Josip Kardun (33) is the new manager of Centermanagement (CM) for ECE's international operations, effective immediately. The native-born Croatian grew up in Germany and was employed with Sonae Sierra for six years, where he last worked as general manager of the Sierra Management Germany GmbH in Düsseldorf, a company in charge of Sonae Sierra’s center management and leasing operations.
Kardun will assume the position of Stephan Kugel (62), who remains manager for ECE's Centermanagement and in this function, will also be responsible for the business in Germany. Since 1999, he has dealt with the CM's international activities and moved up into the management of ECE in 2004.
Josip Kardun started his career as a free-lancer in the sales department of Eisenbahn Immobilien Management GmbH in Frankfurt (today's Vivico Real Estate). From 2000 to 2001, he was state secretary in the Croatian ministry of economics, energy and privatization, before he changed to Sonae West Shopping AG to assume the position of the head of legal coordination and authorized representative.
"ECE is an international company with the way of thinking of a Hanseatic trader and a distinct inclination toward perfectionism – I mean this in an expressly positive sense," as Kardun explains his change-over to the Hamburg-based company. He especially praises the strong team spirit and the open communication at ECE: "In this company, people are being integrated across all hierarchy levels."
In the future, Stephan Kugel, who brought Kardun to ECE, intends to focus on promoting young talents and junior managers and notes: "A generation change lies ahead in the Centermanagement between 2009 and 2013. At the same time, ECE will continue to expand at a high rate. The training of new center managers and the professional advancement of those with experience is thus a significant factor for the continued success of ECE and our centers."
