Co-Founder & Global CEO
Christopher Merrill is Co-Founder and Global Chief Executive Officer of Harrison Street Asset Management, a leading global real assets investment management firm. Under his leadership, the firm has grown into one of the world’s largest and most innovative investors in alternative real assets, managing more than $100 billion across real estate, infrastructure, and credit strategies. Headquartered in Chicago, Toronto, and London, the firm employs more than 520 professionals across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East and offers a range of institutional and private wealth solutions through its open-end, closed-end, and customized vehicles.
As Global CEO, Christopher is responsible for the firm’s overall strategy, culture, and growth initiatives, pioneering new approaches to real assets investing and powering the next generation of opportunities across the platform. He is the firm’s largest individual shareholder and serves as the Chairman of the firm’s Operating and Investment Committees.
Christopher is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award (2025) and was named Industry Figure of the Year: Global by Private Equity Real Estate in 2022. He serves on multiple industry and nonprofit boards and holds an M.B.A. from Bayes (formerly Cass) Business School, London.
