Two Ways to Address The Mid Level Talent Gap in 2026
In today’s real estate market, mid-level talent has become the industry’s most valuable—and elusive—commodity. The demand for experienced VPs and
Real Estate & Hospitality. Infrastructure. Private Credit.
People.
Real estate’s talent landscape is shifting fast. From leadership gaps to the battle between scale and specialization, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year. Watch as Highridge Search’s Darin Eyedenberg gives an overview of four trends every real estate leader needs to understand… before they reshape your team.
HIGHRIDGE SEARCH IS A REAL ESTATE AND HOSPITALITY EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM WITH OFFICES IN NEW YORK, COLORADO, FLORIDA, AND MASSACHUSETTS. We partner with investment firms, private equity groups, operators, and developers to attract, recruit, develop, and retain the best talent both for their teams and portfolio companies.
Highridge Search is dedicated to exceptional results for our clients. We empower organizations with the tools they need to make strategic hiring decisions that have a lasting positive impact on their businesses. This involves a technical approach that recognizes that talent is your greatest investment.
Highridge Search has a unique vantage point in the real estate and hospitality industry. We understand the evolving dynamics and opportunities within real estate executive search and take the time to deeply understand your business, challenges, culture, and goals. This insight drives our bespoke search strategy, enabling us to deliver candidates who possess the necessary skills, fit, and potential. Importantly and uniquely, we are unabashedly focused on onboarding a successful hire into your organization. This area is a critical component of candidate success and one we focus on as a priority in our process.
Our founding partners bring a wealth of firsthand industry experience to real estate and hospitality executive search. We speak your language and understand your challenges and specific requirements. Hence, we genuinely comprehend the intricacies of the roles we seek to fill.
CEO & Founding Partner
Darin is the CEO and Founding Partner of Highridge Search. Highridge Seach is one in a collection of real estate and hospitality talent and search-related brands, which include KangarooStar (kangaoostar.com) and KangarooStar Post (kangaroostar-post.com).
Prior to founding Highridge Search, Darin was a senior leader at Korn Ferry for 15 years where she led the real estate investment businesses globally. She also led searches in corporate credit, infrastructure, private equity, among other areas.
Darin brings a technical understanding to search that has served her well helping clients hire senior executives across real estate, private equity, credit, investment banking, and lending and finance. Her past investment experience at both Soros Private Fund Management and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (“DLJ”, through acquisition, Credit Suisse) gives her a technical understanding of strategy, the marketplace, and of candidate track records. She has been involved in some of the most notable hires, build-outs, and human capital strategies within these segments.
Darin earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, from the Barnard College, Columbia University.
Director
Alexis is a Director at Highridge Search. Alexis started her search career at Korn Ferry where she worked directly with Darin White Eydenberg in the firm’s global real estate group. While she primarily focused on real estate and hospitality opportunities, she also supported execution in the investment banking, corporate credit, and private equity practices.
Most recently, Alexis was a Consultant within Sheffield Haworth’s Global Real Assets Group, where she spearheaded real estate credit and hospitality coverage in the US. She also has extensive experience in capital raising/investor relations, acquisitions, asset management, development, and broader C-Suite work, among other areas.
Before pivoting into search, Alexis started her career at Barclays in the sales and trading division.
Alexis earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy and international affairs from Princeton University.
Advisor
Irina is an Advisor for Highridge Search, bringing 15 years of experience in development and hands-on transaction and asset management to executive recruitment of real estate and hospitality executives.
Prior to advising for Highridge, Irina led her own investment and development advisory firm focusing on lifestyle-driven hospitality and mixed-use projects, including lodging, multi-family, food & beverage, and neighborhood-making. Irina worked closely with developers, investors, and operators on expansion strategies, project planning, acquisition/disposition, valuation, programming, and capital raising.
Irina held various investment and business development roles at Gansevoort Hotel Group, Credit Suisse Asset Management, and American Express. She began her career as an Investment Banking analyst with Merrill Lynch Global Telecom and Media Group in New York, where she focused both on M&A and corporate finance transactions followed by two years in Strategic Alliances at Level 3 Communications.
Irina earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Chicago and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Advisor, Technology & Digital Transformation
Preet Hooda is Highridge Search’s Technology and Digital Transformation lead and brings over 20 years of experience advising organizations on building scalable technology platforms, modernizing digital ecosystems, and translating business strategy into executable technology roadmaps. He has led global, multi-functional teams across IT consulting, product development, and enterprise transformation, with a proven record of turning underperforming product lines into growth engines, integrating acquired businesses, and launching solutions into international markets. His work bridges customer-driven innovation with disciplined execution through OKRs, Agile delivery models, and data-informed operating frameworks.
In recent years, Preet has focused on cloud and AI-enabled modernization initiatives, including building next-generation digital environments on AWS, leading enterprise infrastructure upgrades, and guiding large-scale application and platform transformations. He has managed multi-million-dollar technology portfolios and serves as a Scrum-driven delivery leader and trusted advisor to executive teams on technology investment strategy, digital innovation, and future-ready operating models that accelerate growth and resilience in rapidly evolving markets.
Preet holds a Postgraduate degree in Computer Programming and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Kurukshetra University. He has also completed Business Leadership certifications from McKinsey & Company, further strengthening his ability to advise senior leadership at the intersection of strategy, technology, and organizational transformation.
Project Coordinator
Julianne is a Project Coordinator at Highridge Search. She supports the execution of senior-level searches across real estate, hospitality, infrastructure, investment management, and financial services. She brings a proactive mindset, an adaptable working style, and a deeply relationship‑driven approach to every stage of the search process.
Before joining Highridge Search, Julianne worked as a human resources professional, where she supported talent acquisition and onboarding, training and development, compensation management, and employee engagement. She later spent seven years as an executive assistant at a hedge fund, where she excelled at strategically supporting executive schedules, project prioritization, communication and relationship management, cross-functional collaboration and problem solving.
Julianne earned an MS, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, from Sacred Heart University.
Project Coordinator
Arden is a Project Coordinator at Highridge Search that supports the execution of senior-level searches across real estate private equity, investment management, and financial services. She brings a sharp attention to detail, strong communication skills, and a client-first mindset to every stage of the search process.
Before joining Highridge Search, Arden worked as a real estate paralegal, where she managed transactions from contract to close and developed a deep understanding of deal structures and client needs. She later served as an account manager at a localization company, overseeing global client relationships and managing multilingual project workflows. Arden has also held administrative and legal support roles, further refining her operational and organizational skills.
She holds a B.A. in English Literature and a degree in Paralegal Studies.
Each real estate or hospitality executive search assignment we undertake is approached as a strategic partnership, where we work closely with our clients to develop a tailored and systematic process that meets their unique needs.
Our proprietary ACES candidate selection methodology encompasses eight interconnected steps.
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Highridge Talent Holdings is a dynamic and innovative talent solutions firm with a collection of executive and professional search brands focusing on real estate, hospitality and leisure, investments, and development.
At Highridge Talent Holdings, we believe that a successful business requires talented individuals at every level. To cater to the unique requirements of our clients, we have developed three distinct platforms. Highridge Search specializes in hospitality and real estate executive search, ensuring top leadership positions are filled by the best in the industry. KangarooStar offers comprehensive professional search services, sourcing skilled individuals across various levels to meet specific organizational needs. Additionally, KangarooStar Post provides an innovative job-matching educational tool, empowering the next generation of talent to find relevant job opportunities.
