The Unibail logo in front of stock prices (illustration).

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Alexander Pohl

It is a victory for the sling of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) shareholders led with entrepreneur Xavier Niel.

The company's supervisory board on Wednesday appointed a new president to head its executive board, sealing the victory of opponents of the strategy of the outgoing management of the shopping center giant.

Jean-Marie Tritant at the helm

“At its meeting of November 18, 2020, the Supervisory Board of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (URW) appointed Mr. Jean-Marie Tritant Chairman of the Management Board of URW SE, succeeding Mr. Christophe Cuvillier on January 1 2021, ”the group announced in a press release.

This change of presidency comes less than a week after the takeover of the group's supervisory board by opponents of the now ex-management, with the election at its head of Léon Bressler, ex-boss of the shopping center giant. who led the sling with Xavier Niel.

For a little over a month, a consortium of shareholders led by Léon Bressler, former CEO from 1992 to 2006 of the real estate company, and Xavier Niel, an entrepreneur with many hats who notably founded Iliad, the operator's parent company Free, called for a radical change of strategy for the group which notably owns the Forum des Halles in Paris.

The two men questioned the takeover in June 2019 of the Anglo-Saxon giant Westfield for more than 20 billion euros, which indebted the property company, and demanded the sale of the centers acquired in the United States on this occasion.

Transition period

During the transition phase, starting this Thursday, Jean-Marie Tritant "will take up the post of general manager of URW Group operations".

To ease tensions, he wanted to "salute the tireless work accomplished by Christophe Cuvillier at the head of URW since 2013 and his commitment to ensure the transition period which is beginning".

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