Mitsui Fudosan America Appoints New CEO

[IMGCAP(1)]NEW YORK CITY-Locally based Mitsui Fudosan America Inc., the US subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd., has appointed Hiroki Saito as CEO. Saito brings more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate leasing and investment to the position and has relocated to the company’s US headquarters at flagship property 1251 Avenue of the Americas.

Most recently, Saito served as the executive manager of the finance department, responsible of debt and equity management for the entire Mitsui Fudosan Group of companies. He succeeds Kosei Murakami, who has been promoted to Head of International Operations and will relocate to corporate headquarters in Japan.

[IMGCAP(2)]Murakami says in a prepared statement that “Saito has a proven track record of success within our organization and his vast industry knowledge, combined with his extensive transactional experience will be invaluable resources as MFA continues to enhance our portfolio in advance of the launch of our planned US investment fund.” Murakami and Saito were unable to provide GlobeSt.com with further information by deadline, as they are both in Japan.

Saito began his career with Mitsui Fudosan in 1985, initially developing Mitsui hotels within Japan. He furthered his expertise on an international level at the firm in Los Angeles as an asset manager of the AT&T building and Figueroa at Wilshire, along with developing the Oak Ridge industrial park in San Diego. When he returned to Tokyo, he engaged in the leasing of office buildings and led a portfolio management team on Mitsui Fudosan’s assets, collaborating with global institutional investors.

Saito’s most notable development achievement was the 77-acre, mixed-use, Shiodome project in central Tokyo, developed using capital provided by Sovereign wealth funds. He also played an integral role in establishing the Japan-REIT–now capitalized at $7 billion, with 60 properties–and Mitsui Gemstone Fund–the very first private fund for the company.

Murakami has been the CEO of MFA since 2002. During his tenure with MitsuiFudosan, which began in 1981, he has been engaged in various assignments ranging from portfolio management to residential and commercial developments and management.

“Under Kosei’s steady leadership, MFA has orchestrated a successful return to US commercial real estate investment markets. Pursuing an aggressive, but highly focused acquisition strategy, the company has executed strategic acquisitions in target markets including Washington, DC, New York City, San Francisco and Los Angeles,” Saito says in a prepared statement. “It gives me great pleasure to lead MFA in an era where the flow of capital is truly borderless, in a city which, without doubt, is the most significant in the field of real estate commerce. By combining MFA’s investment, development, and managerial expertise, I wish to build on, and expand, the sound and successful foundation that Mr. Murakami has laid.”