Lisa Picard, former CEO of investment platform EQ Office, will join Sway Ventures as a partner in the venture capital firm, according to a press release.
Picard says she is joining the team at a time when technology is transforming the real estate industry and proptech is evolving.
“We are witnessing a major shift in the real estate space as technology is fundamentally transforming the industry and redefining everything from the client experience, to how owners and operators manage risk,” she said. “Sway Ventures was an early mover in the space nearly a decade ago, and I’m looking forward to deploying capital into the next generation of category-leading PropTech companies.”
Picard will join the Sway Ventures team, comprising Ray Wirta, former chairman of CBRE, Hines Global Innovation & ESG CEO Doug Holte, former Greystar Managing Director of Innovation Stephanie Fuhrman, and Mollie Fadule, chief financial and investment officer at JPI Companies.
She will contribute to proptech investing at Sway Ventures, the commercial real estate operator backed by Blackstone.
“We are so excited to welcome Lisa to Sway Ventures and are confident that her extensive experience across commercial real estate as an operator will be an asset to our investing team and portfolio companies alike,” said Brian Nugent, founding general partner at the firm, in the release.
Prior to this, Picard’s professional career spanned 25 years in real estate with multifamily, office, hotel, and mixed-use projects worth more than $8 billion.
At EQ Office, she led a team of 200 people and strategized for a portfolio valued at over $27 billion. Before that, she opened the west coast office for Skanska Commercial Development and launched four development deals across five years worth more than $3 billion.
The release says her educational background includes two master’s degrees from MIT. Picard also gives regular lectures on leadership and innovation. She has worked in investment strategies as well for Canyon Ranch Resorts and Hines for its multifamily and industrial assets.
Sway Ventures has invested more than $80 million in proptech companies including Measurabl, OpenGov and Camino, since 2013.
In other recent proptech news, Palladius Capital Management, a real estate investment manager for multifamily student housing and hospitality properties, is seeking $300 million in commercial real estate debt investments in the U.S. FotoNotes, a residential property field operations mobile software provider, acquired solar-focused field operations platform SiteCapture.