Starwood REIT Appoints Jonathan Pollack to Board

Pollack’s addition strengthens the firm’s strategic depth with decades of experience in global real estate finance.

April 03, 2025

Leadership Update Brings Deep Real Estate Experience

Starwood Real Estate Income Trust (Starwood REIT) has added Jonathan Pollack to its board of directors, effective April 1, 2025. He’ll also be joining the investment committee of Starwood REIT Advisor, L.L.C. This marks a meaningful step for the company as it brings in a leader with a deep track record across real estate credit, capital markets, and investment strategy.

Pollack brings decades of experience to the table. Before joining Starwood, he led the Real Estate Credit business at Blackstone and held seats on several of the firm’s key committees—across real estate, equity, and operations. Prior to that, he was Global Head of Commercial Real Estate at Deutsche Bank, where he helped position the bank as a top issuer of commercial mortgage-backed securities in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

His career started at Nomura and included eight years in London building out Deutsche Bank’s European real estate capital markets platform. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.

Governance and Indemnification

With this appointment, Starwood REIT also entered into an indemnification agreement with Pollack. It’s consistent with agreements already in place for other board members and officers. The agreement provides legal protections connected to his service as director, including coverage for expenses tied to legal proceedings—so long as actions were within the limits of the company’s charter and Maryland law.

Key terms of the agreement include:

• Indemnification coverage for service-related expenses


• Advance of reasonable legal expenses, subject to stated limitations


• Restrictions in cases of bad faith or deliberate dishonesty

Pollack’s appointment wasn’t tied to any outside agreement. The board made the decision independently, and he steps into the role ready to contribute. His experience across both credit and equity sides of real estate gives Starwood REIT added perspective as it continues to execute on its investment strategy.