De Larrazabal named new AREIT president

MANILA, Philippines — AREIT Inc., the country’s’ first publicly listed real estate investment trust, has appointed Ayala Corp. chief finance officer Alberto de Larrazabal as its new president.

De Larrazabal, whose appointment in AREIT became effective yesterday, succeeds Jose Eduardo Quimpo II, who stepped down after a successful tenure leading the company through accelerated growth and diversification.

De Larrazabal will remain as Ayala’s CFO until the end of the year.

Having held senior finance roles at Globe Telecom, San Miguel Corp. and JP Morgan Hong Kong, De Larrazabal is bringing over two decades of experience in corporate finance, strategy and operations to the role.

HIs decades of experience is expected to catapult AREIT’s next chapter of growth.

“We are delighted to welcome Albert as president and CEO of AREIT. His strategic insights, financial expertise and deep understanding of the markets and our ecosystem makes him the ideal leader to continue to drive the execution of AREIT’s growth and diversification plans,” AREIT chairman Meean Dy said.

AREIT said the leadership transition underscores the company’s commitment to good governance, succession planning and its strategy of maintaining best-in-class management as it continues to pursue accretive growth and deliver long-term value to shareholders.

During his tenure as AREIT president and CEO, Quimpo steered the company toward continued growth, overseeing the increase of its assets under management from P87 billion to a projected P138 billion.

AREIT is looking forward to securing regulatory approvals for its fifth property-for-share swap with its sponsor, Ayala Land Inc. and its subsidiaries, within the year.

The transaction will expand the company’s gross leasable area to 4.3 million square meters and assets under management to P138 billion.

In the first half, AREIT’s net income excluding the net fair value change in investment properties climbed by 45 percent to P4.3 billion.

The company posted total revenues of P5.9 billion during the period, up by 40 percent year-on-year.