Aberdeen Property Investors has announced a series of changes among its senior management.

The London listed fund manager, which grew considerably this year with the €110m (£86.4m) purchase of German open-ended fund manager Degi in January and the £109m purchase of Goodman Property Investors in May, will continue to be led by CEO Rickard Backlund.

But Jon Lekander, formerly chief investment officer at Aberdeen Property Investors, has been appointed as head of the combined indirect investment management team. He replaces the former managing director of Aberdeen Property Investors Indirect Investment Management, Anders Åström, and his deputy Tomas Otterud, who ‘have both decided to leave the enlarged property business’.

Andrew Smith, who was head of strategy and indirect investment management at Goodman Property Investors, has been appointed chief investment officer and will be charged with overseeing Aberdeen’s fund management and investment strategy and research. He will also oversee all international property transactions activities.

Reporting to him will be Malcolm Morgan who was previously at Degi.

Aberdeen has also instigated a regional structure.

The Nordic region, including Eastern Europe, will be led by Pertti Vanhanen, who also remains managing director of Aberdeen in Finland. Bärbel Schomberg, CEO of Degi, has been appointed head of continental Europe and will manage Aberdeen’s operation in Benelux, France and Germany. John O’Connor, previously managing director at Goodman Property Investors, will be in charge of the UK.

Each of these regions corresponds approximately to a third of Aberdeen’s €30bn (£23.5bn) of direct and indirect property assets under management.


Pictures from top to bottom: Rickard Backlund, Jon Lekander and Bärbel Schomberg.