Blackstone, the world's largest owner of commercial property, is making senior leadership changes in its real estate business after an executive was killed in a mass shooting in July at the firm's New York headquarters.
Katie Keenan has been appointed chief executive officer and a director of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, as well as global head of the Core+ Real Estate business. She succeeds Wesley M. LePatner, who served in both roles until her death on July 28.
Keenan has held a number of leadership positions since joining the firm in 2012. She currently serves as global co-chief investment officer of Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, or BREDS, and chief executive officer of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, a publicly-traded commercial mortgage REIT also known as BXMT that's managed by a subsidiary of Blackstone.
The firm said Keenan has been integral to the success of BXMT and the broader BREDS business, helping grow the BREDS platform to $77 billion (£57.08 billion).
Zaneta Koplewicz, currently BREIT head of shareholder relations, has been named co-president and director of BREIT with current co-president, Blackstone veteran A.J. Agarwal. BREIT Interim CEO Rob Harper will resume his long-time role as BREIT head of asset management.
Keenan said in a statement: "Thanks to the dedication of Wesley and many others, BREIT represents some of Blackstone’s finest work. Its strong performance is driven by a portfolio that is [around] 90% concentrated in sectors that are benefitting from long-term, secular megatrends, particularly data centers.
"BREIT is incredibly well-positioned and I am looking forward to working with the team to capitalize on the ongoing real estate recovery, with new supply falling sharply, the cost of debt capital coming down, and transaction activity picking up.”
Elsehwere, Tim Johnson has been appointed chief executive officer of BXMT, succeeding Keenan. As the global head of BREDS and chair of BXMT’s board, Johnson has helped oversee BXMT for over a decade and has expertise across Blackstone’s commercial real estate credit investment strategies. He has been with Blackstone since 2011. He will continue as the global head of BREDS and chair of BXMT’s Board.
Austin Peña, currently executive vice-president, investments of BXMT, has been named president and director, and will continue leading the company’s investment, capital allocation, and balance sheet strategy.
Johnson said: "I’ve had the honor of serving as BXMT’s Chair and I am looking forward to building on BXMT’s momentum, including $2.6 billion in new investments last quarter and a nearly 20% YTD total return. The team’s breadth and creativity enable us to source investments across channels and markets, unlocking value during a particularly compelling period.
"The entire BREDS platform, which includes BXMT, has been incredibly active capturing this real estate credit environment, having deployed $38 billion since the beginning of 2024, and we expect that activity to continue across the business.”
Nadeem Meghji and Kathleen McCarthy, global co-heads of Blackstone Real Estate, said in a joint statement: "The resilience demonstrated by our team in recent weeks has been nothing short of extraordinary. We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented colleagues with a relentless focus on delivering for our investors. Katie and Tim both have invaluable leadership and investing experience that we believe will continue to drive strong performance across both businesses."
All changes are effective November 10, 2025, with the exception of Keenan’s appointment as global head of Core+ Real Estate, which is effective immediately.
Blackstone’s real estate business, founded in 1991, has US $325 billion, or 240.92 billion pounds of investor capital under management.