Savanna, the New York-based real estate private equity and asset management firm, has hired Valerie Kitay as general counsel. In her new position, Kitay is responsible for supervising all of Savanna's legal activities. In her new role, she will also provide legal support and guidance with respect to fundraising, investor relations and corporate governance matters. "We are delighted to welcome Val to the Savanna team," said Christopher Schlank, a managing partner at Savanna. "Val brings a wealth of knowledge in handling a variety of complex legal transactions in both the public and private real estate sectors, which makes her an excellent choice for her new role as general counsel at Savanna." Kitay earned a bachelor of arts from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and a juris doctor from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. Kitay joins Savanna with 11 years of experience practicing real estate law, having most recently held the position of counsel at Hunton & Williams, LLP. Her practice focused on representing sponsors in the formation of private real estate debt and equity funds, and representing institutional investors, real estate investment managers, fund sponsors, REITs and other public and private real estate companies in a broad range of complex commercial real estate transactions, including purchases and sales, joint ventures, financings, restructurings, recapitalizations, and development projects. "We are looking forward to continue to work with Val as she continues her career with one of our favorite clients," said Carl Schwartz, co-head of the real estate group at Hunton & Williams. "After over six years of representing Savanna as outside counsel on fund formation and transactional matters, I'm thrilled to be working with the team internally," said Kitay. "I've worked closely with Savanna as they have grown the platform over the years, and I hope to help them achieve further success in the future as their business continues to develop."