Citymark Capital picks Invesco Real Estate exec for new COO post

This article was initially published by Jeremy Nobile, banking, finance, and law reporter, in Crain’s Cleveland Business on June 5, 2025:
Citymark Capital picks Invesco Real Estate exec for new COO post

 

Citymark Capital has announced the hiring of a new chief operating officer — among other key leadership positions filled recently — as the business continues to expand and position itself to capitalize on growth opportunities.

The Cleveland-based private equity real estate investment firm said it has hired Beth Zayicek to the newly created COO post effective Monday, June 2.

Zayicek, a Northeast Ohio native and alum of Case Western Reserve University, returns to Cleveland for Citymark from Dallas and Invesco Ltd.

Zayicek worked for Invesco for more than 17 years, including most recently as managing director and COO of Invesco Real Estate. In that position, which she has held for the last eight years, Zayicek oversaw Invesco’s $90 billion global real estate platform.

Coming to Citymark is a bit of a reunion for Zayicek, who previously worked with Citymark Founder and CEO Daniel Walsh in the early 2000s at KeyBank. There, they worked to build the company’s own real estate investment platform, which was the concept that would later inspire the creation of Citymark in 2015.

“That business we built at KeyBank is essentially the same business that Citymark is today,” Walsh said. “So she was there for the first iteration (of Citymark) and understands uniquely what we’re looking to do with Citymark as it scales and grows here.”

“I think what Dan has established here is a great platform with a 10-year history of driving returns for their clients,” Zayicek told Crain’s. “It’s very relationship-driven. And I think that shows both in the operating partners and partnerships that Dan has established, and the people he has been able to attract to the company.”

While returning to her native Northeast Ohio and reconnecting with Walsh were both draws for Zayicek, she emphasized that she is equally drawn to supporting the business Walsh has built.

Citymark invests exclusively in multifamily housing throughout the capital stack, and Zayicek said she sees the firm benefiting from an approach that stands to flourish despite an uncertain economic landscape.

“I think that’s going to make it a differentiated platform in this next cycle,” Zayicek said. “And I think Dan has built kind of an all-weather firm that allows us to navigate market cycles. That is what excited me and attracted me to the company.”

“As I think about setting up the company for success and making sure that we are operating in a way that allows us to scale, I know uniquely all sides of the investment landscape because I’ve been in that seat before,” Zayicek added. “I think that puts me in a unique position to ensure that we’re delivering for our people and for the clients because I’ve kind of done all sides of it in my career.”

Citymark has participated in at least 28 deals across the U.S., totaling about $1.4 billion in value and representing about 8,000 apartment units.

The firm is currently investing out of Citymark Capital U.S. Apartment Fund III L.P., its third fund, which features a total offering amount of $400 million. The firm had raised approximately $168.3 million toward that target as of Aug. 30, according to its most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Also bolstering Citymark’s growth is a strategy to buy loans off bank balance sheets that many lenders are looking to offload to reduce their risk and exposure to real estate, particularly in multifamily housing, amid growing concerns for defaults. One partnership supporting that effort is with PGIM Real Estate, the global asset manager of Prudential Financial Inc.

Zayicek’s hiring follows some other key additions at the firm as of late, including Matthew Hirsch, managing director of structured capital markets, who joined from CBRE; Kevin Ryan, head of capital raising and client solutions, who joined from Manulife Investment Management; and Kathleen Allen, managing director of marketing and public relations, who comes to Citymark from GLP Capital Partners.

“As you think about our growth and where we’re taking the business and the continued competition globally for private equity funds, you have to continue to scale and grow,” Walsh said regarding these hires, particularly Zayicek’s. “And so the need for us to add a COO is coming at a critical time and where she has been part of that growth at another organization. So it’s just perfect timing.

 

For relevant disclosures, please refer to: https://citymarkcapital.com/media-disclosures/