Incoming Lendlease chief executive Tony Lombardo faces the challenge of restoring confidence in a company that once stood out as a giant on the Australian corporate landscape but which has serially underperformed in latter years, when in June he takes over from boss of 12 years Steve McCann.

Lendlease’s Asia division head Mr Lombardo, named on Wednesday to succeed Mr McCann, who retires at the end of May after 16 years, will take over a company many investors say has failed to meet its potential since the ill-fated 2000 sale of financial services business MLC to NAB and more recent mistakes such as its push into infrastructure.