Kushal Pal Singh Steps Down as Chairman of India's DLF

In this week’s edition of People in the News, 88-year-old Kushal Pal Singh has resigned as chairman of India developer DLF, while agreeing to carry on as a non-executive director, and M&G Real Estate establishes a presence down under with a new head of Australia.

In other moves around the region, Savills’ Singapore office makes a new hire to support its hotel investment transactions across Asia Pacific, while there are also appointments at CBRE, Hi China, and Central Real.

Eighty-eight year-old Kushal Pal Singh has stepped down as chairman of DLF, India’s largest real estate developer, according to a regulatory filing. The company said in its statement that Singh, who had been appointed managing director of DLF in 1979, has agreed to continue as a non-executive director of the company after “much persuasion” from members of the board. Singh had been reappointed as chairman at the company’s annual general meeting on 30 July for a period of five years with effect from 1 October 2018.

James MacKinnon has been appointed by M&G Real Estate as head of real estate in Australia, as the company opens offices in Sydney and Melbourne, according to a company announcement. MacKinnon, who had served as M&G Real Estate’s head of asset management in Asia Pacific after joining the Singapore office in 2012, will lead M&G’s real estate business in Australia from its new Sydney office. Prior to his time with the investment manager, MacKinnon had served as a vice president in the Hong Kong-based asset management team at AIG for four years.

Peter Dooley has been hired by New South Wales-based developer Central Real as a senior project manager, after parting ways with Soneva. Dooley had served as a managing director of projects and engineering in the Maldives for the Bangkok-headquartered resort operator for one year. Prior to this, he had worked for entertainment company MGM in Macau as a construction director for five years, a senior construction manager for London-headquartered Mace in Ho Chi Minh City between 2012 and 2013, and as a senior construction manager for Marina Bay Sands from 2007 until 2011.

CBRE has promoted Vamshi KK Nakirekanti to head of valuation and advisory services for India and Southeast Asia after 18 years as head of valuation and advisory services for India. Prior to his time at the property services firm, Nakirekanti had served as a property development consultant for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation between 1999 and 2001. The chartered engineer and qualified architect had also worked as an architect for BL Mantri and Associates from 1995 until 1997 before taking a master’s degree in town planning at the School of Planning and Architecture in New Delhi.

Hans Hao has been hired by Hi China in Shanghai as an assistant vice president after over three years with Tujia Network Technology in Beijing. Prior to this, Hao had served as a group director of revenue management in the data analysis and e-commerce division of Wanda Hotels between 2012 and 2016 and as an associated at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels from 2010 until 2012.

Stella Grant has relocated to Savills’ Singapore office where she will be responsible for hotel investment transactions across Asia Pacific, after four years in the property services firm’s London offices, most recently serving as a chartered surveyor in the hotel valuation team. The graduate of King’s College London had previously served as a team coordinator for UK charity Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation from 2014 to 2015 and as a development manager for social enterprise Arrival Education in London between 2013 and 2014.

Windy Zhang has joined Cushman and Wakefield as a director of transaction management in the Global Occupier Services APAC division in Singapore, after parting ways with Colliers International. At the rival firm, Zhang had served as a director in the Asia Pacific corporate solutions team from 2015 until 2019 after serving as an associate director and an account manager for the previous four years. Prior to this, the Shanghai University graduate had worked as a real estate manager for AIA for five years in Shanghai.

Samantha Yu has been hired by Knight Frank as head of international project marketing in Shanghai, after parting ways with Colliers International. In her new role, Yu leads a team that advises global clients with a strong focus on the UK. Yu had served for six years at Colliers, most recently as head of China international properties department from 2017 until 2019. Prior to this, Yu had been a senior manager and a sales manager.

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.