James Molloy joined real estate company Hines to run its newly opened office in New Zealand, according to a statement on Thursday.
The opening of the office signals "compelling opportunities" that Hines has identified in the country, according to Ray Lawler, chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific. Hines now has 11 offices in the region, across seven countries.
While it has not made any investments in New Zealand yet, the firm is looking at several areas, "especially the build-to-rent (BTR) sector, value add office and logistics /industrial sectors which are a natural extension to what our teams are already doing in Australia," Mr. Lawler said in an email.
Hines manages a $92.3 billion portfolio of real estate assets across residential, logistics, retail, office and mixed-use sectors.
The Houston-headquartered firm hired Mr. Molloy to manage the new office and source new acquisitions, investment, and development opportunities in the country.
Mr. Molloy is Hines' first New Zealand-based hire, and the firm plans to "grow organically," Mr. Lawler said in response to how many people Hines plans to hire in the country.
"Like the 29 countries before New Zealand, we will grow our team as our investments grow over time. Australia started with David Warneford as our first employee over 10 years ago and now he has a team of 28 people and counting," he said. Hines has three offices in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Mr. Molloy joined earlier this month from Oyster Property Group, where he was the general manager for investments and a member of the executive team.
Oyster Property Group could not immediately be reached for comment, but a separate statement on Tuesday said it appointed Steve Harris as its new general manager for investments. He was previously general manager for property at the firm.
