Morgan Stanley Appoints Jim Flaum Chairman of Global CRE Finance

Jim Flaum, a 31-year commercial real estate lender at Morgan Stanley (MS), is taking on a newly created role at the investment bank as chairman of global CRE finance, the company announced in an internal memo this week.

Flaum, who was previously global head of CRE lending, will remain in New York in his new position. Kwasi Benneh, who has spent the last 19 years at Morgan Stanley, most recently as head of North America CRE lending, will take over Flaum’s position. 

“Given the depth of his relationships with the firm’s global clients, his encyclopedic knowledge of the market and his strong appetite to drive business, Jim is singularly positioned to continue to expand our global financing franchise in commercial real estate,” Niall O’Rourke, head of global secured lending for Morgan Stanley, said in the memo delivered April 1.

Global Capital Primary Market Monitor first reported Flaum’s new position.

Flaum told Commercial Observer the move is aimed at expanding Morgan Stanley’s CRE lending business, and that his and Benneh’s responsibilities won’t change much. 

Both Flaum and Benneh have worked as a team for 20 years and are coming off a year in which they executed $16.4 billion of originations in the U.S. and $19.5 billion globally during 2024. 

“Jim and I have been working together for 20 years and so we feel like we’ve been doing each other’s roles, or tag-teaming in a lot of situations together, and I don’t think it’s going to change,” Benneh told CO.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com