Daniel McHugh was appointed CIO of Aviva Investors' £47.3 billion ($66.2 billion) real assets business, a spokesman confirmed.
Mr. McHugh replaces Mark Versey, who was appointed CEO of the firm in January. Mr. Versey replaced Euan Munro, who will join Newton Investment Management in June.
Reporting to Mr. Versey, Mr. McHugh is responsible for the strategy and growth of the integrated real assets business, which includes real estate, infrastructure and private debt. He oversees about 300 staff across fund management, asset management, development, transactions, origination, underwriting, research and business management. He also joins the Aviva Investors executive team.
Mr. McHugh joined the £355 billion money manager in April 2018 as managing director-real estate, responsible for business strategy, product initiatives and external engagement. He also led the firm's direct investment activity across the asset management, development and transaction teams. James Stevens, head of development-global real estate, will lead the team while a permanent replacement is found. The spokesman said the firm will review potential internal candidates but will likely also look externally for a replacement.
"I'm delighted that we have promoted one of our own to the role of CIO for real assets, which is central to our commercial strategy and an area we continue to see strong demand from our U.K. and international clients," Mr. Versey said in a news release. "Daniel has an exceptional investment pedigree, with a relentless focus on clients and delivering strong performance. Since he joined the business, we have significantly built out our development, asset management and transaction capabilities in real estate, expanding our investment strategy in exciting new European locations and forging strong partnerships with key international investors."
