Sterling Realty Organization (SRO), a fifth-generation real estate corporation with commercial assets in the Puget Sound and Salt Lake City markets, has announced a major leadership team transition.

President Tom Gilchrist will now become executive chairman of the board, and Matthew Skager will take over as SRO president, as longtime chairman David Schooler retires. A well-known leader in downtown Bellevue, Schooler had a long career at SRO. Before being named executive chairman in 2015, he served as the company president for 21 years.

Gilchrist has served in numerous positions at SRO, including controller, treasurer, vice president and other positions throughout his 40-year career at the company. As a key contributor at SRO during his 12-year tenure at the organization, Skager has worked closely with Gilchrist, progressing from roles including chief financial officer, chief operating officer and vice president.

Nuveen appointed Chad Phillips as its new Global Head of Nuveen Real Estate, effective immediately.

Courtesy of Nuveen

Chad Phillips joined Nuveen in 2019 and has led multisector fundraising and management teams.

Phillips now oversees a $141B portfolio of assets under management spanning 22 countries, according to Nuveen, the investment manager of pension fund and financial giant Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. 

He’s taking over at a time when Nuveen sees potential value in commercial real estate.  

“The painful reset of private real estate seems to be in the rearview mirror, and we expect 2025 to be a good vintage for real estate investment,” analysts at Nuveen Global Cities REIT wrote in a Dec. 31 report. “Values have stabilized, total returns are positive in most markets and the dearth of new construction activity bodes well for medium-term fundamentals.”

Phillips is replacing Chris McGibbon, a 25-year industry veteran who had been in the role since 2016 and now plans to retire. Phillips will also chair the Nuveen Real Estate Global Executive Leadership Team, which oversees the firm’s strategic initiatives. 

He first joined Nuveen in 2019 and was most recently responsible for leading investment and fundraising teams across the office, healthcare, retail and mixed-use sectors. Phillips earned his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in North Carolina and a master’s degree in real estate from Georgetown University. 

Phillips will lead the department from Nuveen’s office in Charlotte. The investment manager is based in Chicago and also has a major presence in New York, where TIAA is based, a spokesperson told CoStar. 

McGibbon will stay on until June 30 to ensure a smooth transition. 

Commercial real estate transaction volume is broadly expected to pick up in 2025 as investors, owners and lenders previously frozen by hopes of better underwriting accept today’s tough market conditions are likely to persist, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s new trade policies and tariffs. 

Global brokerage firm executives expect growing transaction volume, which is expected to pick up in the back half of the year before gaining more traction in 2026, will boost their bottom lines. And the recent sell-off across the stock market has not only been less painful for commercial real estate stocks compared to other sectors, it also has made the asset class a more attractive investment.

“We think investors should have exposure to real estate stocks,” analysts at J.P. Morgan wrote in a recent note to investors.