Asia Real Estate People in the News 2019-08-12

In this week’s edition of People in the News, a Softbank-backed budget hotel chain has made a double leadership appointment, naming a new chief operating officer for India and South Asia as well as a chief executive officer for Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as the company steps up its drive for world domination in the cheap-and-cheerful accommodation sector.

In other fresh moves around the region, a state-backed venture capital unit in Suzhou has hired a new director, while there are new hires for a New York-headquartered real estate investment firm’s Beijing office and an asset manager in the same city.

A Guangzhou-based developer has also confirmed that its head of HR has passed away after suffering a sudden heart attack.

Mandar Vaidya has been appointed by Oyo as its chief executive officer for Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In his new role, Vaidya is responsible for driving business growth in markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, UAE, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following investments by Oyo of $200 million in Southeast Asia, according to a company statement. The qualified medical doctor had worked with McKinsey and Co for 15 years, from 2002 to 2017, and had also taught at Ashoka University’s Young India Fellowship programme.

Gaurav Ajmera has been promoted by Oyo to chief operating officer for India and South Asia, after four years as the budget hotel chain’s regional head of northern India. As a key partner to Oyo chief executive officer Aditya Ghosh, Ajmera is responsible for revenue management, offline sales and overall delivery of the core franchise business’ customer experience, according to a statement by Oyo. The Indian Institute of Technology graduate previously served as an engineer-in-charge for oilfield services firm Schlumberger, working across various countries in the Middle East.

Leon Li has been hired as an office leasing manager at Tishman Speyer in Beijing, after parting ways with JLL where he had served as a manager in the commercial tenant advisory and representation team. In his new role, Li is responsible for office leasing activities for a high-end urban revitalization project in Shougang Park. The graduate of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture joined JLL in 2014 as an assistant manager. Prior to his time at JLL, Li had spent nearly three years in the tenant advisory and representation team at Savills.

Andrew Xiao has been hired as an assistant general manager by Tianrun Asset Management in Beijing with general management responsibilities for the Tianrun Fortune Center. Xiao has joined the asset management company after leaving China Vanke where he had served as a regional leasing director for North China for four months this year after 12 months as an investment / asset manager and a year and a half as a project manager. Prior to his time at Vanke, the Southwest Jiaotong University graduate had served as a senior negotiator for CBRE for two years.

Huang Kesi, a vice president at mainland developer Star River Group, has died following a sudden heart attack, according to local media. The 58-year-old, who had been responsible for human resources at the Guangdong-based company, suffered the heart attack after rushing from a charity event in Xinjiang to attend the Boao conference in Hainan. Prior to joining the developer in 2007, Huang had worked in human resources with international companies including Procter & Gamble and GPC. The developer, which is an affiliate of Guangzhou Hongfu Real Estate, achieved sales last year of RMB 13.9 billion ($2 billion).

Sean Xiao has been appointed as a director at Suzhou Industrial Park Leader Venture Capital, after over 13 years with SIP Science and Technology Development, most recently as a deputy general manager of investment promotion. From 2015 until 2018, Xiao had worked for the state-owned enterprise as a manager of investment promotion, and as a deputy manager between 2012 and 2015. Prior to joining SIP Science and Technology Development in 2006 as a senior supervisor, the University of Melbourne graduate had served as a project manager in Colliers International’s industrial services division.

Thao Nguyen has stepped up to sales manager of international residential sales at Savills in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, following two years as a managing agent for the property services firm. Nguyen joined Savills in 2015 as a sales executive after earning a business diploma from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

If you know of other Asia real estate professionals changing their jobs, getting promoted or just doing something exciting, please contact us here at Mingtiandi.