This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
VICINITY Centres’ global search for a new CEO and managing director following the controversial departure of Grant Kelley has ended – with acting chief Peter Huddle to take on the role permanently.
Huddle joined the company in March 2019 at chief operating officer and stepped into the top role when Kelley’s retirement, announced in October and set for the end of June this year – was suddenly brought forward to the close of November’s annual general meeting.
According to Nine media, Kelley quit after receiving a first and final warning that resulted from the complaint against him, made by Vicinity’s former corporate affairs officer, being investigated. That was followed by a second separate investigation that found high levels of workplace dysfunction in the shopping centre landlord’s executive ranks emanating from his behaviour.
Prior to joining Vicinity, Huddle had a long career at Westfield in a variety of leadership roles in Australia, Brazil, and the United States, notably having management responsibility for some of the world’s major retail and mixed-use development projects including Westfield World Trade Centre in New York and Century City in Los Angeles. Following the acquisition of Westfield by Unibail-Rodamco in 2018, forming the largest global retail REIT, URW, Huddle was appointed COO of the US business, leading all real estate activities including development, design, construction, management, leasing, and asset management. He was also a member of the URW global management board.
“Since joining Vicinity, Mr Huddle has brought his strategic vision and global experience in creating market leading, retail-led destinations. Importantly, Mr Huddle has been instrumental in building organisational capability and a cohesive, integrated and customer-focused operations team, comprising property management, leasing, operations, development, and marketing,” Vicinity said in a statement.
Huddle’s confirmation of the role arrived as Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed a 3.9% drop in retail trade in December as inflation continued to bite shoppers’ hip pockets.
Huddle said, “I am honoured to be appointed CEO of Vicinity, given the critical role the company plays in Australia’s evolving retail sector and the calibre of the team I am now leading.
“I believe Vicinity has the right strategy in place to deliver long-term growth and, under my stewardship, we will have an even greater emphasis on driving a performance culture that is focused on property excellence, customer centricity, and disciplined capital management.
“I am looking forward to helping shape Vicinity’s future as a high performing, property-led sector leader and ultimately, delivering shared value for our customers, retailers, strategic partners, investors and importantly, the Vicinity team.”
Vicinity’s chairman, Trevor Gerber said, “Peter’s appointment reflects his leadership skills, deep commercial experience, and exemplary track record at Vicinity, and together with the board, I am delighted the new CEO comes from within the company.
“In his role as CEO, I am confident that Peter will bring new ideas and fresh thinking to Vicinity, that will further build on existing growth initiatives and at the same time, maintain the company’s disciplined approach to deployment of capital and preservation of our strong balance sheet and credit ratings.”
Vicinity will release its interim results on 15th February.
