Westfield owner combines N Europe ops under Vincent Jean-Pierre, becomes London-based COO

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has announced the integration of its UK, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden operations into a single and expanded Northern Europe region led by Vincent Jean-Pierre as COO.

The company said the move reinforces its position “as a top city player focused on the best markets in Europe and the US”.

The newly combined region includes some of the group’s top-performing shopping centres – Westfield London and Stratford City in London, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands, and Westfield Mall of Scandinavia in Stockholm – as well as a “range of development opportunities” including Coppermaker Square and Croydon in London, and Amstelveen in the Netherlands. 

COO Vincent Jean-Pierre will be based in URW’s London office, supported by a regional management team located in London, Amsterdam and Stockholm.

URW chief executive Jean-Marie Tritant said that the creation of the expanded Northern Europe region “supports the continued optimisation of our operations to drive further growth and unlock value across our portfolio of the best assets in the top cities in Europe and the US. Vincent will bring his leadership, fresh perspective and diverse experience as we maximise the potential of both our standing assets and future developments”.

And the new COO added: “I’m thrilled to lead our newly established Northern Europe team. With our talented people, fantastic portfolio and development opportunities, we’re set to shape vibrant, sustainable destinations where communities and businesses thrive.”

He’s been with URW for 20 years and most recently led the group’s Offices and Mixed-Use Development division. In his new role he’s supported by an experienced Regional Management Team that includes Geoffrey Deshayes in Amsterdam as MD of Asset Management for the combined region in charge of managing the group’s standing assets and investment teams. 

Jacinta Rowsell in London is MD of Customer & Retail Operations overseeing Shopping Centre Management, Leasing and Marketing, as well as asset management of UK development projects. And Louise Haffenden, also in London, is MD of People. Meanwhile Samuel Renoux in Stockholm is CFO Northern Europe.

The appointment of Vincent follows the decision last year by former UK COO Scott Parsons to leave the business at the end of March this year. Tritant said he’d “like to offer my thanks to Scott, on behalf of the entire company, for his significant contribution to our UK business, which he leaves in a very strong position”.