ANREV Appoints Charles Haase to Succeed Jeremy Stewardson as CEO

A new leader is set to take the reins at a key non-profit serving Asia’s property investor community, with ANREV on Tuesday announcing the appointment of Charles Haase as the organisation’s next chief executive.

Haase most recently served as a managing director at the Tokyo affiliate of US fund manager Aetos Capital Real Estate. In his new role as CEO of the Asian Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles, he will be based in Hong Kong while also spending time at the group’s new branch office in Singapore.

Haase succeeds Jeremy Stewardson, who has held the top job at ANREV for nearly seven years over two non-consecutive terms. The handover takes effect on 15 June.

“The management board of ANREV is unanimous in welcoming Charlie to the leadership role at this exciting time and offers its full support,” said chairman Stephen Tross. “At the same time, it wishes to thank Jeremy Stewardson for his energy and enthusiasm in leading the association through its development phase since 2009 and latterly through the difficult times of the last two-and-a-half years, where adaptability and perseverance have proven to be key.”

Academics and Pensions

Haase holds a PhD in economics from the University of California at Davis. He spent several years as an assistant professor of economics at San Francisco State University before joining CalSTRS, where he spent nine years overseeing multi-family investments in the US and was also closely involved in the state pension fund’s real estate investments in Asia Pacific.

Haase moved to Tokyo about 10 years ago and joined real estate firm Tokyu Fudosan, where he performed several roles involving international investment in direct and indirect vehicles. After joining Aetos Japan in 2018, he was charged with client relationship management and raising capital for funds.

Haase’s instalment as the new boss comes just in time for him to drop by ANREV’s annual conference in Singapore on 22 and 23 June, with speakers and attendees joining both in-person and virtually.

“Charlie has expressed his keenness to work on growing the association’s coverage in Asia Pacific and expanding the benefits of membership,” Tross said. “My fellow board members and I look forward to working with him on this mission.”

Europe Bound

After nearly 13 years with ANREV in various roles and 34 years in Asia, Stewardson is “off to new opportunities in Europe”, according to a LinkedIn post.

Stewardson began his career at Jones Lang Wootton in 1978 and had postings in the UK, Germany, Thailand and Hong Kong before retiring from successor firm JLL as international director in December 2000. He later ran his own regional property consultancy and served as chief executive of HKEX-listed Champion REIT’s manager for two years.

“I wish Charlie and the association teams in Hong Kong and Singapore every success in capitalising on the opportunities arising in this great region,” Stewardson said.

ANREV is recognised for its annual fund manager and capital raising surveys, which it conducts with European counterpart INREV and Chicago-based fiduciary association NCREIF.