Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (URW) has announced changes to its management board including the hire of a new investment chief.
Vincent Rouget joins URW and the management board as chief strategy & investment officer, with a focus on developing and executing the group’s strategy, and URW’s future investment roadmap.
Anne-Sophie Sancerre joins the management board as chief customer & retail officer, with responsibility for gaining market share by driving footfall and consumer demand, generating new revenues, and growing URW’s leading retail operations.
Sancerre’s appointment is effective as of 2 May, with Rouget joining URW on 1 June.
Commenting on the changes, Jean-Marie Tritant, URW's CEO, said: 'Since the launch of our strategic plan in March 2022, we have successfully strengthened our core retail operations, established new revenue platforms, and continued to deliver our committed development pipeline with disciplined capex control.
'In 2022 we delivered strong financial results, completed our operational recovery and continued to make deleveraging progress. Now is the time to build on this momentum to harness future growth and I am delighted to welcome Anne-Sophie and Vincent to URW’s management board.
'Both Anne-Sophie and Vincent are proven leaders who strengthen the management board and set us on the path to long-term success.'
Sancerre most recently held the role of chief operating officer for Southern Europe at URW. In her new role, she will be part of building a retail platform for brands and retailers and accelerating the growth trajectory of URW's emerging media and digital capabilities.
Tritant added: 'Rouget is a real estate investment and asset management specialist with a deep understanding of the European commercial real estate industry. He will work closely with me to shape URW’s investment approach beyond deleveraging and explore new value-creating opportunities – bringing his skills, experience and network to support our long-term growth.'
Olivier Bossard, current chief investment officer, will transition to a new role as special advisor to the CEO, continuing to support the US deleveraging programme and the group’s development pipeline.
Caroline Puechoultres, current chief customer officer, will leave the company in the coming months.
