GREENWICH, CT-Starwood Capital Group LLC has hired Bill Green to oversee the company's debt investment business. Green brings diverse capabilities and an extensive background in real estate and finance to the newly created position, according to Starwood Capital.

Recently he was global head of real estate capital markets at Wachovia Securities, where he oversaw the company's expansion into international markets. According to Starwood, "under his leadership, capital deployment from the real estate capital markets group grew nearly 10-fold." Green spent the past seven years at Wachovia, where he managed the company's commercial real estate securitization, structured finance, equity co-investment, loan servicing, asset management and trading functions.

Previously, he spent nine years at Banc of America Securities and its predecessor companies holding a variety of positions, including managing director of real estate private distributions and managing director of the Commercial Mortgage Conduit Program. A Wachovia spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com that Maitland Bruce has been named as Green's replacement. Maitland Bruce joined Wachovia in August as managing director and head of structured finance, and reported to Green.

Green will report directly to Starwood chairman and chief executive Barry Sternlicht and oversee a portfolio that has long been an important component of the company's overall investment strategy, according to Starwood. "Bill is one of the industry's best and most highly regarded capital markets experts," Sternlicht says in a prepared statement. "We are extremely pleased to now call him a member of our team."

Sternlicht continues that the company "boasts a rich background investing in debt assets, dating back to the early 1990s when we created a mezzanine loan platform, Starwood Financial, now called iStar Financial, which we subsequently took public and that has grown into a $13-billion enterprise value finance company. With the distressed opportunities in this asset class expanding, adding an executive of Bill's caliber will ensure that Starwood remains at the forefront of the opportunistic real estate debt investment business for years to come."

Green notes that "the combination of Starwood's deep financial knowledge and track record of successful global investing presents a unique opportunity for me to build the next chapter in my career."