Jeff Jacobson will take over as interim CEO in Europe before a permanent appointment is made.
Karen Brennan has been elevated to CFO of JLL, which owns LaSalle, having succeeded Simon Marrison as LaSalle Europe CEO on 30 June 2019. She takes up her new role on 15 July.
Chicago-based JLL has appointed Brennan to take over from incumbent Stephanie Plaines because she is leaving for personal reasons.
Brennan will join JLL’s executive board, reporting to CEO Christian Ulbrich.
In a statement, JLL said during her 20 years with LaSalle, Brennan had developed ‘extensive experience across the global commercial real estate sector while based in Chicago and Baltimore in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong and London. As CEO for LaSalle Europe, she had overall responsibility for business strategy across six offices managing approximately $22 bn (€19.6 bn) in assets under management.’
Prior to that, she oversaw $9.5 bn of assets under management as the head of Americas custom accounts. While in Singapore and Hong Kong, she served as portfolio manager, ex-Japan, for two opportunity funds and developed strategic investment initiatives following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
Brennan said: ‘I look forward to leading the talented group of people in our finance team and to partnering with colleagues around the world. JLL’s growth momentum and innovation in global real estate provide a strong platform to deliver on behalf of our clients, and I am excited to be part of this team.’
A spokesperson for LaSalle Investment Management said: 'We congratulate Karen on her appointment as CFO of JLL and are very pleased for and proud of her. We will work closely with Karen in her new role as CFO of our parent company.
'Jeff Jacobson, LaSalle’s Global CEO, will lead the European business for an interim period until a permanent appointment is made.
'Having formerly been LaSalle’s European CEO for seven years, and based in London for 10 years, Jeff will bring his existing knowledge of the market and role. Combined with the strong leadership which exists across the team in the UK, on the continent, and in our European Debt & Special Situations business, LaSalle is well-placed to build on its strong momentum in the region.'
