Ernst & Young appointed Mark Grinis to lead the firm’s global team that services real estate investment funds. Grinis is currently a senior partner in Ernst & Young’s real estate practice in New York. He also leads the firm’s real estate distressed services team. In his new position, Grinis succeeds Gary Koster who is moving to a new position within E&Y’s global private equity practice. “Mark has an enormous amount of experience with global real estate and, as the current coordinating partner on a number of large investment fund clients, possesses keen insight into the critical aspects of real estate private equity fund operations,” said Howard Roth, global leader of Ernst & Young’s real estate practice. Grinis has traveled all over the world in his 25 years in the real estate private equity sector, including a stint in Japan. From the late 1990s to 2004, he served as the managing partner of Ernst & Young Global’s Asia Pacific Financial Services practice. He was responsible for managing the firm’s regional real estate efforts and served as the assurance partner in charge of some of the firm’s largest opportunity fund accounts. Grinis is also a certified public accountant in New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut and California. Ernst & Young Global Real Estate is designed to anticipate market trends, identify the implications and develop points of view on relevant industry issues. It is a division of financial advisory firm Ernst & Young. Write to Christine Ricciardi. Follow her on Twitter @HWnewbieCR.