Former Lehman Exec Joins Starwood Capital Group

John McCarthy has joined Starwood Capital Group as global head of asset management. In his new position, McCarthy will be responsible for Starwood Capital’s worldwide real estate portfolio. He will be based at the firm’s headquarters in Greenwich, Conn. and will be part of the senior management team that reports directly to chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht.  

Previously, McCarthy served as global co-head of asset management for Lehman Brothers. While there, he managed five separate funds with more than $40 billion worth of assets. He oversaw more than 150 transactions globally and was responsible for Lehman’s activities in Europe, the UK and India.

Over the past 16 years Starwood and its affiliates have invested approximately $6 billion of equity capital in transactions representing more than $30 billion of asset value. Starwood specializes in the creation and acquisition of real estate including residential and commercial land development, multifamily, hotel, office, retail, mixed-use, industrial, health clubs, golf and mezzanine debt.

Starwood’s clients include public and private retirement programs, university endowments, foundations, and international and high-net-worth investors.

Carlton Seeks to Expand Principal Business with New Hire

Sal Tarsia has joined Carlton as managing director of Carlton Strategic Ventures (CSV), the firm’s principal transaction group. Tarsia will act as senior credit officer in charge of all principal investments made by Carlton.

In his new position, he will oversee all credit and underwriting for Carlton’s $300 million first mortgage venture, CSV Mortgage Capital. In addition, he will be responsible for valuing and pricing all CSV acquisitions — including whole loans, mezzanine loans, equity investments, B-notes and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Carlton hopes to capitalize on Tarsia’s experience to expand principal business, which owns and manages more than $200 million in assets. Previously, he served as senior vice president and managing director at Capmark Finance Inc., where he managed originations and underwriting for the New York office of Capmark’s Principal Finance Group and was directly involved in the closing of over $20 billion of commercial loans.