CapitaLand Names New COO – 7 More C-Level Execs – in Leadership Reshuffle

Singapore’s CapitaLand has announced a flurry of board level appointments and other new personnel moves as Southeast Asia’s biggest developer gears up for a new phase of expansion, according to a series of statements today to the Singapore Exchange.

“With global dynamics and technological advancements disrupting traditional business models, CapitaLand’s human capital must grow in tandem to drive the transformation of the Group,” said Lim Ming Yan, CapitaLand’s president and group CEO in the statement. “With these new strategic thrusts, CapitaLand wants to address not just the immediate challenges, we are putting our sights further to anticipate the long-term trends.”

CapitaLand Picks Malls Chief as COO

As part of the executive reshuffling, Jason Leow Juan Thong will take the reins as the group’s chief operating officer, moving up from his current role as CEO and executive director of CapitaLand Mall Asia. Wilson Tan Wee Yan, currently deputy CEO of the shopping mall subsidiary, will succeed him as CEO.

Lee Chee Koon, currently CEO of serviced apartment operator The Ascott Limited, will assume the role of group chief investment officer, while Ascott’s current chief operating officer, Kevin Goh Soon Keat, will be promoted to CEO of Ascott. CapitaLand has also appointed chief corporate officer Tan Seng Chai to the role of chief people officer, and has named chief corporate development officer Ng Kok Siong as chief digital officer. All of these new appointments will take effect on January 1 of next year.

REIT Boss Named Head of New Commercial Unit

As part of the set of new executive appointments, the government-linked group also named Lynette Leong Chin Yee as CEO of CapitaLand Commercial, a new wholly owned business unit of CapitaLand that will focus on growing the group’s office operating platform around the world. The remit of the new business unit will include “capabilities relating to co-working space and the future of work,” according to the company statement.

Leong, who has served as CEO and Executive Director of CapitaLand Commercial Trust Management Limited (CCTML) since 2007, will take the new role on November 1. Under Leong’s leadership, CCTML doubled the value of its portfolio to S$9 billion ($6.6 billion), becoming Singapore’s largest office landlord. Kevin Chee Tien Jin, deputy CEO of CCTML, will succeed Leong as CEO of the trust.

CapitaLand Taps Retail, Serviced Residence Pros for Top Jobs

Jason Leow, who is stepping into the role of CapitaLand’s group COO, started his career with CapitaLand in 1994 and served as CEO of CapitaLand China from 2009 to 2014. The industry veteran has worked as CEO of CapitaLand Mall Asia since September 2014. As group COO, Leow will be responsible for support services to CapitaLand’s global business operations, and will play a role in overseeing the growth of the group’s retail business.

Newly appointed chief investment officer Lee Chee Koon joined CapitaLand in 2007 and took on the role of managing director of Ascott in 2009. Lee has served as CEO of Ascott since June 2013, overseeing the management of the company as it grew to over 70,000 apartment units in more than 120 cities worldwide. In his new role, the serviced residence maven will be responsible for CapitaLand’s group strategy and resource allocation, while playing a supervisory role in growing the firm’s serviced apartment business.

In his new role as chief people officer, Tan Seng Chai, who joined CapitaLand in 2008, will take charge of building the groups’s human capital and leadership pipeline. Tan is also the executive director of the group’s philanthropic arm, CapitaLand Hope Foundation.

Ng Kok Siong, who joined the group in 2005, will be responsible for technology strategy and digitalisation capabilities when he takes the reins as chief digital officer at the start of next year.