President
Robert P. Karnes has served as our President since January 2025. Mr. Karnes is a Managing Director of BlackRock. Mr. Karnes is Global Head of Real Estate Debt and is a member of the Private Debt Executive Committee. Mr. Karnes is responsible for the strategy, investment, and portfolio management of real estate debt investments globally. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, he was chief investment officer and partner of Hillenbrand Partners, directing deal sourcing, investment, and portfolio management activities for the firm’s high yield real estate debt portfolio. Previously, he was executive director of Morgan Stanley, where he oversaw real estate investment and portfolio management activities for the firm’s proprietary, fixed-income distressed debt business in Europe and Asia. Mr. Karnes was also previously with First Chicago Capital Corporation, a leading buyer of subordinate CMBS and high yield real estate debt. Mr. Karnes began his career at First Chicago in real estate portfolio and construction finance. Mr. Karnes earned a BBA degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a member of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, the Urban Land Institute, the Kellogg Real Estate Advisory Council and the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate at the University of Notre Dame.