David Rees Now APAC Director of Research Strategy at JLL

JLL has promoted Dr David Rees to the role of Regional Director of Research Strategy for Asia Pacific. Rees takes on the newly created position just over three months after Megan Walters stepped up to become Head of Research for the property consultancy across Asia Pacific.

Before taking on the new role, Rees had served as head of research for Australia at JLL, after joining the firm in 2008 from Australian real estate investment group Mirvac.

“We’re delighted to welcome David into the regional team. His broad-based expertise spans a number of market sectors, including real estate, equity and commodity markets, so we’re confident he will add a great deal of value to our clients around the region,” Walters commented in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with David closely to develop new products and services that will further enhance our research offering in Asia Pacific.”

Rees will continue to be based Sydney, where he will now focus on integrating JLL’s research capabilities across the region and developing new services such as regional and global portfolio analysis.

An economist and statistician by training, Rees also spent five years as head of research at Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, covering economics, credit and foreign exchange markets. Previously, he worked at Bankers Trust where he held the position of Chief Equity Strategist in the investment banking division.

Succeeding Dr Rees as head of research for Australia is Andrew Ballantyne, who has led strategic research for JLL’s Australian Capital Markets business. Ballantyne joined JLL in 2007 as head of research for Victoria and subsequently moved into a national role as head of strategic research, Australia. He will continue to focus on capital markets, in addition to coordinating JLL’s team of 24 researchers across the country.

Both appointments will take effect from 1 January 2017.