Wednesday, 30 September 2026
Sonae Sierra will enter 2027 under new leadership, with Luís Mota Duarte set to become chief executive in January. The current deputy CEO and head of investment management will succeed Fernando Guedes de Oliveira, bringing a planned leadership transition at a time when the company is continuing to broaden its international real estate investment activities.
Mota Duarte joined the wider Sonae group in 2014, initially overseeing mergers and acquisitions, before moving to Sierra in 2018. He subsequently assumed increasing responsibility within the property business and currently combines his deputy CEO position with oversight of investment management.
His earlier career included 14 years in private equity in London, providing experience in capital deployment and corporate transactions before his move into real estate. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and has also been involved in teaching at Nova School of Business & Economics and academic activities at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.
The appointment follows a long period of transformation under Guedes de Oliveira, who became Sierra’s CEO in 2010. During his tenure, the business expanded beyond its historical focus on shopping centres and developed a wider platform incorporating investment management, development and property services across different real estate sectors and international markets.
That evolution has increased the importance of managing capital for investment partners alongside direct property ownership and development. Selecting the executive currently responsible for investment management therefore provides continuity while placing an area central to Sierra’s evolving business model directly under its next chief executive.
Guedes de Oliveira will leave the CEO position after 35 years at Sierra and more than four decades within Sonae. He and Mota Duarte will work together during the remainder of 2026 to complete the transition before the new management structure takes effect in January.
For Sierra, the leadership change comes as European property investors increasingly focus on capital partnerships, operational expertise and diversification rather than relying principally on direct ownership. Mota Duarte’s background across private equity, M&A and real estate investment management positions the company to continue developing that model while pursuing further growth across its international markets.
