Chamberlain leaves after Lend Lease shake-up

A major shake-up of senior management at Australian developer Lend Lease has led to the departure of Adrian Chamberlain, the chief executive of its Europe, Middle East and African (EMEA) business.

The company has promoted Bob Johnston to chief executive of construction and PFI. This essentially means he will be in charge of Bovis Lend Lease globally, working alongside John Spanswick who is chairman of Bovis Lend Lease.

The appointment of Johnston is part of a succession plan for Spanswick who, at 61, is approaching retirement age after spending 45 years at Bovis.

A spokesperson for Lend Lease said the changes were part of a restructuring that will replace its three geographical divisions with three pan-global divisions.

These divisions are retail and communities, which includes the development side of the business, investment management, and construction and PFI.

Lend Lease chief executive Greg Clarke said the changes had been made so that the company could meet its growth targets. He said: “The changes are designed to ensure we capture synergies, and will enable us to focus our risk management processes along business lines.”

Clarke said that, as a result of the restructuring, there was no role left for Chamberlain. He said: “Adrian Chamberlain has decided to leave the company following its inability to identify an appropriate role in the new organisational structure that utilises his broad experience.”

Chamberlain will continue as a director until the end of September.

Clarke thanked Chamberlain, who joined the company in September 2003, for his contribution.

The spokesperson said: “Adrian had a multiplicity of business skills but he was not a construction man, nor a property man. He was brought in to pull the EMEA business together, which he has done.”

Adrian was not a construction man, nor a property man

Lend Lease spokesperson

Bob Johnston, now chief executive of construction and PFI, has been at the company since 1987 and has run the business in Australia and the Asia Pacific region for the past four years. He was involved in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and by moving him to its London base the company is hoping to use his skills in that area to win work on the London 2012 Olympics programme.

Johnston was on holiday this week and unable to comment on his role.

Other appointments include Ross Taylor, who becomes chief executive of the retail and communities business, and Steve McCann, who will join the group in September as chief executive of the investment management business.

Taylor will be based in Sydney and will oversee Lend Lease’s retail asset development and management activities, as well as the communities business run by Keith Perry in the UK.

McCann was formerly the head of ANB Amro’s Australian equity capital markets business. He will also be based in Sydney and will be responsible for the property fund management part of the business in Australia and the UK.

One of Chamberlain’s last achievements at the company was to negotiate the acquisition of Crosby Homes, the regeneration specialist based in the Midlands and the North of England.

Lend Lease has appointed Nigel Hugill, a former director of developer Chelsfield, chairman of Crosby. He will also be responsible for expanding the communities business in the UK, reporting to Ross Taylor.

In a move that is separate from the senior management changes, Bovis Lend Lease has appointed Colin Harvey regional director of its northern and Scottish business.