Global private equity group Carlyle has announced the appointment of Valeria Falcone to the position of new country head real estate for Italy. Falcone will be responsible for selecting new investment opportunities in the market and for carrying out acquisitions for Carlyle Europe Real Estate Partners III (CEREP III), the group's third European fund with a total value of EUR 2.2 bn.

Falcone has over 13 years of experience in the real estate sector. She joined the Carlyle Group from Pirelli & Co. Real Estate as associate director in November 2004 and was promoted director in 2005. In 2008 she took over responsibility for asset management of the group's Italian portfolio.

She succeeds Guido Audagna who has been leading the group's Italian activities since 2003. Audagna, who left on December 31, told PropertyEU he is considering a number of options including starting up his own business or joining another group.