People on the Move – 1 December 2015
GPT makes changes to its leadership team and appoints new director; departures from NAB; DEXUS appoints regional general manager; Industria REIT parts ways with senior analyst; Colliers appoints head of retail and advisory services; new senior director for Cushman & Wakefield; promotions at CHC; CBRE expands its Pacific Agribusiness team.
The GPT Group has made changes to its leadership team as part of a business restructure.
CEO Bob Johnston said, under the changes, GPT’s structure would move from an operational model to a functional, sector-based approach.
“I am making these changes to better position GPT to deliver on our strategy of providing strong performance across our balance sheet and managed funds,” Johnston said.
The restructure will result in the establishment of three business units: Retail, Office and Logistics Funds Management
In addition, a new position of chief operating officer is being established.
Appointments to the leadership team as a result of the restructure are:
- Mark Fookes – chief operating officer
- Anastasia Clarke – chief financial officer
- Matthew Faddy – head of Office and Logistics
- Vanessa Orth – head of Retail
- In addition to his existing role as head of Funds Management, Nicholas Harris will be responsible for Group Strategy and Research.
As a result of these changes John Thomas, head of Logistics and Business Parks Development, will be leaving GPT. Overall the restructure will result in approximately 15 employees leaving the business.
Also at GPT, Michelle Somerville has been appointed as a non-executive director and will stand for election at the AGM in May 2016. This follows the announcement that Anne McDonald will step down as a director at the AGM. Somerville worked for KPMG for 26 years, with 14 of those as an audit partner of the firm. She currently sits on the boards of Bank Australia and Challenger Retirement and Investment Services Ltd, she is an independent adviser to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee of Uni Super Ltd, as well as a board member of the not-for-profit organisations Save the Children (Australia) and Down Syndrome Australia.
Following NAB’s move to close its institutional real estate equities division, it has been reported that Peter Cashmore and Victor Breuer are leaving the bank. Cashmore previously worked as an analyst for Citigroup while Breuer was a fund manager at ING Real Estate.
Ellie Schwab has moved from Lendlease to DEXUS Property Group as regional general manager in its office and industrial team, responsible for a $4 billion portfolio in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. In her 22 years at Lendlease Schwab held a number of senior roles including project director of Victoria Harbour at Melbourne Docklands and, most recently, national manager in the retirement living business.
Laurence Parisi has left Industria REIT to take up a position as senior property analyst at Goldman Sachs in the new year. Parisi formerly worked at Citigroup, Credit Suisse and APN Property.
Andrew Johnston, who has held senior leadership roles in the valuation sector, including at Savills, will join Colliers International in January to head up its Retail Valuation and Advisory Services team. In Adelaide, Tom Isaksson has been appointed to the role of executive within Colliers’ Office Leasing team. Isaksson has been with the Colliers’ valuation team since 2014.
Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Ho-Yen Fan as a senior director in the firm’s Assets Services team, based in the Sydney office. Fan was previously with CBRE.
Architecture firm ClarkeHopkinsClarke (CHC) has promoted Clare Kwok and James Kelly to practice associates. Kwok has been with CHC since 2012, specialising in retail and mixed-use design. Kelly specialises in the aged care sector.
CBRE has expanded its Pacific Agribusiness team with the appointment of Warwick Searle as a director, based in the Auckland office. As well as the New Zealand market, Searle will also cover timberland sales in the Pacific, including Australia.
Interior design and project management consultancy Pro Management Group (PMG) has appointed Eminé Mehmet as business development manager.