The shake-up of British Land’s board, which will see two of its veteran executives leave the business, was an “opportunity to combine strategy with people”, according to chief executive Chris Grigg.
The reshuffle, which sees head of retail, leisure and residential Charlie Maudsley and head of offices Tim Roberts step down from the board from 31 March and leave the business following a transition period, has enabled the REIT to forge a path for the next generation.
Deputy head of retail Darren Richards (pictured left) has been promoted to the new position of head of real estate, while Sally Jones (second from left), Emma Cariaga (second from right) and David Lockyer (right) have all been given expanded responsibilities.
Grigg said that British Land had, for the past few years, been moving its focus away from standalone retail and office development towards campuses and mixed-use development – and that this strategy could best be executed under one person rather than two.
“Both Tim and Charlie have delivered considerable value to British Land over an extended period,” said Grigg. “The board and I will miss their support and advice; we will also miss their energy, enthusiasm and wealth of property expertise.”
Roberts has been at BL since 1997 and Maudsley since 2010.
Grigg said there would be obvious sadness at the news of their departure but that the reshaping of the executive committee would open up a host of opportunities within the business.
“We have a lot of talented people within the organisation and we want to give an incremental opportunity to them,” said Grigg. “We are making sure that we are taking people up through the business.”
Single team
The new role of head of real estate will see Richards assume responsibility for leading a single real estate asset management and leasing team across both office and retail.
“From a strategic perspective, bringing the asset management of offices and asset management of retail closer together made sense and the obvious thing to do was to put that together under one person instead of two,” said Grigg. “This is about running the whole business more effectively.”
He added: “We have a consistent and clear strategy to build an increasingly mixed-use business, establishing British Land as the specialist in mixed-use places. Bringing together the deep property expertise we have across both offices and retail into a single real estate team under Darren’s leadership is an important step as we continue to develop our business to reflect the fast-evolving demands of our customers and deliver our strategic goals.”
The refreshed executive committee will also see head of strategy and investments Sally Jones take on further responsibility for BL’s growing data and insight capabilities and smart technology. Head of operations at Canada Water Emma Cariaga and David Lockyer, head of Broadgate campus, have also been promoted to the executive committee.
“It is great to be in a position where we have two women who are coming through the organisation and taking on increasingly senior responsibilities,” said Grigg. “That’s something that the industry hasn’t always been in a position to do. It is something that as a company, as a board, we have been focused on – so obviously this is something we are particularly pleased about.
“This means we have some very talented people on our executive committee, ranging from Simon Carter, our chief financial officer, to Darren and the other people I have mentioned. We have a really, really strong team, so that when I do decide to move on we are in a great position,” said Grigg.
“But there are no plans to go in that direction today,” he added.
BL’s next generation
Darren Richards, head of real estate
Responsible for asset management and leasing across British Land’s portfolio. He joined the business in 2005 and has held a range of leadership roles, including head of investment and deputy head of retail. He joined the executive committee in 2014.
Previous experience
Prior to joining British Land, Richards worked at retail warehouse property specialist Pillar as head of UK investment.
Sally Jones, head of strategy and investments
Jones joined British Land in February 2010 as head of investor relations and took responsibility for strategy alongside investor relations in January 2015. In May 2016, she was appointed head of strategy and investments. Among her current duties, Jones is responsible for the smart places team, which is developing an enhanced digital service offer for customers.
Previous experience
Before joining British Land, Jones worked at Cadbury Schweppes, where she held a variety of roles over 10 years, including director of investor relations, director of communications and finance director group sales and marketing.
Emma Cariaga, head of operations at Canada Water
Cariaga leads the development of British Land’s 53-acre mixed-use site at Canada Water in London.
Previous experience
Cariaga joined British Land in 2014 from Landsec, where she delivered a number of central London developments as well as overseeing its strategic land portfolio. Prior to this, she held development and land management roles at Barratt and Crest Nicholson.
David Lockyer, head of Broadgate campus
Lockyer, who joined British Land in 2010, leads the REIT’s strategy for the continued evolution of the 4.5m sq ft Broadgate campus in London.
Previous experience
Lockyer has more than 25 years’ experience of leading real estate teams and projects. Prior to British Land he worked at Morgan Stanley, GE Capital and the London Development Agency.
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