Allianz Real Estate announced that François Trausch, formerly CEO Asia-Pacific of GE Capital Real Estate since 2010, has been appointed chief executive officer as of January 1, 2016.

Prior to his most recent assignment, François Trausch had spent 15 years with GE in Europe in various senior real estate positions. Before joining GE, he worked for Tishman Speyer in New York and Berlin and for Goldman Sachs in London.

“François Trausch is a highly regarded leader in the global real estate industry,” said Dr. Maximilian Zimmerer, member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE. “I am very pleased to know that François Trausch will be the successor of Olivier Piani who built up Allianz Real Estate as a worldwide real estate platform, generating excellent investment results for the Allianz companies over many years. I thank Olivier Piani very much for his great commitment to his job and his close collaboration.”