Claire Johnston was appointed Chief Executive Officer US in November 2022, her latest role in a 26+-year history with the global real estate and investment management company. Claire oversees all aspects of the Americas business and is a member of the Global Leadership Team.

In addition to serving as CEO in the US, Claire will continue in her prior role as Managing Director of Google Development Ventures (GDV) until a successor is named. GDV is a 15-year, US $15bn (AUD $20bn) joint venture between Lendlease and Google for the master planning, entitlement and development of Google’s Bay Area landholdings in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Mountain View, California. Lendlease estimates it will develop up to 15 million square feet of residential, retail, hospitality and associated community uses within these four new neighborhoods.

Prior to her work with GDV, Claire served as Managing Director of Lendlease Communities, an exclusive partnership with the Department of Defense through which Lendlease delivers design, construction, financing, environmental and asset management services for military housing and lodging, with a national portfolio comprising over 40,000 residential units and more than 12,000 hotel rooms. Claire also held the position of Executive Project Director of Island Palm Communities in Oahu, Hawaii, the largest residential privatization project ever awarded by the Department of Defense. Prior to this, she served as Executive Project Director for Lendlease’s Docklands Melbourne Australia, a US $6bn (AUD $9.4bn) partnership with the City of Melbourne and the State Government of Victoria, where she oversaw the master plan development and delivery of commercial, residential and mixed-use assets for the urban renewal project.

Throughout her career at Lendlease, Claire has been a champion for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, serving as Executive Sponsor of the LGBTQ+ employee resource group, now known as Pride Americas. As CEO, she also leads Lendlease’s DE&I Advisory Council.

Claire was recently named to GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum’s annual Women of Influence list and was recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as one of its Most Influential Women. She received a Bachelor of Commerce, Labor and Industrial Relations, from the University of Western Sydney and a Masters in Business (Property) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (Melbourne).