Kiwi Property to lose another chief
Kiwi Property general retail portfolio manager Karl Retief has resigned after 17 years with New Zealand’s largest listed property company.
Retief’s plans to leave in September were announced just a month after Kiwi Property’s chief executive, Chris Gudgeon, revealed his intention to step down in September next year.
Gudgeon said Retief had made a ‘‘very significant contribution’’ to the company.
‘‘Over a period of significant growth, Karl has helped forge what is today a high-quality, experienced and committed retail team focused on creating exceptional experiences for our customers and tenants.’’
The recent shake-up in Kiwi Property’s executive team has included the appointment of Rebecca Oliphant to the the position of strategy manager.
Oliphant comes to the property firm from a role as the head of strategy and business development at the Bank of New Zealand.
The Kiwi Property retail division managed a portfolio made up of seven shopping centres and two ‘‘lifestyle retail centres’’ under Retief.
This included Auckland’s Sylvia Park and LynnMall, North City in Porirua, The Plaza in Palmerston North, and Northlands in Christ- church. The retail portfolio made up 68 per cent of Kiwi Property’s $3b total assets.
Retief’s was involved in a $19.2 million upgrade to two new stores for fashion giants Zara and H&M to New Zealand as part of a $280 million plan to extend Sylvia Park. The two retailers opened their first NZ stores there late last year.