The former real estate director of Latin America's busiest airport has joined Quasar as an associate on its portfolio leasing team.
Pilar Contreras Serrano brings over a decade of experience to the Maryland-based real estate firm, according to a company posting on LinkedIn regarding the hire. She most recently served as the real estate director at El Dorado International Airport, the primary airport in Bogota, Colombia, and the most trafficked airport in the region, according to Aviacion al Dia.
During her tenure, El Dorado was named the best airport in Latin America for four consecutive years by audit and consulting group Skytrax. In 2023, she launched Paraiso Sello Local, which is said to be the world's first airport-based multi-brand retail space dedicated solely to local brands. The market, comprised entirely of Colombian labels, generated $1 million in its first year and gave the airport "a completely new sense of place," Serrano told CoStar in an email.
She came to the United States to build a life with her partner and made the "bold decision last year to step away from a senior role after more than a decade of growth, and I promised myself I’d only return if it meant learning something truly transformative."
"I love turning complex portfolios into real, tangible results that end up as user-friendly spaces," she said. "Quasar’s fast, close, and entrepreneurial culture makes it the perfect place to do that. The private equity angle adds a whole new lens to my real estate experience."
Her career also includes serving as commercial manager at Mallplaza, a chain of urban centers in South America, and as a business development manager for the Halcon Group in Hong Kong.
Quasar is the global alternative investment arm of the family office of Kenneth Brown. A former top producer for JPMorgan Chase's mortgage group, Brown founded Quasar in 2008, initially acquiring distressed assets for a private group of stakeholders in the fallout from the Great Recession.
Updated Aug. 28 with quotes from Serrano.