Ball, a US citizen, will assume full responsibility as CEO on January 1, 2019.

He has more than three decades of extensive experience in the retail real estate business, having served as president/COO at Starwood Retail Partners as well as held several leadership positions at Oxford Properties in Canada and at The Mills Corporation and at The Rouse Company in the US.

Kokkeel, who has been heading the business since 2011, is stepping down on mutual agreement and will stay as an advisor to the company until May 1, 2019. Over the past seven years he managed to transform the company from a €2.5 bn Finland-focused firm into an almost €5 bn pan-Nordic group.

Chaim Katzman, chairman of the board of directors at Citycon, said: 'We would like to welcome Scott Ball to Citycon. He brings with him broad retail real estate expertise and a strong track record of proactive management, and we believe he is the right person to lead the company in the fast-changing retail market environment. We remain committed to the company’s strategy of focusing on high-quality assets in strong, growing urban markets in the major Nordic cities.'

In another executive change, Henrica Ginström has been appointed Citycon’s new Chief Operating Officer as of January 1, 2019. Ginström has been with Citycon for almost eight years since 2011 and is currently serving as commercial director in Norway, prior to which she served as the company’s vice president, investor relations and communications.

Citycon’s current COO, Jurn Hoeksema, will step down based on a mutual agreement, effective January 1, 2019.