Edward Cheung Retires, KK Chiu Named Head of Greater China for C&W

Edward Cheung, Chairman of the Asia Pacific Board and Chief Executive Officer for Greater China at Cushman & Wakefield, has announced his retirement from the property consultancy, after more than 26 years with the firm, and ten years as regional head of the firm’s Greater China business, according to a statement today.

With Cheung’s departure, C&W’s head of Valuation and Advisory Services, KK Chiu has been promoted to the chief executive position for Greater China, taking the top role after 25 years with the agency and its predecessors. Contacted by Mingtiandi, company spokespersons were not able to provide an exact timeline for the change in command, and it is not clear if there have been changes to the company’s management board to coincide with the executive transition.

Brett White in Town for Hand-Off

“Edward’s contribution to the firm over the course of his extraordinary career cannot be overstated,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s executive chairman & CEO Brett White in a statement. White, who travelled to Hong Kong along with C&W president John Forester said of Cheung’s departure that, “We support his decision and are grateful for the leadership he has provided and the outstanding team he has built. KK will now transition into the role and take over a business that has a lot of positive momentum, holding a leading position across Greater China serving the top local, regional and global clients.”

The leadership transition at the property consultancy was announced to staff in a live webcast this morning, with Cheung and Chiu appearing alongside White and Forester to announce Cheung’s decision to the company’s 2,500 direct employees across mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Cheung had spent 26 years of his 30 year real estate career with what is now Cushman & Wakefield, having started with CY Leung & Co before it became part of DTZ in 1999, with the latter company merging with Cushman & Wakefield in a $2 billion buyout in 2015.

Leaving on a High Note

Cheung is leaving Cushman & Wakefield after the firm completed one of its most successful years in the region, with the company’s investment team having advised on a string of billion dollar deals in 2018, including advising Link REIT on its HK$12 billion December sale of a set of retail assets in Hong Kong to an investment consortium led by Gaw Capital, Goldman Sachs and Blackstone.

In mainland China, the company was involved in brokering AEW’s RMB 4.5 billion acquisition of a Beijing office building late last year, as well as advising on Blackstone’s $1.25 billion acquisition of the Mapletree Business City and Vivocity Shanghai complex in December.