The National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM) today announced that it has appointed Zoe Hughes as Chief Executive Officer. Founded nearly 30 years ago, NAREIM addresses the operations and strategic leadership of commercial real estate investment management companies. NAREIM’s members, with combined assets under management of more than $1 trillion, are among the industry’s most active investors.

“We are very excited to have Zoe take the helm at NAREIM,” said Peter DiCorpo, NAREIM Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Waypoint Residential. “With more than a decade of institutional real estate experience that includes strategy, editorial consulting and journalism, Zoe has a solid understand of and unique perspective on emerging management issues and evolving investor priorities.”

Zoe was most recently the co-founder of Concept Journalism, an editorial consulting firm focused on content and communication strategies for private real estate and private equity. Previously, she was the Director of Investment Communications for Shelter Rock Capital Advisors. Zoe’s experience also includes leading the editorial platforms at the digital media company PrivcapRE and at PERE, the leading publication for the world’s private real estate markets.

“NAREIM offers a rare opportunity for real estate investment executives to connect with peers, challenge preconceived ideas and engage in candid debate,” said Zoe. “NAREIM’s former CEO, Gunnar Branson, helped propel the association into a leading voice about commercial real estate’s most pressing issues. I’m truly honored to follow in his footsteps and help NAREIM members as they define what it means to be best-in-class, explore the impact of disruptions and inefficiencies in the market, and build companies capable of taking advantage of new opportunities.”

The search for NAREIM’s new CEO was a collaborative effort between Ferguson Partners and Sheffield Haworth.

Headquartered in Chicago, NAREIM is dedicated to helping real estate investment management companies achieve excellence. NAREIM helps member companies refine strategy, improve operations and provoke new thinking through forums that include executive meetings, investor summits and events in areas such as acquisitions and dispositions, asset and portfolio management, compliance and legal, capital raising and investor relations, and human resources. NAREIM’s thought leadership initiatives include proprietary surveys on compensation and management benchmarks, the twice-yearly Dialogues and regular reports and analyses.