March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm KKR Inc has appointed Tom Lee as the managing director of its Australia and New Zealand real estate business, it said on Monday.

Lee, who was previously the chief executive of logistics real estate investment manager LOGOS Group and before that with BlackRock, will assume the role at KKR from May 3.

"Tom's proven real estate track record and global industry experience make him the perfect fit to lead our Australia and New Zealand real estate team," John Pattar, head of Asia Pacific Real Estate at KKR, said in a statement.

"We furthermore look forward to working with Tom to establish a pan-Asian core and core-plus real estate strategy to meet the demand for high-quality real estate throughout the region," Pattar added, noting the recent close of KKR's Asia Real Estate Fund.

Since 2014, KKR has invested in about 10 real estate assets in Australia and New Zealand. In Asia-Pacific, the company has invested more than $1.5 billion in about 20 real estate deals since 2011. (Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru)