Real estate industry veteran Michael McKee, the former CEO of the Irvine Company, is coming out of retirement to join institutional real estate advisor Kennedy Associates as its new CEO. “Kennedy has a strong team, a long track record of performance, and a great group of clients,” said McKee, on why he became enticed back to the workforce. “This is a tremendous platform to build on as the market begins to recover and institutional investors look to firms like Kennedy who didn’t take excessive risk and went into the downturn well prepared.” Kennedy Associates investments include $15.5bn in development, redevelopment, and existing properties. The firm is particularly big on ethical property investing and considers environmental and social ramifications, as well as financial responsibilities, in managing real estate investments. Kennedy formed a strategic alliance in 2006, with the largest Canadian real estate adviser, Bentall. When viewed together, Kennedy and Bentall represent one of the largest real estate advisors in North America with assets under management across the continental platform valued at $13.4bn in net equity. Kennedy and Bentall are each one-third owned by two Canadian institutional investors, bcIMC and Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec. Write to Jacob Gaffney.