Frasers Property Hires Lendlease CEO Tony Lombardo as Chief Operating Officer

Frasers Property has appointed Tony Lombardo as chief operating officer of the Singapore-listed real estate giant, giving the outgoing Lendlease CEO a fresh start in familiar territory after a turbulent tenure in which he led a sweeping overhaul of the Australian builder.

Lombardo will take up the newly created role on 1 October and will be based in Singapore, according to a Monday statement from the developer controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. The hiring comes less than a month after ASX-listed Lendlease announced that Lombardo, a former Singapore-based head of Lendlease Asia, would leave the company and return to Southeast Asia for a new opportunity.

Reporting to chief executive Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, Lombardo will help set Frasers Property’s investment and capital strategy and support the CEO on major transactions and platform expansion, according to the statement, as the group seeks to sharpen capital deployment and strengthen coordination across its global businesses.

“We are delighted to welcome Tony to Frasers Property,” Panote said. “He brings deep global experience across our sector and the key markets in which we operate. Tony’s leadership and expertise across strategy, finance, investments and capital management and operations will strengthen our leadership team and accelerate the execution of our strategic priorities.”

Veteran Moves On

Lombardo’s departure after 18 years at Lendlease comes as the company has been struggling to regain investor confidence and improve its finances since announcing a new strategy focused on its home market of Australia in 2024.

The Sydney-based builder has stepped away from much of its overseas business, accelerated asset sales and focused on investment management, development and urban regeneration in core markets, especially Australia and parts of Asia Pacific. The company has announced or completed A$2.8 billion ($2 billion) in divestments after launching the strategy reset.

Last month, Lendlease posted a loss of A$318 million for the six months to the end of December, reversing a year-earlier profit of A$48 million, with the red ink reflecting non-cash revaluations and impairments totalling A$118 million. The company hopes to establish the start of its next fiscal year on 1 July as a turning point from which to enter a renewed era of growth.

At Frasers Property, Lombardo’s mandate will include coordinating strategy across the company’s industrial business and operations in Australia and Britain. The Lendlease veteran said he was drawn to Frasers’ diversified portfolio and long-run growth ambitions.

“Throughout my career, I have been motivated by the opportunity to build organisations that endure,” Lombardo said. “I see a strong alignment with Frasers Property’s values, its focus on long-term partnerships and its commitment to creating places that matter to people. The opportunity to do this with a leading real estate group with a strong regional and global presence is compelling.”

Reshaping the Business

Frasers Property said in a business update last month that it would continue to pursue a strategy centred on strengthening recurring income from its investment portfolio while expanding development exposure in the residential and industrial segments in key markets.

Last year saw the family-led firm carry out a series of big-ticket deals, including the $880 million sale of its remaining stake in northern Singapore’s Northpoint City mall to Frasers Centrepoint Trust and the $1.1 billion privatisation of Frasers Hospitality Trust.

Late last month, Frasers Property won the collective sale tender for the rear block of The Centrepoint for $310 million, consolidating its ownership of the mixed-use complex in Singapore’s Orchard Road retail strip.

After reports in early 2024 that a strategic review was underway, Frasers Property’s largest shareholder, the Charoen-controlled private firm TCC Assets, secured an 86.89 percent stake in the SGX-listed builder later that year in a share swap deal with ThaiBev, the Bangkok-based drinks company founded by Charoen.

The 81-year-old patriarch stepped down from his role as Frasers Property chairman in February 2025 and received the honorary title of chairman emeritus. Four months later, he doled out stakes in holding firms that control 66 percent of ThaiBev to his five children, including Frasers Property CEO Panote.