Gale joins Mack Real Estate Group as vice chairman and member of the investment committee

Barden Gale has joined Mack Real Estate Group (MREG). Gale will serve as vice chairman and member of the investment committee of MREG, the new real estate investment enterprise founded this year by William Mack, Richard Mack, and Stephen Mack. MREG invests capital in a variety of real estate strategies for the Mack family, as well as partnering with institutional investors and high net worth individuals. Headquartered in New York, MREG has offices and Los Angeles and Seattle through its Mack Urban affiliate, and anticipates opening a London office in 2014. The company recently completed the development of 50 North 5th St., a rental project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and through Mack Urban acquired a six-acre development site in the South Park district of Downtown Los Angeles in partnership with AECOM Capital. The South Park site will be developed as a multifamily rental project custom-made for the new generation of Downtown LA renters who are seeking modern urban living with outstanding amenities. "As we increase our activity across the United States and beyond, we're selectively expanding Mack Real Estate Group's core of senior-level investment talent. Barden is the perfect fit for our long-term, flexible approach to real estate acquisition and ownership," said Richard Mack, CEO of MREG. "His investment acumen and deep, long-lasting relationships will be invaluable as we continue to source and evaluate new transactions and build our institutional business. Barden's pedigree would be hard to match, and we're extremely pleased to welcome him." Gale was most recently CEO of JER Partners. He joined JER Partners in 2009 from Starwood Capital Group, where he served as vice chairman of real estate. Prior to Starwood, Gale was chief investment officer for real estate at ABP Investments U.S., Inc., the investment arm of Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP (now APG), one of the world's largest pension funds. Mr. Gale also held investment banking roles at Salomon Brothers, Inc. in London and New York and at Nesbitt Burns Securities in New York. He also was a principal of a real estate development company in New York and was a practicing attorney. As an active member of the commercial real estate community, Gale serves as a member of the Property Investment Committee of the National Pension Reserve Fund of Ireland. He is a former Board member of Immobel, SA, a listed Belgium property company, Crow Industrial Trust, a private REIT, the Pension Real Estate Association and the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate and was the recipient of the 2007 Industry Achievement Award from NAREIT. Gale also serves as a member of the Development Council of St. Hugh's College, Oxford University and on the board of directors for the Shoshana Foundation, Inc. Gale received his B.A. from Union College, his M.A. from the University of London, and his J.D. from Columbia University. MREG is an opportunistic investor that maintains a long-term, multi-generational approach to wealth enhancement through real estate ownership. Prior to MREG, William Mack and Richard Mack were both founders of AREA Property Partners (formerly known as Apollo Real Estate Advisors), a leading real estate investment manager recently acquired by Ares Management LLC. Richard Mack, who serves as Chief Executive Officer of Mack Real Estate Group, was previously North America CEO of AREA and will continue as a consultant to Ares through December 31, 2013. William Mack, Chairman of Mack Real Estate Group, was AREA's Chairman. During their tenure, the AREA investment funds collectively invested in more than $70 billion of diversified real estate ventures in 25 countries throughout the world. William Mack serves as Chairman of the Board of Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust.