Fundamental Income Properties, a net lease platform owned by Brookfield, for approximately $2.2 billion. The portfolio consists of 467 fully occupied properties across various sectors, totaling 12 million square feet and featuring a 17-year weighted average remaining lease term.

Centerbridge closed its second real estate fund in 2022, which received $2.3 billion in capital commitments, easily exceeding its target of $1.5 billion.