Denmark’s AP Pension says its hunt for a new investment chief is well underway after news that current CIO Ralf Magnussen is stepping down after being poached by Nykredit Asset Management to become its chief executive officer from August.

Nykredit Asset Management’s CEO Morten Therkildsen announced in the last week that he was leaving to take a career break and go sailing with his wife, after seven years in the top job.

Bo Normann Rasmussen, CEO of commercial mutual pension provider AP Pension, said: “We are well on our way to finding the right candidate for the job.”

He said it was key for AP Pension that the individual agreed with the firm’s sustainable profile and was passionate about contributing to the green transition.

“At the same time, it is also important that the new candidate has a modern and inclusive approach to management and employee development,” he said.

“Ralf has built up a fantastic department with skilled people, strong processes and a really good culture, and he has been a skilled and very well-liked boss who has managed to get the best out of his team,” Rasmussen said.

Therkildsen said in a post on LinkedIn that Nykredit Asset Management had developed strongly during his time as its chief, becoming Denmark’s third largest asset manager with DKK400bn (€54bn) in assets under management.

“I will continue to follow you closely. But when it’s summer, that’s going to happen from a distance and from my own boat,” Therkildsen wrote.

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