ING Real Estate’s Robert Houston steps down

Robert Houston is leaving ING as chief executive of its investment management division in August, less than a year after being appointed.

ING Real Estate said today that Robert Houston, chief executive of its global investment management business, will be stepping down in August.

Houston, who was elevated to the job in October from his previous role as head of its UK business, is leaving to “focus on his own initiatives”, including the establishment of a new strategic advisory business and growing his sports charity called Boost, said ING.

George Jautze, chief executive of ING Real Estate, will assume the leadership of the business, following Houston’s departure.

Houston was one of the original founders of ING's real estate investment management business in the UK in 1980, formerly known as Baring, Houston & Saunders. In 2005, he founded Boost Charitable Trust, a sports charity for the disadvantaged and disabled. 

It is the second time in a year that the a chief executive of ING’s investment management business has resigned. David Blight left in June last year to return to Australia.

As PERE reported in March, ING Real Estate has indefinitely shelved a plan for its first-ever global opportunity vehicle. It recruited David Gilbert in 2007 from JP Morgan Real Estate to lead the platform and subsequently added Wilson Lee in Europe and Peter Kim in Asia as regional heads.