Hotels and co-living have been gaining attention around the region as competition heats up in more mainstream real estate sectors, a trend which may be reflected in the top level appointments which lead Mingtiandi’s collection of people on the move across Asia this week. In addition to a Singapore hotel investor and an India co-living startup naming new leadership, the parent company of Regus is upgrading its team in the region and there are many more updates from names you may know in Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.
Singapore Investment Broker Joins Hotel Magnate’s Team
Singapore shophouse specialist Sammi Lim is leaving CBRE after nine years to take up the role of Chief Executive of JK Global Capital, a private investment vehicle controlled by Fragrance Hotels boss James Koh Wee Meng, according to an account in Singapore’s Business Times. Lim who was recognised twice by CBRE as a top fee earner in the market expects to help build JK Global Capital, which Koh used to privatise the Global Premium Hotels group in 2017, through further acquisitions.
Warburg-Backed India Co-Living Venture Appoints New CEO
Rahul Pandit, former Managing Director and CEO of India’s Ginger Hotels has been picked to lead Hamstede Living, a recently established co-living joint venture established by Warburg Pincus and Lemon Tree Hotels, according to an account in Mumbai’s Economic Times. Pandit, who is joining the shared accommodation startup as Managing Director and CEO, previously worked as an executive with Lemon Tree for 12 years.
Regus’ Parent Firm Names Regional Commercial Director in KL
Sebastiaan Willen has been promoted to Group Commercial Director with IWG, the parent company of shared office giant Regus, in Kuala Lumpur. Willen took his step up with the owner of Regus, Spaces and luxury space provider No18 earlier this year after previously serving as Regional Marketing Director for the Middle East and APAC regions with IWG. The graduate of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium also has previous experience with Regus in the UK as well as with Bain and Company.
Corporate Real Estate Veteran Joins CBRE in Hong Kong
Doug Griffin is now Asia Pacific Transaction Management Lead with CBRE, where he oversees the Kimberly Clark account for the global real estate agency. Griffin, who continues to be based in Hong Kong, had previously spent four years as Regional Estates Manager with HSBC in the city, where he looked after the banking giant’s property portfolio for the region. Griffin also has previous experience with JLL and AIG.
JLL Broker Moves Up the HK Ranks
Matthew Belecanech is now a Manager with the Commercial Markets team at JLL in Hong Kong. The graduate of the University of Texas at Austin moved up a rank with the property services firm after more than a year and a half as a negotiator and over three years after joining JLL as part of its International Property division in 2016, where he advised investors on purchases of properties in global markets.
WeWork Continues to Build Team in Shanghai
Fiona Zhu has joined WeWork in Shanghai as a Sales Executive with the shared space behemoth. Zhu comes on board with the pioneer of offices with a playground aspect after four years with French electrical products distributor Sonepar. The graduate of Shanghai’s Donghua University also has previous experience with the residential team at DTZ in Shanghai (now Cushman & Wakefield) as well as with JLL in the city.
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.
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