CBRE Reshuffles SE Asia Management Team Amid Global Restructuring

Real estate consultancy CBRE on Tuesday announced a reshuffle of its top leadership in Southeast Asia, as the firm shakes up its ranks in response to a global corporate restructuring first announced late last year.

Pauline Goh, who has served as the NSYE-listed company’s Singapore and Southeast Asia CEO for the past eight years, will now become Southeast Asia chairman for CBRE, where she will focus on growing strategic accounts in the region, according to the company. The National University of Singapore graduate has a 35-year record with CBRE in Asia, during which time she has been involved in a number of landmark transactions in Singapore, including the S$1.039 billion sale of Temasek Tower to Macquarie, and the S$1.01 billion sale of TripleOne Somerset to a subsidiary of Shun Tak Holdings.

All three of the Singapore-based executives will report to Anshuman Magazine, CBRE’s chairman and CEO of India, South East Asia, Middle East, and Africa, according to a company statement. Magazine had served as the company’s India and Southeast Asia chairman before having his role expanded to cover the expanded geographical region as of 1 January this year.

Armstrong Moves into CEO Role

Moray Armstrong, who had been serving as managing director of the firm’s Advisory and Transactions practice, which is responsible for brokerage services, was promoted to managing director of the Singapore business but will retain “operational oversight” over the brokerage business lines. Armstrong has 29 years of experience with CBRE in its Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Singapore offices.

“Under Moray’s leadership, CBRE’s A&T team has captured the largest market share of leasing transactions in Singapore,” said Goh

Vikram Kohli, formerly managing director of Southeast Asia (with a focus on markets outside of the city-state), will become CBRE’s chief operating office for Southeast Asia with oversight of the entire region, including Singapore. The Kellogg MBA joined CBRE in 2001 and has worked in its Delhi, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, and Singapore offices.

“Singapore has been our growth engine in Southeast Asia, having grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 35 percent over the past five years. It will continue to be the hub around which we pivot our business growth and innovation for the region. As such, we need a dedicated leader to take the company and people forward in this next phase of growth,” Goh said.

Making Southeast Asia Fit the New Global Structure

Under the firm’s new structure the company is organized around three units: Advisory Services, Global Workplace Solutions, and Real Estate Investments — instead of around geographical units — and CEO roles for the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions were eliminated.

The Southeast Asia re-organization follows a slew of group-level appointments in August of last year, which were also made in response to the restructuring, according to the Los Angeles based firm. In the third quarter of 2018, Mike Lafitte was promoted from COO to global CEO of Advisory services, Jack Durburg moved from America’s CEO to global COO, and Daniel Queenan became global CEO of real estate investments.