AEW Asia Chief Jason Lee to Depart, Yian Wang Promoted to APAC CIO

AEW head of Asia Jason Lee is leaving the company after 13 years, as the US fund manager turns over his role as chief investment officer for Asia Pacific to colleague Yian Wang.

Wang is taking the step up after having been promoted to managing director and portfolio manager for AEW’s Asia value-add investment strategy in December last year, with the University of Cambridge graduate set to work with the company’s chief operating officer for Asia Pacific Jean-Philippe (JP) Gaudin to co-manage AEW’s platform in the region, according to a statement late last week.

“We are thrilled to offer this opportunity to Yian, who has proven to be an invaluable asset to the firm over her tenure. Her deep expertise, strategic insight, and consistent performance make her ideally suited to lead our platform in Asia with JP,” said AEW chief executive Jon Martin.

Wang, along with Gaudin, who was promoted to APAC chief operating officer in January of last year, will be reporting to Martin, who is based in the company’s Boston headquarters. Wang is based in Hong Kong while Gaudin works in AEW’s Singapore office.

Morgan Stanley Alum

Having first joined AEW in 2012, Lee had served as manager for AEW’s Asia Pacific value-add strategy until Wang took over that portfolio in December. Currently based in Singapore, Lee will be staying with AEW to assist with the transition before leaving to pursue other opportunities. No time frame was provided for the transition.

“We are grateful to Jason for his years of dedicated service and for the contributions he has made to help shape our Asia Pacific platform,” Martin said. “The region remains an important one to the firm as we seek to provide clients with more targeted opportunities in the non-core space, a shift from our current diversified strategies in the market.”

Wang originally joined AEW in 2018 to focus on opportunities in Hong Kong and mainland China before earning an upgrade to head of acquisitions for Greater China in 2021.

Before joining the company she worked in asset management and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Strategic Shift

AEW, which has $4.8 billion of its $82 billion in assets under management within the APAC region, did not elaborate on the “shift from our current diversified strategies in the market” in favour of more targetted non-core opportunities which Martin referred to in the statement. 

In Asia Pacific the firm has been operating a core plus/value-add strategy since 2006, which has invested in projects including the Rivervale Mall in Singapore, the City Plaza complex in Seoul and the Innov Tower office building in Shanghai, according to its website.

AEW closed on $1.54 billion for its fourth APAC value-add fund in 2021, before establishing AEW Value Investors Asia V in 2022, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has yet to make a public statement regarding fund raising for AEW Value Investors Asia V.

In 2020, AEW introduced a core strategy for the region which focuses on logistics, multifamily and office properties. In April 2022, the company picked up six Japanese multifamily assets for JPY 23 billion (then $180 million) before acquiring the Westgate Tower office project in Singapore’s Jurong East for S$680 million (then $488.54 million) two months later.