Privately held industrial real estate investor and developer Sitex Group announced on Monday that Ed Lerum, former Head of Global Logistics Real Estate at Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), has joined the firm as Managing Director.
In his new role, Lerum will spearhead the national expansion of Sitex’s institutional investment management platform, developing scalable investment strategies and building capital partnerships across major U.S. logistics markets. Discussions with prospective institutional capital partners are already underway.
Lerum brings nearly 11 years of global investment experience from NBIM—the manager of Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund—where he directed investment strategy, capital deployment, asset management, and joint-venture partnerships for a $30 billion industrial portfolio encompassing over 160 million square feet across the United States and Europe. Prior to NBIM, he held senior investment roles at GLP and Blackstone’s former U.S. industrial platform, IndCor Properties.
Over the course of his career, Lerum has closed more than $21 billion in industrial transactions across both general partner (GP) and limited partner (LP) execution structures.
“Having worked with and evaluated industrial real estate operators globally, I’ve seen firsthand what distinguishes the strongest investment platforms,” Ed Lerum, Managing Director, Sitex Group, said. “Sitex is among the most impressive firms I’ve encountered, with an exceptional ability to recognize value and leverage deep industry relationships. I see tremendous potential to create something significant on a national scale.”
Lerum will work directly alongside CEO Brian Milberg, Co-Heads of Investments Blake Chroman and Zach McHugh, and CFO Paul Cassano.
Highlighting current industrial real estate fundamentals, Lerum emphasized that market conditions present an attractive entry point for institutional capital focused on infill locations.
CEO Brian Milberg noted that Lerum’s appointment positions the firm to expand its geographic reach beyond its core East Coast and Midwest strongholds into a broader national footprint.
“We’ve spent decades building a highly successful industrial investment platform, grounded in local market knowledge, longstanding relationships, and the ability to source attractive investment opportunities. Ed’s experience gives us the opportunity to build on that foundation, expand our geographic reach, and pursue investments on a significantly larger scale,” Milberg said.
