With one week to go before the region takes a break for spring festival, Chinese New Year or Tet (depending on your naming preference), Asia’s real estate professionals are continuing to find new homes or move on from their old gigs. This week a regional retail veteran returns to Shanghai, while another industry old-timer takes over the reins for a local hospitality investor. Also a former prized hire quietly leaves his high level agency gig without clear signs of a new home. Read on for all this and more.
James Hawkey has joined JLL as head of retail for China, based in Shanghai. The long-time retail agency pro takes on his new role after more than 15 years with rival Cushman & Wakefield, where he held director level positions in London and mainland China before spending nearly three years as the company’s Managing Director for Retail Services, based in Hong Kong. This will Hawkey’s second stint in Shanghai after the graduate of the University of York in the UK worked in China’s commercial capital during the mid-1990s.
Thomas Marquis has joined Ascent Development in Shanghai as CEO for the local developer. In his new role with the subsidiary of a large Chinese trading firm, Marquis will be focused on acquiring 4-star hospitality properties throughout mainland China, after spending more than two years representing ultra-high end hospitality brand Kerzner in China. Marquis, who has now spent more than 15 years in China’s real estate industry also previously served in senior level roles with warehouse developers Gazeley and AMB (now Prologis) on the mainland.
Daniel Wang has left his role as executive director of Developer Services and general manager for Shanghai with Colliers International effective January 31st. In an internal statement announcing Wang’s departure, Colliers leadership wished the executive all the best for the future. Wang came to Colliers Shanghai in 2013 from Cushman & Wakefield along with a number of his former colleagues from the rival agency in a move that generated some controversy in the industry regarding the nature of his departure from his former employer. Colliers statement on this occasion made clear that Wang had resigned his post voluntarily.
Colin Dowall is now the head of the Premium Service Group for JLL in China. Dowall, who will continue to serve as a Regional Director with the property consultancy, previously spent nearly four years as head of Retail Asset Management for Greater China at JLL. According to Dowall, the Premium Service Group is aimed at developing and growing the company’s premium property and asset management services for all asset classes in China.
Ruinong (Adela) Zu has been promoted to the role of vice-president with JLL’s Hotels and Hospitality Group, based in Beijing. Zu’s step up comes after the graduate of Switzerland’s Glion Institute of Higher Education spent more than four years with JLL’s hotel division, most recently as a senior associate. Zu also has experience with Swire Hotels, as well as with US hospitality brands Westin, Marriott and Intercontinental.
As usual, if you know of other China real estate professionals changing their jobs, getting promoted or just doing something exciting, please feel free to share with the rest of the community here at Mingtiandi.