Struggling Chesterton International Hires Lorraine Baldry As Chief Executive

LONDON-Lorraine Baldry, one of the highest-ranking woman executives in the UK property industry has joined struggling property consultancy Chesterton International as Chief Executive. Baldry is currently a Senior Advisor to the Real Estate Group at Morgan Stanley. Prior to that she was a Managing Director at Regus but she made her name as Chief Operating Officer at Prudential Portfolio Mangers. She is also a past President of the British Property Federation.

Chesterton Chairman, Peter Brooks, said:. ‘Lorraine brings years of experience in the property market particularly from an investment and financial perspective. She combines management expertise, business experience and a strong property background, making her an excellent candidate for this job.’

Baldry replaces Michael Holmes who stepped down in September 2001 after the company was forced to issue its second profit warning of the year. Subsequently Chairman Brooks led a swingeing cost-cutting programme including substantial redundancies. However, in a trading statement last month the company said trading conditions had now stabilized.