People on the move – 3 November 2014

People on the move – 3 November 2014Ming Long appointed as IOF Fund Manager; Daniel DeConno hired as CEO of Qattro in South Australia; Clayton Utz appoints two real-estate lawyers; and LGS engages a new property portfolio manager. Investa Office Fund (IOF) has announced that it has appointed Ming Long as fund manager.IOF chairperson Deborah Page said: “Ming is a talented executive with extensive real estate and financial markets experience. As a board member and group executive at Investa, Ming has intimate knowledge of the Fund and has contributed greatly to IOF’s growth and strong performance in recent years.” Ming has almost 20 years’ experience working in real estate, capital management, corporate finance and funds management. Most recently, she was joint managing director and finance director, Investa Property Group (IPG); prior to that, she was the group’s chief financial officer. She has stepped down from all board positions within the broader Investa group, including her role as an executive director of the IOF Board. Jonathan Callaghan, who has been appointed managing director and finance director of IPG, will replace Ming on the IOF Board as an executive director. Property developer Qattro has hired Daniel DeConno as chief executive officer in South Australia. DeConno comes to the position having held executive roles in the public and private sectors. He will help Qattro deliver medium- to high-density infill residential developments in line with the South Australian government’s 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. Qattro delivers more than 2 dwellings a year into Adelaide’s residential market within inner-rim, established metropolitan suburbs.Clayton Utz has bolstered its national real-estate team with the appointment of two real-estate lawyers to its Perth and Canberra offices.Simon Taskunas will join the Perth office in January 2015, having led Herbert Smith Freehills’ real-estate team in Singapore for eight years. Simon’s areas of expertise include structuring and investments, M&A, joint ventures, leasing, and finance and property developments across all property classes.Danielle Mildren joins the Canberra real-estate team this month, having been a senior member of Minter Ellison’s property team. Danielle’s experience spans leasing, sales and purchases, joint venture agreements, development agreements, retirement living, agreements for lease, and general property and planning advice for an array of private and government clients.And Local Government Super (LGS) has appointed Scott Armstrong as LGS’s property portfolio manager. Scott will take on the responsibility of managing LGS’ Local Government Property Fund (LGPF), an unlisted fund comprising New South Wales property assets across the commercial, retail and industrial sectors. Prior to joining LGS, Scott was portfolio manager of direct property for Uniting Financial Services (UFS), the treasury and investment arm of the Uniting Church in Australia. In that role, he developed a track record in sustainable investing, managing a $260m direct property portfolio in line with the Church’s sustainable and ethical investment principles.