Former Ladder exec to join Guggenheim at TPG

TPG Real Estate Finance Trust (TRT), the real estate debt origination and acquisition platform of global alternative asset firm TPG, has hired Peter Smith as managing director and head of originations, reports Private Debt Investor sister publication Real Estate Capital.

Smith, who will start at in late November, based in the firm’s New York office, was most recently a managing director at Ladder Capital Corp.

The new role will bring familiarity in more than one way. The TRT team is headed by Greta Guggenheim, a co-founder and form CIO at Ladder who departed in 2015 and joined TRT as CEO in January 2016.

Guggenheim acknowledged in a prepared statement that she and Smith had worked together at Ladder and looked forward to working with him again, calling him “an accomplished investor with an extensive relationship network and a unique knowledge of the real estate and debt sectors.”

TRT also originates first mortgage loans secured by properties undergoing value-creating transformations involving re-leasing, repositioning, renovation, and occasionally construction, which falls in line with Smith’s background.

He brings more than 25 years of commercial real estate lending experience, having previously held senior positions with Credit Suisse, UBS, and Heller Financial. His experience includes transitional, mezzanine and long-term fixed rate loans, loan portfolio acquisitions, workouts and restructurings.

Smith said: “TPG has earned an industry-leading reputation as an investor with deep expertise across a variety of industries and asset classes. It’s an exciting time to join TRT and I look forward to helping build upon its momentum.”