AMP Capital appoints Kylie O'Connor to head real estate
AMP Capital has appointed the chief operating officer of its real estate division Kylie O’Connor to take over from the outgoing Carmel Hourigan as head of the division overseeing $28 billion-worth of commercial real estate.
Ms O’Connor, who joined AMP Capital in 2015 as fund manager for AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund, took on the COO role in 2018.
Prior to AMP Capital, she held a number of senior fund management, audit and advisory roles at Lendlease and Arthur Andersen.
Her 25 years’ experience in property funds management and her involvement in the delivery of large development projects on behalf of wholesale investors made her a great leader and her promotion was testament to the strong talent within AMP Capital’s real estate team, AMP Capital chief executive officer Boe Pahari said.
“Kylie has a deep breadth of both commercial and real estate investment experience and will bring a strong focus on delivering investment outcomes for our clients,” Mr Pahari said.
“I also value her contribution to the wide and diverse views in the leadership group.”
The appointment, following the departure of Ms Hourigan – who was overlooked in favour of Mr Pahari for the top job – to rival commercial property investor and developer Charter Hall, was always going to be a crucial one.
AMP Capital was shaken last month by a staff revolt after it appointed Mr Pahari to the top role, despite him paying a $500,000 penalty in the wake of a sexual harassment claim brought against him by a former UK-based female employee, a senior private equity specialist.
Subsequently, AMP chief executive Francesco De Ferrari conceded the company was falling behind on its targets to put women in 40 per cent of leadership positions.
“I’m pleased to be appointed to lead this first-class real estate business and join Boe’s leadership team,” Ms O’Connor said.
“With over 60 years’ heritage in managing iconic real estate for local and global investors, we have an excellent foundation of depth of talent, premium assets and great client relationships on which to grow the business.”
Luke Briscoe, AMP Capital’s head of office and logistics for the past five years will take over from Ms O’Connor as chief operating officer. he will also lead its $10-billion separate accounts business.
