BentallGreenOak (BGO) announced the opening of a new office in Austin, Texas, to be led by Mike Leifeste, the firm’s newly hired managing director and head of Texas coverage. BGO’s continued expansion in the U.S. includes a significant growth in the firm’s client base and investment management activity in the U.S. sunbelt states.
Leifeste’s responsibilities in this newly created role will include a focus on deepening BGO’s investor relations activities in the region and serving as a critical touch point on current and future acquisitions in Texas while developing new operating and developer partner relationships.
BGO, on behalf of its clients and strategies, manages over $2.3 billion in commercial real estate and land for development in Texas — over 90% of which is in modern industrial/logistics and multi-family residential. BGO expects to more than double that value over the coming years.
Leifeste joins BGO from Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company (TTSTC), where he served in various capacities for the past 24 years, including most recently as head of real estate and real assets for the past seven years. In his previous role, Leifeste was responsible for TTSTC’s 15% allocation to real assets and private equity energy investments, including a portfolio of real estate, private equity, and private credit funds that consisted of over 85 funds and more than $2 billion in commitments.
Leifeste graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and received an MBA from Texas State University. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
