Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has appointed Kathleen Verelst as chief investment officer (CIO) and a member of its management board, effective 1 January 2026.
Verelst, who has more than 30 years of global real estate experience, was most recently senior adviser, investment and divestment, for URW’s management and supervisory boards.
She joined URW in 2021 following 22 years at Morgan Stanley in London, where she was a managing director and a senior adviser, working in the real estate investment banking, commercial real estate lending and M&A restructuring departments.
Verelst, who is taking on the role previously held by CEO-elect Vincent Rouget, will be responsible for implementing the group’s capital allocation framework as presented within its ‘A Platform for Growth’ 2025-2028 business plan.
Jacques Richier, chairman of URW, said: “Kathleen’s global real estate experience, combined with her deep knowledge and understanding of the URW business and asset portfolio, make her a highly complementary addition to the management board. The group has the right leadership team in place to deliver the ‘A Platform for Growth’ business plan.”
Rouget added: “I am delighted to welcome Kathleen to URW’s management board. Thanks to her in-depth understanding of our business, her intimate knowledge of URW teams and corporate culture, as well as her diverse global real estate investment and finance skillset, Kathleen is a great addition to our experienced management board. Kathleen will be a powerful contributor to the delivery of our ‘A Platform for Growth’ business plan, with a focus on our highly disciplined capital allocation framework with effective capital recycling and a streamlined development pipeline.”
