Hines Greater China Boss Cormier Thielke Joins Prologis to Lead Asia Investment

Hines veteran Claire Cormier Thielke has left her post as the US developer’s head of Greater China to join logistics giant Prologis as its chief investment officer for Asia.

Thielke, who started her new role on 1 September, will oversee strategy and execution of deployment in Asia (ex Japan), including M&A activity and the securing of domestic and cross-border capital for operations across the region, Prologis said Wednesday in a release.

She will continue to be based in Hong Kong and report to Karsten Kallevig, managing director of global strategic capital at San Francisco-based Prologis. The strategic capital business includes co-investment ventures in the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

“We are delighted to have Claire join the company,” Kallevig said. “Her incredible background in M&A, private capital markets and operations will be valuable for our business growth in Asia. As we see great potential of this vibrant regional market with high consumption capacity, we will continue to extend our footprint through strategic capital vehicles.”

Shed Experience

Thielke joined Houston-based Hines in 2013 as chief operating officer of investment management. After her appointment in 2019 as managing director of Asia Pacific to lead the family-controlled firm’s regional expansion, she was promoted to senior managing director and Greater China country head in 2021.

Thielke holds a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and a master’s in civil engineering, construction and engineering management from Stanford University, where she was an athlete on the track and field team.

During Thielke’s Hines tenure, the firm’s logistics investments included the acquisition of a 363,820 square foot (33,800 square metre) cold storage facility and adjacent development site in southern China’s Guangdong province.

The Walmart-leased property is in Dongguan’s Shatian district, a logistics hub for the Pearl River Delta urban corridor comprising nine mainland cities plus Hong Kong and Macau. Hines and its partner, Metropolitan Real Estate Equity Management (part of BentallGreenOak), are building an additional multi-storey cold storage complex on the adjacent site.

Targeting China and India

In her new role, Thielke will focus on the growth of Prologis in the China and India markets.

As of June, the company owned or had investments in properties and development projects spanning 1.2 billion square feet in 19 countries. Prologis leases logistics facilities to 6,700 customers across two major categories, business-to-business and retail/online fulfilment.

“I was familiar with Prologis’s scale and reputation as the global leader in logistics real estate and impressed with their track record in strategic investment partnerships,” Thielke said. “I look forward to collaborating with teams in Asia to further drive our growth and create value for investors.”