Randy gives CNL extra firepower.

Adding additional firepower to its executive team, CNL Financial Group --one of the nation's largest, privately held real estate investment and finance companies--announced the appointment of Randy I. Anderson, Ph.D., to chief economist and head of investment research.

Anderson, who most recently served as the Ryder Eminent Scholar Chair and professor of real estate/finance at Florida International University (FIU), will be responsible for managing CNL's real estate/macroeconomics research team, overseeing due diligence on investment opportunities and contributing to the company's strategy and new product development efforts.

While working at FIU, Anderson also served as chief economist--director of research for Marcus & Millichap, one of the nation's largest real estate firms.

Prior to joining FIU, Anderson served as vice president-investment research at Prudential Real Estate Investors and held the William Newman Endowed Chair of Real Estate Finance at Baruch College, the City University of New York. A distinguished lecturer at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University, Anderson is an accomplished speaker and writer with more than 50 articles published.

Anderson currently serves as executive director and chief operating officer of the American Real Estate Society, a global real estate association. He holds a doctorate in finance from the University of Alabama.