Mahbod Nia is Veris Residential's Chief Executive Officer and has served as a member of the Board of Directors since June 2020. Under Mr. Nia's leadership, Veris Residential has advanced its strategic transformation to a pure-play multifamily REIT - simplifying and focusing its business, strengthening its balance sheet, and enhancing its operational platform in pursuit of the companyÕs new strategic direction.
Mr. Nia has over 20 years of real estate industry experience across multifamily and office investment, management, financing and advisory roles. Throughout his career, he has held several leadership roles, successfully executing over $12 billion of multifamily transactions, and led company evolutions that resulted in substantial value creation for investors. Notable transactions include the restructuring of LEG Immobilien GmbH, a 91,000-unit multifamily company acquired by Goldman Sachs managed funds, with a focus on optimizing operations to maximize FFO in preparation for a public listing at a more than ~$6 billion valuation and the ~$6.7 billion financing of Viterra Gruppe and Deutsche Annington Immobilien's merger, the largest transaction in German history at the time.
Before joining Veris Residential, Mr. Nia was CEO of NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NRE), a NYSE-listed REIT focused on European properties, where he served as a member of NREÕs investment committee and board of directors. During his tenure at NRE, Mr. Nia led the strategic transformation that drove per share NAV growth of over 40% through a series of value enhancing property level and corporate initiatives. These initiatives included a major simplification of the business to focus on Class A office properties in large city centers, a reduction in leverage from 58% to 40% loan to value, significant G&A expense savings, and substantial leasing activity across the portfolio, which culminated in the successful sale of NRE to AXA Investment Managers and the realization of a 16% IRR and 1.5x equity multiple for shareholders.
In parallel, he also served as Managing Director, Head of European Investments of NorthStar Asset Management Group (subsequently Colony Capital), where he worked to establish the company's European investment platform, rapidly growing it to $2.6 billion in assets under management across nine countries and five asset classes before spinning the platform off to create NRE in 2015.
Previously Mr. Nia held various positions within real estate groups at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup Inc. (formerly Salomon Brothers), where he began his career.
Mr. Nia holds a degree in Economics for Business from the University of Westminster (UK) and a master's degree in Economics & Finance from the University of Warwick (UK).
FIRM PROFILE
Veris Residential develops, owns, and manages premier multifamily communities. We do so with passion and purpose: Creating more-sustainable properties - communities where people can connect and thrive, and a more resilient planet can flourish.
With a focus on progress and possibility, Veris Residential promotes equal opportunity in a diverse workplace that functions as a meritocracy. Our society-centric outlook leads us to curate holistic communities and living experiences, while helping to sustain the planet.
People First. The diverse residents of our multifamily communities, and the larger communities they are part of, as well as our diverse team members and investors: Empowering people is our primary goal.
Excellence Always. We deliver living experiences of the highest quality, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards of achievement, responsibility, and accountability as a good corporate citizen.
Forward Thinking. We welcome what-ifs and reward curiosity. We embrace environmental and social awareness and action - and invest with discipline - because we always take the long view.
Inclusive Doing. Together, we can do great things. We value diversity and find strength in different viewpoints. The best results come through collaboration, cooperation, and community.
