Leadership & Governance
The Blackstone leadership team that manages BEPIF has deep experience investing across market and economic cycles
Blackstone Leadership
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Chairman and CEO, Blackstone
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Chairman and CEO, Blackstone
Mr. Schwarzman is an active philanthropist with a history of supporting education, as well as culture and the arts, among other things. In 2020, he signed The Giving Pledge, committing to give the majority of his wealth to philanthropic causes. In both business and philanthropy, Mr. Schwarzman has dedicated himself to tackling big problems with transformative solutions. In June 2019, he donated £150 million to the University of Oxford to help redefine the study of the humanities for the 21st century. His gift – the largest single donation to Oxford since the renaissance – will create a new Centre for the Humanities which unites all humanities faculties under one roof for the first time in Oxford’s history, and will offer new performing arts and exhibition venues as well as a new Institute for Ethics in AI. In October 2018, he announced a foundational $350 million gift to establish the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, an interdisciplinary hub which will reorient MIT to address the opportunities and challenges presented by the rise of artificial intelligence, including critical ethical and policy considerations to ensure that the technologies are employed for the common good. In 2015, Mr. Schwarzman donated $150 million to Yale University to establish the Schwarzman Center, a first-of-its-kind campus center in Yale’s historic “Commons” building, and also gave a founding gift of $40 million to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance to underprivileged children attending Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. In 2013, he founded an international scholarship program, “Schwarzman Scholars,” at Tsinghua University in Beijing to educate future leaders about China. At over $575 million, the program is modeled on the Rhodes Scholarship and is the single largest philanthropic effort in China’s history coming largely from international donors. Mr. Schwarzman is Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Schwarzman Scholars. In 2007, Mr. Schwarzman donated $100 million to the New York Public Library on whose board he serves.
In 2019, Schwarzman published his first book What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, a New York Times Best Seller which draws from his experiences in business, philanthropy and public service.
Mr. Schwarzman is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, The Business Council, The Business Roundtable, and The International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is a former co-chair of the Partnership for New York City and serves on the boards of The Asia Society and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, as well as on The Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, Beijing. He is a Trustee of The Frick Collection in New York City and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In 2007, Mr. Schwarzman was included in TIME’s “100 Most Influential People.” In 2016, he topped Forbes Magazine’s list of the most influential people in finance and in 2018 was ranked in the Top 50 on Forbes’ list of the “World’s Most Powerful People.” The Republic of France has awarded Mr. Schwarzman both the Légion d’Honneur and the Ordre des Arts et des Letters at the Commandeur level. Mr. Schwarzman is one of the only Americans to receive both awards recognizing significant contributions to France. He was also awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexico’s highest honor for foreigners, for his work on behalf of the U.S. in support of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2018. Also, at the University of Oxford, Mr. Schwarzman was elected a Wykeham Fellow at New College in 2021 and a Waynflete Fellow at Magdalen College in 2023.
Mr. Schwarzman holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He has served as an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Management and on the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors.
Jonathan Gray
President and COO, Blackstone
Jonathan Gray
President and COO, Blackstone
Mr. Gray was appointed to his current role in 2018. Since that time, Blackstone’s assets under management have more than doubled to over $1.1 trillion, as the firm has greatly expanded the breadth of clients it serves, including insurance companies and individual investors. He has also emphasized a thematic approach to investing across Blackstone’s businesses to drive performance.
Mr. Gray previously led Blackstone’s Real Estate business, which he helped build into the largest commercial real estate platform in the world. He joined Blackstone in 1992 in the M&A and Private Equity areas.
Mr. Gray has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hilton Worldwide since 2007, and is also on the board of XRG.
He and his wife, Mindy, established the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2012 focused on the prevention and treatment of BRCA-related cancers. They have also established numerous programs for low-income children in New York, including creating NYC Kids Rise, a college savings initiative provided to every NYC public school kindergartner. The Grays have been named to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the largest donors in the U.S.
Mr. Gray received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School, as well as a BA in English from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kenneth Caplan
Global Co-Chief Investment Officer, Blackstone
Kenneth Caplan
Global Co-Chief Investment Officer, Blackstone
Mr. Caplan previously served as Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate. Blackstone is the largest owner of commercial real estate and an industry leader in opportunistic, core plus and debt investing across North America, Europe and Asia.
Prior to becoming Global Co-Head of Blackstone Real Estate, Mr. Caplan served as Global Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone Real Estate and Head of Real Estate Europe. Since joining the firm in 1997, Mr. Caplan has been involved in over $100 billion of real estate acquisitions and initiatives in the United States, Europe and Asia. These include major acquisitions such as Equity Office Properties, Hilton Hotels, Logicor and GE Real Estate.
Before joining Blackstone, he was at Lazard Freres & Co. in the real estate investment banking group. Mr. Caplan received an AB in Economics from Harvard College, where he graduated magna cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was a John Harvard Scholar. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Prep for Prep.
Kathleen McCarthy
Global Co-Head, Blackstone Real Estate
Kathleen McCarthy
Global Co-Head, Blackstone Real Estate
Ms. McCarthy previously served as Global Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Real Estate. Before joining Blackstone in 2010, Ms. McCarthy worked at Goldman Sachs, where she focused on investments for the Real Estate Principal Investment Area. Ms. McCarthy began her career at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group.
