Leading today’s people moves, a top CBRE exec has added “Regional” to his job title as the property brokerage tweaks its leadership structure in the southern swath of Greater China. And a China-based executive at Singapore’s Perennial has taken on a new investment role, while a leading law firm in the city-state is beefing up its real estate practice group with a pair of new hires. Read on for all these job changes and more.
Tom Gaffney
has been promoted to Regional Managing Director of the Greater Bay Area & Hong Kong at CBRE this month. Based in Hong Kong, Gaffney now oversees all of the property consultancy’s business activities in the “Greater Bay Area” urban region of southern China, which includes the mega-cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Gaffney was previously Managing Director of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The upgraded role forms part of a leadership restructuring at CBRE, which earlier this month appointed Cynthia Chu to lead its business in Taiwan in a newly created Regional Managing Director position. Gaffney joined CBRE in early 2016 after serving as Head of Retail at JLL for five years.
Joanna Low is now Chief Investment Officer at Singaporean property and healthcare firm Perennial Real Estate Holdings, assuming the role this month after serving as Senior General Manager for over three years. Low leads the investment function for the group’s real estate and healthcare businesses in China, where she is based, while managing cross-border partnerships and capital flows. She joined the firm as head of investment and asset management in 2013 and most recently headed up business and project development for Perennial in southern China. Low has also worked for Savills, Perennial China Retail Trust, CapitaLand and LendLease.
Geraldine Ong has joined law firm Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow as Principal, in which role she will lead the Real Estate Group in Singapore. Ong, who has represented clients from property developers to REITs, will augment the transactional and advisory teams at the member firm of Baker McKenzie International in Singapore, according to a statement. With over 30 years of property experience, Ong formerly headed the real estate practice of Singaporean law firm Drew & Napier, after working at legal firm KhattarWong (now Withers KhattarWong) and the Singaporean infrastructure group now known as JTC Corporation.
Sharon Tan has also stepped on board Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow as Local Principal in the Real Estate Group. Jumping from healthcare firm Abbott Laboratories, where she served as a contract counsel, Tan has previously worked closely with Geraldine Ong on complex real estate matters with two stints at Drew & Napier. Tan has also served as senior legal counsel at property firm UOL Group, and has expertise in areas from real estate M&A transactions to commercial and residential investment deals and structured real estate financing.
Desmond Leung has taken on a new challenge as Director of Property Investment and Asset Management at Infinitus Property Investment in Hong Kong this month. The company, a member of LKK Health Products Group, owns and manages premium office and retail space in mainland China, Hong Kong, and London, including the upcoming Guangzhou Infinitus Plaza. Leung joins the firm from property brokerage CBRE, where he served as Regional Asset Management Lead for Standard Chartered Bank. He has also worked in real estate roles at Huawei Technologies and property consultancy DTZ.
Jonathan Rideout has left Cushman & Wakefield to join CBRE as an Executive Director, based in Shanghai. The business park specialist has over a decade of previous agency experience in Shanghai, having joined Cushman & Wakefield (then DTZ) in 2014, after building up a leading practice as a business park leasing broker during his six years with Colliers International. The US native received a degree in cellular and molecular biology and genetics from the University of Maryland College Park.
Phuong Khong has joined luxury residential agency List Sotheby’s International Realty, Hong Kong as a Consultant this month, after working at Ricacorp Properties Ltd. List Sotheby’s International Realty — the Japanese affiliate of Sotheby’s International Reality (itself an offshoot of Sotheby’s Auction House) — opened its first Hong Kong office last September to market global homes to Asian buyers. Khong received a bachelor of laws degree at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
If your company has made a major new hire, if you’ve recently scored your dream job or if someone that you never really liked just got fired, please drop us a line here at Mingtiandi, and we will be happy to share your news with Asia’s real estate community.
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