In this week’s edition of People in the News, the mainland China arm of Hong Kong-listed New World Development has made some top-level changes, while a Beijing-based property group has appointed a group president following the retirement of the previous one.
In other people moves around the region, Knight Frank has expanded the role of its Hong Kong-based head of Kowloon office services, and ARA’s head of Europe has stepped up to Europe CEO. There were also hires and promotions at Logan Property Holdings, CBRE, Swire Properties, and Savills.
Adrian Cheng has been appointed as co-chief executive officer of New World China Land, New World Development’s China subsidiary, following the retirement of Su Zhongqiang on 1 January, according to a local media account. Alongside the new title for the Cheng family scion, New World China has promoted former chief operating officer Cai Hanping to co-chief executive officer, and former deputy chief executive Huang Shaomei has been promoted to chief operating officer. Cheng takes up the new role in addition to his existing roles as executive vice chairman of New World Development, executive director of Chow Tai Fook, and CEO of K11.
Jie Qi has been appointed as president of Dalian Wanda Group, following the retirement of Ding Benxi, who had served as group president since 2009 and is leaving his post at the standard retirement age of 65, according to a local media account. Qi has made the step up to his new role after serving as president of Wanda Commercial Management, the group’s development subsidiary, since 2012. Prior to joining Wanda in 2001, Qi had served as a general manager of Hong Kong Yifeng Group Real Estate Investment Company and as general manager of Dalian Fengyuan Real Estate Company.
Mark Ebbinghaus has been promoted to chief executive officer of ARA Europe, after two years as the asset manager’s head of Europe. Ebbinghaus also serves as the chairman of ARA’s fund management platform in Europe, ARA Dunedin Ltd, which ARA set up last year with London-based Dunedin Property Asset Management. Prior to joining ARA, Ebbinghaus had served as Standard Chartered’s global head of real estate from 2009 to 2017 and as UBS’s head of Asia real estate from 1996 to 2008.
Patrick Mak has been appointed as Knight Frank’s head of tenant representation for Greater China, a role he is taking on in addition to his existing position as head of Kowloon office services for the brokerage firm. In his expanded role, Mak will work more closely with Knight Frank’s regional teams to grow the company’s tenant rep business, according to a company statement. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University graduate has served as the head of Kowloon office services since 2016, after joining Knight Frank from Colliers International where he had served as an executive director of office services for eight years and a strategy manager from 2003 to 2008.
Simon Fung has joined Logan Property Holdings as chief financial officer after leaving Hong Kong-listed Greentown China Holdings, according to a local media account. Fung had served as Greentown China Holdings’ CFO for ten years. Prior to that, he had been chief financial officer and company secretary of construction firm Baoye Group from 2004 to 2010. Fung’s appointment comes just over three months after Logan Property Holdings CFO Zhuo Bin was promoted to company CEO of the Shenzhen-based developer.
Clemence Lee has joined CBRE in Singapore as a senior director in capital markets, after parting ways with JLL. In his new role, Lee reports to Michael Tay, CBRE’s head of capital markets in Singapore. Before joining CBRE, Lee had served as a senior director of capital markets in JLL’s Singapore team for just over a year and as an associate director from 2017 to 2018, following two years in managerial positions with the same team. Prior to that, the National University of Singapore graduate had served in the investment advisory services team and the commercial leasing team for DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (SEA) Pte Ltd from 2012 to 2015.
Iris Wong has been promoted to senior portfolio manager at Swire Properties in Hong Kong with responsibility for Pacific Place, after three years as a portfolio manager for the group’s Cityplaza development. Prior to that, Wong had served for five years as an assistant portfolio manager at Taikoo Place and Cityplaza, following a year as a senior property officer at Pacific Place Mall from 2011 to 2012. The University of Warwick graduate had been appointed as a property officer in 2009 after a three-year management traineeship with Swire.
Henkey Li has stepped up to associate director at Savills in Hong Kong after four years in managerial positions for the property services firm. Prior to joining Savills, Li had served as a part-time senior associate at Great Wealth Property in Guangzhou, following a year as a graduate trainee analyst. The Jinan University graduate had completed internships with Wealth-X and Mandarin House in 2012.
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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