Internos hires former Aviva COO

Roger Lees has joined the London-based fund manager as chief financial officer.

London-based fund manager Internos Global Investors has hired Aviva Investors former chief operating officer and finance director, Roger Lees.

Lees, whose appointment has taken immediate effect, will report directly to Andrew Thornton, Internos’ chief executive.

Lees joins from Aviva Investors, where he was finance director and chief operating officer with responsibility for the financial, operational and risk management of the global asset management platform of UK insurer Aviva.

Prior to this, Lees spent 12 years at Schroder Property Investment Management, initially as chief financial officer and subsequently as chief operating officer.

“Roger has a formidable track record as CFO at some of the industry’s leading UK-based real estate fund managers. We look forward to benefiting from his considerable expertise as we continue to expand our European platform,” commented Thornton.

Established in 2008 by real estate industry veterans Thornton and Jos Short, Internos has offices in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, Lisbon, Milan, Luxembourg, and Madrid and employees approximately 110 staff.

The firm currently manages 605 commercial and 339 residential properties spread across 12 countries valued at around €3.6 billion.