S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stock Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) has had a tough year of it.
As have its stockholders.
But in morning trade on Thursday, Lendlease shares are taking a positive turn, up 4.6%, trading for $2.74 apiece.
That leaves the Lendlease share price down 52.6% over the past 12 months, giving it a market cap of just over $1.8 billion.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.8% today and down 0.1% since this time last year.
Following this year to forget, investors will be pinning their hopes that a shakeup of the top leadership can turn this floundering ship around.
With that in mind…
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ASX 200 stock welcomes new CEO
Lendlease shares are marching higher after chairman John Gillam announced that Nick O'Neil will take over as CEO and managing director commencing on 10 September.
Tony Lombardo will now step down from the top role at the ASX 200 stock on or before 30 June.
"The board and I are deeply grateful to Tony for his significant contribution to Lendlease over nearly two decades," Gillam acknowledged.
O'Neil is reported to have more than 25 years of experience across corporate and investment strategy, M&A, governance, capital markets, and real asset management. He is currently the head of Australian Real Assets at Australian Super.
Commenting on O'Neil's appointment as the new Lendlease CEO, Gillam said:
With our strategy reset, portfolio simplification and foundations firmly in place, Nick is ideally positioned to lead the next phase of revitalising and strengthening Lendlease. He brings deep real asset management experience, a strong track record in global investment and innovation in aligning capital to market opportunities, as well as the leadership experience needed to drive execution and growth.
"I join Lendlease at a pivotal moment in its transformation with significant progress already made and a clear ambition for what comes next," O'Neill said of his new role at the ASX 200 stock.
He added:
The technical capability of Lendlease's people is broad, deep and unique. I am excited by the opportunity to work with that world class capability to deliver the services and investment opportunities that our clients are looking for.
What else is impacting Lendlease shares today?
In a separate market announcement this morning that could be supporting the Lendlease share price, the ASX 200 stock reaffirmed its full-year FY 2026 earnings per security guidance for its IDC business at 28 cents to 34 cents per security (or share). Management noted that guidance remains subject to targeted FY 2026 completions.
However, the company remains highly leveraged in a world of rising interest rates.
Lendlease noted that "due to the timing of transactions, and more challenging market conditions", it expects its underlying gearing to be in the mid-30% range.
