Qualitas appoints former Centuria head of FM

The ASX-listed fund manager brings in the head of funds management from Centuria to grow its direct real estate platform.

Jesse Curtis has been appointed as the new head of direct real estate for the group's Australian business.

In a media statement, Qualitas said Curtis will be responsible for building out the group's direct real estate platform as a separate business to its private credit and real estate private equity divisions.

"It's something we've had on the radar since IPO but we've been patient and we waited for the right person and the right point in the cycle. Jesse ticks both boxes," the group said.

In 2024, Curtis was promoted to head of funds management at Centuria Capital where he oversaw more than $20 billion in assets across listed and unlisted property funds invested in the office, industrial, retail, healthcare, and agricultural sectors.

Prior to that, he was the head of industrial and the fund manager of the Centuria Industrial REIT (CIP).

Curtis also spent six years at Dexus in portfolio management and capital transactions, and had earlier stints at Goodman and CBRE.

Based in Sydney, he will lead a business that deploys third-party capital across core, core-plus and value-add strategies.

"We've already got around $1 billion in gross assets across two existing funds, so there's a foundation for him to build from," the group said.

Separately, Qualitas announced two new appointments since the start of the year.

Michelle Porcelli was named director, platforms & distribution in January while Jack Delaforce, previously VP at BlackRock, joined last month as director in the group's Advised Distribution team.

Qualitas manages more than $10.9 billion in assets for institutional, wholesale and retail investors.