In this week’s edition of Mingtiandi’s People in the News, one of Canada’s largest real estate investment firms has named a new director for its Asia Pacific team based in Hong Kong, while Singapore’s largest real estate group has designated a former Ascendas-Singbridge executive as head of India private funds following a merger of the two companies in June.
In other people moves around the region, private equity firm Townsend Group has hired away a Tishman Speyer executive, while a Singapore co-living operator that is rolling out an APAC-wide expansion has brought on board a head of talent and HR from Accela.
There were also new hires for CBRE and a Jardine Matheson-controlled retail group, as well as a promotion at Knight Frank.
Etienne Robitaille has stepped up to director of real estate investments for Asia Pacific at fund manager Ivanhoe Cambridge’s Hong Kong office, following three years as a manager. Prior to that, Robitaille had served as an advisor in the North America real estate investments division of the Montreal-based fund manager. The University of Quebec graduate also served as a business analyst for Capital One from 2012 to 2013.
Hardik Gesota has been appointed as head of India private funds at CapitaLand in Singapore, after ten months as head of India investment and capital partners at Ascendas-Singbridge. The appointment follows the acquisition by CapitaLand of Ascendas-Singbridge at the end of June. Prior to joining Ascendas-Singbridge, Gesota had served as a director at fund manager Griha Pte Limited, a subsidiary of India’s Housing Development Finance Corporation, from 2014 to 2019, and as an assistant vice president of investments at HDFC Property Ventures between 2008 and 2014.
Henry Chia
has been hired as a vice president at investment manager The Townsend Group in Hong Kong, after parting ways with Tishman Speyer in Shanghai. Chia joins the investment manager following over three years with the the US-based real estate developer as a director. Prior to that, the Nanyang Technological University graduate had worked for Shenning Investments in Singapore as an investment manager from 2014 to 2016 and as an associate at Partners Group between 2011 and 2014.
Gary Leung
has been hired by Dairy Farm as group real estate and asset manager. Leung joins the Jardine Matheson-controlled retailer from Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts where he had served as a manager in the investment properties division for three years. Prior to that, the University of Hong Kong graduate had worked for Harbour City Estates as a leasing manger from 2015 until 2016 and for Swire Properties in Guangzhou as a portfolio manager between 2012 and 2015.
Alex Fang
has been appointed as a project director at Shun Tak Qiantan (Shanghai) Cultural Real Estate Company after parting ways with Value Retail in Suzhou. Prior to joining the division of Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings, Fang had served as a project director for the UK-headquartered luxury retail outlet developer for five years. Earlier, the Tamkang University graduate had served as a deputy general manager at Kerry Properties in Qinhuangdao from 2012 to 2013 and as a vice president of development for US developer F&T Group in Shanghai between 2009 and 2012.
Kate Williams
has joined co-living operator Hmlet as head of talent and HR after parting ways with Accela. Williams had served as a talent director for the Singapore-based human resources firm for almost three years. Prior to that, the Griffith University graduate had worked for recruitment firm Talent International between 2015 and 2017, following a seven year spell at Robert Walters as a manager in Australia and Singapore.
Yi Rui Chua
has stepped up to assistant vice president in the chief commercial officer’s office at JustCo after serving as a senior investment manager for the co-working firm for four and a half years. Prior to tuning into the millennial vibes of the shared office provider, Chua had served as an analyst with BlackRock in Singapore from 2012 until 2015 and as an analyst for Morgan Stanley between 2010 and 2012.
Wing Tang
has been promoted to associate director at Knight Frank in Hong Kong after serving for a year and a half as a manager. Prior to that, Tang had served as a building surveyor for the property consultancy from 2016 to 2018 and as an assistant building surveyor between 2015 and 2016. The City University of Hong Kong graduate also worked for property consultancy Freevision Limited as an assistant building surveyor from 2012 until 2015.
Dexter Sim has been appointed as a business development manager with the integrated facilities management division in CBRE’s Singapore office, after parting ways with Ethos Partners. Sim had served for a year with the Singapore-based private equity firm as designated CEO of the emergency medical services division in Kuala Lumpur and as a director in strategy and operations in Singapore. Prior to that, the National University of Singapore graduate had worked for bicycle sharing platform Ofo as a general manager in India and Australia between 2017 and 2018.
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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