ING local gets global property role

ING Real Estate Investment Management (INGREIM) has appointed an Australian to the role of global chief executive officer, with David Blight given the task of overseeing the groups $82 billion real estate portfolio.

Blight steps up to the role from his current posting as managing director of the Australian business, and will hand over the reigns to his deputy and chief operating officer, Hugh Thomson.

The appointment will see Blight elevated to the main board of ING, and relocated to the group’s headquarters in Holland.

As part of his new role, Blight will be directly responsible for $55 billion invested in real estate throughout 14 countries worldwide.

Over the next three months Thomson will transition into his new position, but Blight says his incumbent has been doing the job anyway for the past year.

“Hugh has been with the business since 1997 and has been effectively running it with me on a day to day basis for more than 12 months,” Blight says.

“He has been deeply involved in all our major transactions over the past seven years,” he says.

Blight says he will remain on the board of the Australian business, offering input on the global marketplace.

“I see my appointment as a vote of confidence in the success of the Australian business,” Blight says.

In Australia, ING’s real estate business houses $6.5 billion in assets - featuring three listed property trusts and a wholesale fund as well as other real estate assets under development.