Oxford Properties Group has appointed a new global chief operating officer, among a series of changes at the top.
Dean Hopkins, the chief executive of tech innovation firm OneEleven, has been hired as global chief operating officer as part of a bid to boost its tech innovation capabilities and “digital-first” strategy. Hopkins also previously worked at Thomson Reuters.
Meanwhile, Jo McNamara has become managing director, head of Europe, while David Matheson has been appointed as managing director, head of Asia Pacific.
Both McNamara and Matheson will report to Paul Brundage, who is senior managing director, head of Europe and Asia Pacific, and also a member of Oxford’s executive leadership team.
McNamara’s team includes:
- Henry Shearer, newly appointed head of UK, heading up office and retail across the region;
- James Boadle, newly appointed head of UK, heading up residential and logistics across the region;
- Abigail Shapiro, newly appointed head of Germany; and
- Pierre Leocadio, newly appointed head of France.
See also: Q&A: Oxford’s Brundage on why it’s going big on logistics
In Asia Pacific, Alec Harper has been appointed as head of Australia and will report into Matheson, who will oversee the business in Singapore and the rest of Asia.
Oxford entered the Asia Pacific market in late 2018 via its A$4.5bn (£2.5bn) take-private acquisition of Investa Office Fund, a leading ASX-listed office REIT.
As part of the reorganisation, Eric Plesman and Chad Remis now lead Oxford’s US business and have been appointed to the executive leadership team as executive vice-presidents.
“This new structure is all about creating a scalable and agile business as we continue on our journey of global growth,” said Michael Turner, president of Oxford.
“These organisational changes simplify our leadership structure and align it to our growth strategy. Over the past year, we’ve entered into new markets, increased our diversification across both geographies and asset classes and built a platform that now spans four continents. The new structure allows us to pair the advantages of a worldwide platform with the benefits of local expertise and talent.”
Turner added that the commercial real estate industry is “primed for disruption” but said the industry lacks the tech experience to push this forward, leading to Hopkins’ appointment.
Oxford identified “vast potential” to utilise technology to transform the development process as well as property and asset management. One initiative that is under way includes the creation of “digital twins” of new buildings to run predictive modelling.
The balance of Oxford’s portfolio outside Canada has risen from just 15% of its AUM to around 55%. Since Oxford was established in Europe in 2007, a C$9.6bn (£5.9bn) portfolio has been built, through direct and indirect investments in the UK, France and Germany.
Its UK assets include a joint venture investment in DOOR (Delancey Oxford Residential), which owns a 39% stake in the Get Living build-to-rent platform; St James’s Market (a 50% joint venture with the Crown Estate); the Post Building development on New Oxford Street (a 50% joint venture with Brockton Capital) and the Royal Exchange.
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