RNR People in Real Estate – (Realty News Report) – DALLAS – i3 announced the addition of Charlie Welch as Senior Vice President for North Texas. Welch will oversee acquisitions, development, and capital formation across all asset classes in the region. He brings deep experience in real estate investment and development, having held senior roles at Weinreb Ventures, a Dallas-based family office, and Tishman Capital Partners in New York, an alternative investment platform. Earlier in his career, Charlie supported multifamily development at StreetLights Residential.
“Charlie’s broad expertise and proven leadership in real estate investment make him an exceptional addition to the i3 team,” said Rene Joubert, CEO of i3. “His strategic insights and strong regional ties will be invaluable as we continue to grow our footprint across North Texas.”
HOUSTON – Hillwood has hired Ryan Baumgartner as Senior Vice President and Market Leader for Houston. Baumgartner will oversee land acquisitions, leasing, marketing and business development efforts across the greater Houston area. Previously a Vice President at Transwestern Development Co. and Vigavi Realty, he has led development initiatives for more than 1.5 million square feet and supported capital strategy, construction, leasing, and financial analysis for an additional 4 million square feet. Hillwood, a Perot company based in Dallas, has a global industrial portfolio totaling 292.7 million SF.
HOUSTON – Griffin Partners welcomed Anar Shah as Senior Managing Director and Head of Capital Formation to drive the firm’s fundraising and investor relations strategy. She joined the firm in March, bringing over 25 years of experience in institutional business development, with a career spanning sales, marketing, and product management across private equity, real estate, and hedge funds. Shah most recently served as Vice President of Capital Formation at Lionstone Investments. Shah will build and lead Griffin’s Capital Formation team, overseeing investor relations, new product development, marketing, and capital-raising efforts across Griffin’s investment platform. Griffin Partners specializes in industrial, office, and mixed-use real estate across the Sunbelt and Mountain West markets.
HOUSTON – JLL announced Jon Dutton and Andrew Elliott, longtime in-house office leasing brokers for Granite Properties, have joined its Houston office agency leasing team. Dutton and Elliott will continue overseeing office leasing for Granite’s 2.1 million-SF portfolio in the market. Dutton serves as an Executive Vice President and Elliott rejoins the JLL team as a Vice President. Granite’s Houston portfolio includes notable buildings such as Weslayan Tower, Briarpark Green, and the Eldridge campus.
HOUSTON – Kenneth Weaver has been named Head of Brand for the Transwestern organization, leading creative direction and brand strategy across its integrated platform. Weaver joins Transwestern from CBRE, where he spent more than 15 years in marketing and creative leadership roles.
HOUSTON – Kirksey Architecture has expanded its Collegiate Practice with the addition of Justin Winchester, AIA, NCARB, as Partner and Managing Director. Winchester has more than 20 years of experience in higher education architecture delivering projects for Texas institutions including the University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, Rice University, San Jacinto College, and Texas State University System, among others. He joins Kirksey from Page, where he previously served as Principal and Academic Director.
Texas and Nation
SAN ANTONIO – Partners Real Estate announced that veteran industry professionals David Ballard and Parker LaBarge have joined the firm as Partners in the San Antonio office. The duo was previously at CBRE.
AUSTIN – Realtor.com announced Janakiraman Karthikeyan as its new Chief Technology Officer. Most recently, Karthikeyan served as VP of Technology at Chewy.
PLANO, Texas – Aimbridge Hospitality, a global third-party hotel management company, has appointed Chris O’Donnell as President of its Select Service division, effective September 15.
ATLANTA – Americold Realty Trust announced the appointment of Robert S. Chambers as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. He previously served as Americold’s President, overseeing the company’s global operations including, commercial strategy, sales, engineering, development, information technology, customer experience, and supply chain innovation.
DENVER – RedPeak, a multifamily owner, developer, and manager in Denver, announced the appointment of Josh Foley as Chief Executive Officer following a national search.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jordan McCarley has joined Cushman & Wakefield as Executive Vice Chair in the Carolinas Institutional Multifamily Advisory team and broader Sunbelt Multifamily Advisory Group.
SAN FRANCISCO – Opendoor Technologies announced that Kaz Nejatian, Chief Operating Officer of Shopify, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Co-Founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu are returning to the Board of Directors, with Rabois taking on the role of Chairman.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Todd Canterbury has joined JLL’s Value and Risk Advisory platform as an Executive Director based in Washington, D.C. Canterbury will focus on institutional office property valuations primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
IRVINE, Calif. – Michael Wada has joined JLL’s Value and Risk Advisory platform as an Executive Director based in Irvine, Calif. Wada will lead multi-housing efforts in California and will be a member of JLL’s multi-housing valuation group.
TAMPA, Fla. – Kevin Yaryan has rejoined SRS Real Estate Partners as Senior Vice President on the Capital Markets team in Florida. Yaryan brings more than 20 years of experience in Florida and California working across property types with a specialization in shopping centers and net lease properties. Prior to rejoining SRS, he was a managing partner at Sun Realty Partners.
Sept. 17, 2025 Realty News Report Copyright 2025
Photo credit: Courtesy Hines
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File: RNR People in Real Estate – Texas & more