Chris Fossick Steps Down as JLL Southeast Asia CEO, Joins Native Land Board

Chris Fossick has left his longtime role as JLL’s Southeast Asia CEO and joined the board of London-based developer Native Land.

Fossick will sit as a non-executive director at Native Land, whose projects include the Bankside Yards mixed-use development in central London with co-investors Temasek Holdings and Hotel Properties of Singapore and Malaysia’s Amcorp Properties.

After joining JLL in 2006, Fossick led the consultancy’s Southeast Asian business for more than 17 years. In Singapore, he helped secure the $4 billion sale of Asia Square and the $1.5 billion sale of the Duo complex.

“As one of the Asia market’s leading advisors, Chris will bring a significant global real estate perspective to Native Land’s board,” said CEO Alasdair Nicholls. “His experience and expertise will provide a valuable bridge between the Asia and UK markets, at a time when our business with major Asian partners and brands continues to grow.”

From London to Asia

During his career, Fossick has helped clients acquire and sell more than $30 billion worth of commercial real estate in Japan, Southeast Asia and Europe.

The University of South Wales alum has advised investors and occupiers on over 80 million square feet (7.4 million square metres) of commercial leasing transactions in the office, retail, industrial and logistics sectors.

Fossick began his career in 1985 at Barclays Bank in London, where he spent a year on a team responsible for the property management of the bank’s real estate portfolio. He moved to Singapore in 1989, becoming an executive director at CBRE in the city-state.

After earning an MBA at the University of Chicago in 2003, Fossick moved to Tokyo to serve as president and CEO of CBRE Japan.

He sat on the board of Sentosa Development Corporation in Singapore from 2009 to 2015 and is currently an independent non-executive director and member of the audit committee of SGX-listed Pacific Century Regional Developments.

Bankside Overhaul

Native Land’s Bankside Yards is a £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) mixed-use development between the Tate Modern art gallery and the Southbank Centre, just over the River Thames from the City of London.

The company and its Southeast Asian joint venture partners acquired the Bankside site, then occupied by the Sampson House and Ludgate House commercial buildings, from private equity giant Carlyle Group in 2015 for £308 million.

The consortium is redeveloping the site into a 1.4 million square foot project that will reconnect the space between the Tate Modern and Blackfriars railway station.

Native Land recently secured Mandarin Oriental Group for a luxury hotel and branded residences within the 5.5 acre (2.2 hectare) Bankside development. The firm’s domestic JV partners have included Grosvenor, Derwent London, The Portman Estate and TfL.

“Native Land is one of the most recognised and respected developers in the UK with a strong Asian connection through capital partners and investors,” Fossick said. “I am absolutely delighted to be joining them as a non-executive director and I look forward very much to supporting them in Asia and helping them build on their already strong relationships and brand in this region.”