#129 Kevin Aitchison MBE, Managing Director – Savills Investment Management (Europe)

In this episode, I chat with Kevin Aitchison, MBE and Managing Director – Head of Europe at Savills Investment Management, about his remarkable journey from building surveyor to being an accomplished CEO, having led firms such as ING Real Estate, Knight Frank Investment Management, and Savills Investment Management’s European platform.

Kevin is unassuming, empathetic, honest, open, thoughtful, self-depreciating, humble and is not the stereo typical caricature of a CEO that immediately springs to mind. But boy oh boy does he speak with such authority, wisdom and perspective.

If you're interested in leadership, real estate investment management, personal development, lessons learnt, or finding meaning beyond the bottom line, this episode is packed with gems.

 

Key Topics Covered In This Episode:

·    Early moves from building surveying into asset management and then leadership

·    Different skill sets needed to start something vs scale something

·    His take on leadership, the Peter Principle, and sticking to your values

·    The phone call he thought was a hoax that turned out to be an MBE for services to wheelchair rugby

·    Market views, structural shifts, and where he sees the opportunity

·    Therapy, mental health, and the regrets he lives with due to the family time he sacrificed

·    Fear of failure as a motivator, and how he’s learned to reframe it

·    Why he writes about leadership, musings, family and mental health on LinkedIn

·    Advice for people earlier on in their careers

·    And so much more – the above summary does this conversation a dis-service!

 

And finally...

With £500m to invest – which People, what Property, and which Place would he choose?

 

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