Management team

APN has established an office in London and a team of 31 staff across Europe providing full property and asset management capabilities. Listed below are the current senior members of APN's Australian and European operations.

David Blight Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer David joined APN Property Group in November 2008 as Managing Director after a distinguished career with ING Group encompassing domestic and extensive global responsibilities. Since 2005, he was Chairman and CEO, ING Real Estate Investment Management and Vice Chairman, ING Real Estate based in The Hague, overseeing a portfolio of over $200b in 22 countries around the world. Prior to this, David was Managing Director, ING Real Estate Investment Management in Australia. David has also held senior positions with Armstrong Jones Management Ltd (ING Real Estate’s predecessor in Australia) and the Mirvac Group. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Property Resource Management (Valuation).

Tim Slattery Chief Operating Officer Tim joined the APN Property Group in April 2006 and leads its management team in Europe. Tim has particular expertise in the legal and commercial aspects of Australian and international asset acquisitions, divestments, restructures and the arrangement of related structured finance. Tim is a qualified lawyer and before joining the APN Property Group he spent several years at Freehills, a top tier law firm based in Australia, working on takeovers, equity and debt capital markets, corporate finance, banking, infrastructure and mergers and acquisitions transactions. He has a wide range of legal and commercial experience from working on a large number of significant acquisitions.

Christopher Aylward Executive Chairman Chris has been involved in the Australian property and construction industry for over 30 years. Prior to jointly establishing APN in 1996, Chris was the founding director of Grocon Pty Limited and had responsibility for the construction of commercial and retail properties in Sydney and Melbourne with a total value of over $2 billion, including Governor Phillip and Governor Macquarie Towers in Sydney and 120 Collins Street and the World Congress Centre in Melbourne.

John Freemantle Chief Financial Officer John has been involved in the property industry since 1977. Before joining APN Property Group in 2006, he worked with Dillingham Constructions, Jennings Property Group and Centro Properties Group (formerly Jennings Property Group), where he held the roles of Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary for 17 years.

Michael Groth Deputy Chief Financial Officer Michael joined APN Property Group in 2006. Michael has worked as a Chartered Accountant in various organisations including Abbey plc, OFGEM and KPMG, where he worked for a period of 7 years. Michael is responsible for all accounting and taxation for the Group.

Paul Anderson Chief Executive Officer – Europe Paul joined APN in April 2006 to head the portfolio and asset management team for AEZ and APN’s unlisted European property funds. Formerly a Director of CB Richard Ellis's retail management team and head of retail management for Cushman and Wakefield, Paul has over 15 years experience in this sector, focusing on shopping centres. Paul has lived and worked in the Middle East, Central Europe and is currently based in London.

Simon Mesquita Chief Operations Officer and Head of Real Estate – Europe Simon has worked in the UK retail and European Shopping Centre industries for over 20 years and started working with APN in July 2006. Simon is responsible for the property management of APN’s European assets and leads the pan-European management team with Paul Anderson. Formerly Managing Director of Hammerson Management Services, the property management company of Hammerson plc, Simon also founded an independent property management consultancy working with clients across Europe before joining APN. Simon is a tutor and examiner in Shopping Centre Management and Practices for the College of Estate Management in Reading.