CBRE Taps Cynthia Chu as Regional MD for Taiwan

CBRE has hired Cynthia Chu to lead its business in Taiwan as Regional Managing Director, effective August 1. Joining CBRE from rival brokerage Savills, where she headed the Taiwan office, Chu will be reporting to Ben Duncan, President of North Asia and CEO of Greater China.

Chu’s appointment by the world’s largest commercial real estate consultancy follows the departure of Joe Lin, who headed to Sydney to work for Colliers this past March after stepping down as managing director for Taiwan. CBRE Taiwan has one office in Taipei and roughly 200 staff across the island.

“As CBRE’s business matures across Greater China, our commitment to our people and our clients remains unwavering,” commented Duncan in a statement. “Taiwan is a key market within our Greater China strategy, with this appointment, we will continue to drive growth and deliver exceptional outcomes through collaboration as a unified team.”

Chu Brings Two Decades of Agency Know-How

Chu, who has some two decades of real estate experience across a series of advisory and leasing roles, previously held the title of managing director at Savills Taiwan, where she had worked since 2007. Prior to that, Chu served as a director at Cushman & Wakefield, then DTZ, for 11 years, heading up the tenant representation and investment teams.

“Cynthia has proven ability to build strong teams, excellent client relationships and market leading positions,” Duncan noted. “Her strong management and business skills will be an asset in helping us continue to grow our business, while her drive, enthusiasm and integrity are a perfect fit for CBRE’s culture.”

Joe Lin was reported to be exiting CBRE Taiwan this past January after holding the role of managing director since 2011. In March, Colliers International announced that Lin would be taking up the newly created position of National Director of Asian Markets at the company’s Sydney office.

CBRE Marks Another Leadership Change

Chu’s hire by CBRE follows a number of senior-level job changes in Greater China in recent months. In April the company promoted industrial veteran Louisa Luo to the role of Regional Managing Director for Central China, based in Wuhan. And in February, Alvin Lau stepped down as managing director of CBRE’s operations in Southern China, and joined Savills as managing director in Guangzhou the following month.

CBRE is also boosting its Capital Markets business in Hong Kong, by hiring Daniel Mok from JLL to lead a new specialty group focussed on strata-title and mid-market sales in April. Last year, CBRE moved to ramp up its regional asset management business by appointing Craig Hudleston as Executive Managing Director, Head of Asset Services for Asia Pacific, stationed in Hong Kong. Hudleston had previously served as COO of CBRE Japan.

The NYSE-listed brokerage has over 80,000 employees worldwide and was the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm by revenue in 2017.