REAL ESTATE – Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co. has hired Esko Torsti to take over from real estate head Timo Kankuri.

Kankuri is to join Jaakko Pöyry Infra as president of the building services and telecom -business area of Jaakko Pöyry Infra, as of May 1.

“After Timo announced his resignation, we have had to rethink some parts of our investment organisation and we are happy to say that Mr Esko Torsti, the former CIO of Pohjola Insurance Group will be joining us from the beginning of March to be responsible for, not only real estate investments and private equity investments as Timo was, but also our customer financing activities as well as investments to unlisted companies,” said Ilmarinen’s chief investment officer Jussi Laitinen.

Kankuri had been head of real estate at Ilmarinen for eight years, consulting and engineering firm Jaakko Pöyry said.

Ilmarinen owns more than 5,000 dwellings and ca. 200 business, office, warehouse and other premises and has more than €2bn in real estate holdings.

In December Jari Puhakka, Ilmarinen’s head of securities, left to join the new OKO-Pohjola Asset Management Co. as CIO.