NETHERLANDS – Richard van Ovost is leaving Dutch pension scheme administrator and asset manager MN, after eight years as head of international real estate investments.

In a statement, MN said van Ovost had decided "to pursue other, new opportunities," and thanked him for his commitment during the past eight years.

A spokesman said Hein Brans, director of asset management at MN, would replace van Ovost “at least temporarily.”

No moves have yet been made to find any external replacement, he said.

Van Ovost, who is currently on holiday, was unable for comment.

The formal date for Van Ovost's departure from MN will be 1 January 2014, but Brans is taking over most of his work immediately to ensure continuity, the spokesman said.

Van Ovost joined MN back in 2005, when he was 43. He had previously been a director of investments at CBRE, as well as head of portfolio management at Altera Vastgoed.

MN manages assets of more than €90bn for pension funds in the Netherlands and the UK.