Oxford Promotes Dean Shapiro, Hires Diana Shieh From Madison
Shapiro becomes head of global development while Shieh will take oversee U.S. properties.
By Rebecca Baird-Remba November 2, 2023 11:40 am
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Oxford Properties has promoted longtime head of U.S. development and strategic partnerships Dean Shapiro to global head of development and snagged Diana Shieh from Madison International Realty to oversee U.S. asset management, the developer told Commercial Observer.
Shapiro, with 13 years at Oxford and more than three decades in the real estate business, will help manage Oxford’s 70 development projects worldwide, from The Stack, a new “zero carbon” office tower in Vancouver, B.C., to the Pitt Street North office and retail project in Sydney, Australia. Globally, the company — which is the real estate arm of a Canadian pension fund, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) — owns about 158 million square feet of residential, industrial, retail, office and hotels.
“We have four disparate development groups around the world — U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe — and I’m trying to weave them all together into one unified business and strengthen the business in the process,” said Shapiro.
The developer hired Shieh to lead asset management for Oxford’s U.S. portfolio. At Madison, Shieh held a similar role, serving as co-head of portfolio and asset management and handling the real estate investment firm’s $8.5 billion portfolio in the U.S. and globally. A Madison spokesperson didn’t immediately return a request for comment on her departure.
Shieh spent a decade at the company, where she oversaw investment positions, monitored properties’ financial performance, provided recommendations to improve investment returns, and worked with Madison’s lenders and co-owners.
“We are incredibly pleased to have Diana on board to lead our asset management team at Oxford,” said Chris Mundy, Oxford’s head of U.S. life science, office and residential. “Diana is a highly experienced professional with a proven track record of strategy development, business planning and cross collaboration with key stakeholders that will greatly bolster the strength of our team and make a significant impact on our U.S. portfolio.”
Shapiro started at Oxford back in 2010 as head of U.S. development and has spent much of his time overseeing the construction of Hudson Yards with Related Companies as well as the redevelopment of St John’s Terminal. Then he became head of strategic partnerships, a role in which he helped raise third-party capital for Oxford’s projects. He started his new gig as global head of development over the summer.
Before Oxford, Shapiro was chief operating officer at Building and Land Technologies and ran the New York business at CB Richard Ellis. The native Upper East Sider has a bachelor’s in economics from Vanderbilt University and a master’s in business administration from Harvard University.
“Dean’s leadership and deep expertise will help us best leverage our capabilities globally, ensuring development remains a core competitive advantage as we deliver the best overall return for OMERS and our capital partners,” said Daniel Fournier, Oxford’s executive chair.
Shieh, meanwhile, previously had stints as vice president at Rockwood Capital, managing U.S. assets for Shorenstein Properties, and real estate acquisitions at New Jersey-based Denholtz Properties. Shieh has a bachelor’s in English and economics from Rutgers and a certificate in real estate finance and investment from New York University.
Rebecca Baird-Remba can be reached at rbairdremba@commercialobserver.com.
