Union Investment Real Estate chairman Reinhard Kutscher has announced plans to hand over his duties to successor Jörn Stobbe at the end of the year, as he retires from the industry.
As well as becoming chairman of the management board, Jörn Stobbe will take over the leadership of Union Investment’s Real Estate segment.
After more than 20 years in the management team at Union Investment, including the last 12 as chairman, Kutscher's leadership has seen Union Investment increase its real estate assets under management more than fivefold, from around €8 bn to over €43 bn.
Under Kutscher, the number of commercial properties managed by the firm has risen from around 150 to approximately 400. Union Investment has also grown to become Germany’s biggest provider of open-ended real estate funds.
'Dr. Reinhard Kutscher has been instrumental in shaping the German real estate sector over several decades and is highly regarded both at home and abroad,' said Jens Wilhelm, the management board member responsible for real estate, portfolio management and infrastructure at Union Asset Management Holding.
'Within the Union Investment Group, he has turned the real estate segment into a robust business that delivers high returns. This work will now continue under the leadership of Jörn Stobbe, who will bring his own ideas to the role while also ensuring a high degree of continuity,' added Wilhelm.
Kutscher was also active outside Union Investment in a range of roles aimed at taking the German real estate sector forward, including executive committee and chairman roles at the German Property Federation (ZIA), the German Investment and Asset Management Association (BVI) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
Stobbe, has been a member of the management team at Union Investment Real Estate and at Union Investment Institutional Property since February 2017.
