John Carrafiell

John Carrafiell is the Co-Chief Executive Officer of BentallGreenOak, a leading, global investment management and advisory firm with over $74 billion (USD) in AUM and 28 offices in 13 countries. John was a Founder of GreenOak Real Estate in 2010 and together with the team built the business organically to $12 billion (USD) of assets under management in 10 countries with over 100 employees prior to its 2019 merger with Bentall Kennedy (owned by Canada headquartered leading financial institution, Sun Life). Based in Miami, Florida, John has oversight responsibility for BentallGreenOak’s U.S., European and UK businesses and is a senior member of the firm’s Investment Committees globally.

John currently serves as a member of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Klepierre, one of Europe’s largest publicly traded REITs. He is a member of the board of privately-held Lineage, the world’s largest Cold Storage Logistics company where BentallGreenOak holds a significant minority stake in the company. John is a member of the board of Bulk Infrastructure, a leading provider of Data Centers and logistics in the Nordics, where BentallGreenOak holds a 10% stake in the company. From 2011, John advised the New York State Common Retirement Fund and then acted as the Fund’s appointed board director and Audit Committee member of Shugard, Europe’s largest self storage company with a market capitalization of $5 billion, from its IPO until February 2019. From 2004-2010 John was a member of the board, Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Operating Committee of Canary Wharf, the leading developer and owner of the London office district. John was a member of the board of several other publicly listed European companies including Netherlands-based pan-European REIT Corio and Germany-based DIC. He is also a former director of the Executive Board of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA, the equivalent of NAREIT).

John is a 35-year Private Equity, Corporate Finance and Real Estate veteran (32 years based in London and Europe). He became Head of European Real Estate for Morgan Stanley in 1994 (at the age of 29) and rose during a 22-year career to be Head of Global Real Estate (both principal investing with $100 billion of AUM, and Investment Banking) and to serve as a member of the Morgan Stanley Investment Banking Division’s six-person Global Operating Committee in 2005. Among many notable transactions, the IPO, take-private, and re-IPO of Canary Wharf, which John led, was, at $10 billion of gross assets, the largest-ever transaction of its type in Europe and resulted in exceptional returns for its investors over a decade of stewardship, including navigating the Great Financial Crisis.

John is a former Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and member of its Finance and Endowment Committee. John is the co-Chairman of the Yale School of Architecture Dean’s Council. John is the co-Chairman of the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital Foundation Trust Development Board. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design & Architecture and the Tate Modern Acquisitions Committee in London. John graduated Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy.