AEW Capital Management Hires Lauren Holden as Head of Retail

Global investment manager AEW Capital Management has hired Lauren Holden to lead its retail team.

Holden was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer at ShopCore Properties, a retail real estate operator that is part of the Blackstone portfolio, and will become a managing director and the head of retail at AEW, according to AEW.

As part of her newly created position at AEW, Holden will be based in Boston and report to Mike Byrne, AEW’s chief investment officer and head of private equity, the release said.

“Lauren brings extensive experience driving retail and mixed-use real estate strategy that will continue to create value for our investors,” Byrne said in a statement. “Her deep industry insights and contacts, leadership skills and capital markets background will help further align and strengthen our asset management and acquisitions teams.”

Blackstone declined to comment, while Holden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After overseeing ShopCore’s leasing strategy, operations, asset management and marketing, Holden will have similar responsibilities in her new role at AEW, in which she will lead the firm’s retail team “in all elements of the business,” according to the release.

Before joining ShopCore in September 2022, Holden was managing director and head of retail at Clarion Partners, where she was responsible for the firm’s retail and mixed-use portfolio of more than 100 properties and 30 million square feet, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Holden also had stints as executive vice president of acquisitions and investment management at Equity One and senior portfolio manager at Kimco Realty, her LinkedIn profile shows.

In addition, Holden serves on the board of directors of WX, an organization promoting the advancement of women in commercial real estate, according to AEW.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.