Evan Sherman joins fellow Blackstone alum, David Zackowitz, at GCM to launch a differentiated sustainable real estate strategy focused on “the power play”
NEW YORK, NY, April 2, 2024 — Greenbacker Capital Management (“GCM” or “Greenbacker”), a leading sustainability-focused alternative asset manager, is pleased to announce the expansion of its real estate investments team with the recent hire of Evan Sherman as Head of Real Estate Acquisitions. Sherman’s addition bolsters the capabilities of GCM’s fourth sustainability-driven investment strategy, which focuses on acquiring undervalued real estate where the company can leverage access to the grid to host distributed generation, storage, and EV charging infrastructure.
Sherman rejoins former Blackstone colleague, David Zackowitz, who launched Greenbacker’s sustainable real estate business in 2023, focused on identifying opportunities related to “the power play.” That is, the rapidly increasing demand for resilient power generation, as decarbonization efforts drive widespread electrification across the real estate and transportation sectors.
“Evan’s principal investment experience in over $20 billion of real estate transactions across various asset classes is the perfect complement to Greenbacker’s deep bench of seasoned renewable power experts,” Zackowitz said. “Real estate with access to power and grid infrastructure is mission critical to the energy transition. Evan shares our belief that decarbonization and the resulting ‘electrification of everything’ will create massive investment opportunities in Energy Transition Real Estate. I’m thrilled to be working with Evan again as we leverage Greenbacker’s 360-degree view of the sustainability landscape and scale this unique investment opportunity.”
With the addition of Sherman, Greenbacker gains a 15-year industry veteran with deep institutional real estate investment and asset management experience. Sherman and Zackowitz both joined Greenbacker from Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, where they served as senior members of the real estate team. Prior to Blackstone, Sherman was a Director at Invesco Real Estate, where he was responsible for East Coast real estate acquisitions and development activity across the industrial, residential, retail, and office sectors.
“Simply put, we don’t believe there’s anyone else doing what Greenbacker is doing today,” said Sherman. “The company’s collective business intelligence, renewable power expertise, and access to proprietary deal flow positions Greenbacker to drive the energy transition within the trillion-dollar real estate industry. I’m excited to rejoin David as we continue to expand Greenbacker’s platform into the Energy Transition Real Estate space.”
GCM’s real estate investments team has also added a new Assistant Vice President of Acquisitions, Mandy Yang, responsible for originating, underwriting, and executing real estate opportunities that align with the strategy’s goals. Before joining the real estate side, Yang had been a member of the company’s infrastructure investments team since 2020, during which she acquired over 200 MW of renewables assets and closed on $1 billion in total project financings and commitments for renewable infrastructure-focused strategies.
Greenbacker’s real estate strategy seeks to acquire, electrify, and lease logistics and industrial outdoor storage assets that can benefit from the electrification megatrend by hosting battery energy storage, EV fleet charging infrastructure, and solar power producing assets.
It is estimated that approximately $38 trillion of investment in electrification is necessary to reach global climate goals.1 When combined with the historic levels of government incentives and regulatory tailwinds focused on encouraging zero emissions vehicles,2 clean energy,3 and energy efficiency,4 this confluence contributes to a compelling market opportunity in the real estate sector for energy transition-focused investment managers like Greenbacker.
1 Bridging the Vast Gap in Net Zero Capital, Boston Consulting Group, November 30, 2023.
2 FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Private and Public Sector Investments for Affordable Electric Vehicles, The White House, April 17, 2023.
3 Inflation Reduction Act Factsheet, US Department of Energy.
4 Climate Change Adds to Pressure to Make Buildings More Efficient, The New York Times, Debra Kamin, September 20, 2023.