Ms. McCarthy received a BA from Yale University. Ms. McCarthy is currently serving a three-year term as Chair of the Real Estate Roundtable, the industry’s top federal advocacy organization. She also serves on the boards of City Harvest and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, and is the President of the Board of Trustees of The Nightingale-Bamford School.
Nadeem Meghji
Global Co-Head, Blackstone Real Estate
Nadeem Meghji
Global Co-Head, Blackstone Real Estate
Mr. Meghji previously served as Head of Real Estate Americas and has played a leadership role in Blackstone Real Estate’s investment activity in the region. Mr. Meghji joined Blackstone in 2008.
Mr. Meghji received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He received a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Meghji serves as a board member for the Lupus Research Alliance and is the Co-Chair of the annual Rally Against Lupus fundraiser. Mr. Meghji was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2018.
James Seppala*
BEPIF Chairman and Head of Real Estate Europe
James Seppala*
BEPIF Chairman and Head of Real Estate Europe
Prior to joining Blackstone, Mr. Seppala was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs & Co, where he spent 10 years focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in Europe and the United States on behalf of Goldman Sachs’s real estate private equity group.
Mr. Seppala graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2001. Mr. Seppala currently serves as Chairman of Sponda, is on the board of The Office Group, and chairs the European Advisory Board of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School.
Katie Keenan
Global Head of Core+ Real Estate
Katie Keenan
Global Head of Core+ Real Estate
Prior to joining Blackstone in 2012, Ms. Keenan held positions at G2 Investment Group, Lubert-Adler Real Estate Funds and in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Lehman Brothers.
Ms. Keenan graduated cum laude with an AB in History from Harvard College. She sits on the Board of Directors of Getting Out and Staying Out and the Advisory Board of Governors of NAREIT, and is a member of WX New York Women Executives in Real Estate.
BEPIF Leadership
Abhishek Agarwal*
Head of Core+ Real Estate EMEA and APAC
Abhishek Agarwal*
Head of Core+ Real Estate EMEA and APAC
Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Agarwal worked as a software developer with Microsoft, and was involved in the development of Microsoft Windows’ Vista. He received a Bachelors in Technology from the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Allahabad, where he was placed on the Dean’s Merit List. He completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore where he graduated with the Gold medal.
Farhad Karim*
Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Private Wealth
Farhad Karim*
Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone Private Wealth
Mr. Karim received a BA from McGill University and a JD from Columbia University.
Samir Amichi
Head of Real Estate Acquisitions Europe
Samir Amichi
Head of Real Estate Acquisitions Europe
Previously, Mr. Amichi spent seven years in Goldman Sachs International’s real estate private equity group focused on equity and debt investment opportunities in Europe and two years at The Richemont Group overseeing the set-up and growth of its global real estate investment business.
Mr. Amichi received an MS in Management from the HEC business school in Paris, where he majored in Economics.
Adam Shah
Head of Real Estate Asset Management Europe
Adam Shah
Head of Real Estate Asset Management Europe
Lama Kanazeh
Global Co-Head of Real Estate Institutional Client Solutions
Lama Kanazeh
Global Co-Head of Real Estate Institutional Client Solutions
Prior to joining Blackstone in 2008, Ms. Kanazeh worked at Credit Suisse in their Investment Banking and Leveraged Finance Divisions.
Ms. Kanazeh received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Columbia University. She also serves on the Board of the Benjamin Franklin House Museum.
Brett Newman
Chief Financial Officer of Real Estate
Brett Newman
Chief Financial Officer of Real Estate
Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Newman worked in the transaction and assurance advisory practices of PwC.
Mr. Newman received an MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a degree in finance and accounting from Bowling Green State University.
Simon Davies
Head of Europe Real Estate Finance
Simon Davies
Head of Europe Real Estate Finance
Prior to his current role, Mr. Davies lead the tax function for the European real estate business focusing on tax planning around fund formations, acquisitions and disposals. Before joining Blackstone in 2007, Mr. Davies worked as a Senior Manager in the Investment Management and Real Estate team at PricewaterhouseCoopers and specialized in the tax affairs of international real estate funds and investments.
Mr. Davies received a First-Class Honours degree in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.
Leon Volchyok
General Counsel of Blackstone Private Wealth
Leon Volchyok
General Counsel of Blackstone Private Wealth
Mr. Volchyok is a member of the board for the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives and on the Executive Committee of NAREIT’s Public Non-listed REIT Council.
Mr. Volchyok received a BBA from Baruch College – Zicklin School of Business and a JD from Fordham Law School.
Gadi Jay
Head of Real Estate Debt Capital Markets Europe
Gadi Jay
Head of Real Estate Debt Capital Markets Europe
*Serves on the BEPIF Board of Directors
BEPIF External Directors
Diana Hoffmann
Affiliated Director
Diana Hoffmann
Affiliated Director
Nathalie Charles
Non-Affiliated Director
Nathalie Charles
Non-Affiliated Director
Katia Panichi
Non-Affiliated Director
Katia Panichi
Non-Affiliated Director
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Important Disclosure Information
When used on this website and unless otherwise specified or unless the context otherwise requires, references to the “Fund” or “BEPIF” should be read as references to Blackstone European Property Income Fund SICAV (“BEPIF SICAV”), Blackstone European Property Income Fund (Master) FCP and their Parallel Entities. Capitalized terms used but not defined will have the meanings set forth in the confidential prospectus prepared for BEPIF SICAV (the “Prospectus”). Please refer to the Prospectus for further information.