People on the Move – 2 February 2016
AMP Capital expands it property leadership team; Charter Hall moves to single CEO/MD structure; Rod Leaver departs Lendlease; Coca Cola Amatil lands new head of Property; Places Victoria appoints former AV Jennings general manager; promotion in Savills Project Management team; two join CBRE’s Capital Markets team; AIRAH appoints CEO; new partner at Norton Rose Fulbright; and Conrad Gargett hire in Brisbane.
AMP Capital has expanded its Property leadership team with the confirmation of Louise Mason (pictured) in the chief operating officer role and the appointment of Luke Briscoe as managing director, Office & Industrial. Both roles will report to AMP Capital Global Head of Property Carmel Hourigan (also a National Vice President of the Property Council).
Mason, who has been acting chief operating officer since July 2015, previously headed AMP Capital’s Office & Industrial team and is a member of the AMP Capital Property Leadership Team. She joined AMP in 2005 after 13 years with Lendlease. She is also NSW President of the Property Council.
In an expanded role, Mason will be responsible for managing the operations of the Property business, also leading the teams responsible for the business’ asset creation and mixed use strategies, and office development pipeline.
Briscoe, who was most recently head of Asset Management for Office at Charter Hall, will oversee the delivery of investment performance for AMP Capital’s Office & Industrial’s clients. His previous roles included eight years at The GPT Group and as a senior sales and leasing executive at Colliers International.
Charter Hall has moved to a single CEO/MD structure with David Harrison appointed sole CEO and managing director and David Southon electing to step down as joint managing director. Harrison will assume the CEO/MD role immediately with Southon remaining available to the business for up to 12 months to assist with the transition.
Southon has also stepped down from the Property Council Board and his position as National Vice President.
In a statement released by Charter Hall, chairman David Clarke said the board and both joint managing directors had been working towards transitioning to a single CEO/MD structure over the past nine months as part of their focus on succession planning and building a strong leadership team.
As part of the transition, the group is moving towards a sector-based model, appointing Adrian Taylor as head of Office, Greg Chubb as head of Retail and Paul Ford as head of Industrial. Richard Stacker has also been appointed head of Investor Relations, with Nick Kelly taking on the head of Direct Property Role, reporting to Stacker.
Charter Hall will also appoint a chief investment officer responsible for strategy, mergers and acquisitions, corporate development and transactions, Chubb will join the Charter Hall Retail REIT board and Stacker will join the board of Charter Hall Direct Property Management, replacing David Southon.
It has been reported that Rod Leaver, head of Lendlease’s Asian operations, has resigned and the company is now undertaking a search for a successor. Leaver joined Lendlease in 2008 after co-founding listed property companies Paladin in 1994, James Fielding in 2000 and Ronin Property Group in 2003. He was previously a national director of the Property Council of Australia and its NSW President, as well as serving as a director of the Green Building Council of Australia and as a member of the Australian Government’s Business Roundtable on Climate Change.
Shane Bisset has been appointed head of Property at Coca Cola Amatil. His previous positions include general manager Group Property and national asset manager at Metcash and managing director – NSW at Knight Frank Australia for 19 years.
Former AV Jennings Victoria general manager Peter Vlitas has moved to the Victorian Government’s property developer Places Victoria as head of Land Development and Housing division. Vlitas has been with AV Jennings for seven years and formerly held position at Central Equity, Urban Pacifc and Dennis Projects.
Gary Finnegan has been promoted to managing director of Project Management at Savills Australia and New Zealand. He is stepping up from his role as chief operations officer of the Australia and New Zealand Project Management business. This follows the recent promotion of Savills managing director of Project Management, Phill Andrew, to head of Worldwide Corporate Services – Australia and New Zealand.
Julian Choo and Daniel Courtnall have joined CBRE’s Capital Markets team. Choo has been with CBRE’s Residential Projects team for two years and Courtnall has extensive sales experience, specialising in the technology sector.
Tony Gleeson has been appointed as chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH). Most recently Gleeson was the CEO of the Australian Institute of Management’s Victorian and Tasmanian operation. His previous roles have included executive general manager for member knowledge at CPA Australia and senior consulting roles with PwC, Deloitte and Terra Firma Consulting.
Law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has expanded it construction and engineering team in Brisbane with the appointment of Peter Lamont as a partner. Lamont joins the firm from Clayton Utz.
Design firm Congrad Gargett has hired Jane McConnell as principal and head of Interior Design in its Brisbane studio. McConnell was formerly an associate at Gray Puksand and senior designer at Geyer.