ATLANTA-As the newly appointed president and CEO of Munich-based investment firm BVT, Douglas Healy says the company will focus on retail development in the future. "We have an existing relationship with Fairfield Residential for multifamily development," Healy tells GlobeSt.com. "But our focus right now is on retail."

Started in 1976 by German entrepreneur Harald vonScharfenberg, BVT is based in Munich, but has had a US presence for as long as the company has existed. Its US operations are based locally. BVT has three investment strategies--alternative equity, renewable energy and real estate. "Our primary focus in real estate has been in the United States and will continue to be," Healy says.

BVT raises capital in Germany through closed-end funds. Since its inception, the company has originated 160 funds worth $5.2 billion. Of those, 70 funds worth $1.4 billion have been dedicated to real estate investment. BVT provides private-equity capital for property acquisition and joint venture developments. Among the focuses of the company in recent years is multifamily development in Boston; Houston; and Raleigh, NC. The company has an existing relationship with the Dallas office of Fairfield Residential, a national developer of multifamily properties, Healy says.

The company also owns 30 retail properties, including neighborhood, power and lifestyle centers and handles property-management and leasing for the properties in-house. In the future, the company hopes to partner with developers on more projects, like one that is nearing completion in Scottsdale, AZ. BVT joined Phoenix-based developers Pederson Group in the development of Promenade, a one-million-sf mixed-use project with 750,000 sf of retail space and 250,000 feet of office. "The retail has been completed and the office space has been substantially completed," Healy says.

Healy joined BVT in late 2005. Prior to that, he served as chief investment officer of locally based Williams Realty Advisors. Healy also spent 22 years with Lend Lease Real Estate Investment Management, formerly Equitable Real Estate. During his tenure with the company, Healy headed the retail-property investment group, served as portfolio manager for several of the firm's largest investment clients, led the company's national acquisition and disposition activity and headed the firm's New York regional office. He previously served as a principal of New York-based Lazard Freres Real Estate Investors, where he directed investor relations for the firm's real estate investment funds.