Oxford Properties Appoints Industry Veteran Sara Queen to Lead U.S. Business

Long live the queen!

Global real estate investor Oxford Properties Group has appointed Sara Queen as its new executive vice president and head of U.S. operations, effective July 20, Commercial Observer has learned.

Queen currently serves as a managing director and head of real estate equity at MetLife Investment Management, where she has worked for more than five years, according to her LinkedIn profile. During her tenure at MetLife, Queen successfully led a $38 billion real estate platform and managed a team of over 150 people across seven offices.

In her new role with Oxford, Queen will be responsible for overseeing the U.S. division’s growth and performance. Oxford’s U.S. market currently manages approximately $19 billion of assets and accounts for 40 percent of Oxford’s global portfolio, the company said.

“Oxford has built an exceptional U.S. platform, supported by a strategic investment mindset, landmark development projects and a strong operational and asset management foundation,” Queen said in a statement. “I’m excited to work alongside such a highly regarded leadership team both in the U.S. and globally to shape the portfolio for continued success.”

Queen will report directly to Oxford CEO and President Eric Plesman, who rejoined the company in November 2025 after stepping away for another role. Plesman first joined Oxford in 2011 and left in 2021. He took the top seat last year after former Executive Chair Daniel Fournier stepped down. 

“What truly stood out in Sara is not only her cultural fit, but her ability to lead people to help drive performance,” Plesman said in a statement. “Her breadth of experience, deep asset management, operational, development and investment expertise, as well as a proven ability to navigate through market cycles, make her the right person to lead our team and U.S. platform into its next chapter.” 

Prior to MetLife, Queen held leadership roles at Mapletree, Brookfield and Clarion Partners. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and a MBA from Harvard Business School, according to her LinkedIn profile.

A spokesperson for MetLife Investment Management did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

News of Queen’s hire comes after Oxford, along with Related Companies, recently closed a $2.45 billion capitalization for its work-in-progress 72-story office project at 70 Hudson Yards, which will be the future U.S. headquarters of Deloitte, as CO previously reported.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.