Gilchrist reunites with former Rockspring colleagues to chair Evonite

European value-add investor Evonite has named Robert Gilchrist as non-executive chairman and Vanessa Sloan as non-executive director. Gilchrist was a founder partner and subsequently chief executive of Rockspring, where he worked with Evonite founders Paul Hampton, Charles-Nicolas Tarrière and Kevin Muscat. He led the business until its sale to Patrizia in 2018. Sloan has held senior positions at firms including Stepstone Group, Townsend Group, National Pension Service for South Korea and Deutsche Finance Group. Gilchrist said: “In recent years the pan-European real estate industry has become increasingly dominated by larger managers and with this has come a shift in focus towards AUM growth. Against this background, I am convinced the lessons I have learned over the years should greatly assist the Evonite team as they focus on delivering a more personal and aligned service to their client base.”  Sloan added: “The Evonite team offers a timely perspective in the current environment to reassess the long-term value proposition for Europe’s real estate sector and its alignment with investors.”