Hines Hires Kiyohito Motoyama as Japan Industrial Head, Adds Two Others to Team

US developer and fund manager Hines has added three new hires to its Japan team, led by Kiyohito Motoyama as director of logistics and industrial.

Motoyama, most recently of Mitsubishi Jisho Investment Advisors, will head up efforts to source new acquisitions and development opportunities focusing on the rapidly growing logistics sector in Asia’s second-largest economy, Hines said Thursday in a release.

Also joining the company are Saiko Ishii, formerly of Prologis REIT Management, as director of asset management, and Ryo Shiino, late of Heitman, as director of compliance. All three will be based in Tokyo and report to Jon Tanaka, senior managing director for Japan at Hines.

“Japan continues to be one of the most active markets with investors and developers looking to increase their footprint through strategic partnerships, acquisitions, and platform investments,” Tanaka said. “With Motoyama, Ishii and Shiino providing their leadership talent and knowledge, we are strongly positioned to drive our growth trajectory in this dynamic market.”

Leadership Bench Grows

At MJIA, a unit of property giant Mitsubishi Estate, Motoyama served more than five years as a senior manager originating logistics development and forward commitment acquisitions.

The Kyushu University grad previously worked at Mitsui & Co, Logistics Partners Ltd and Fukuoka Realty Co, and in his career has completed JPY 200 billion ($1.5 billion) in acquisitions, dispositions, development and leasing of logistics properties, Hines said.

Ishii brings 20 years of experience in acquisitions, asset management and portfolio management in Japan’s real estate market. At Prologis REIT Management, she oversaw acquisitions, dispositions, leasing and portfolio management for Nippon Prologis REIT’s $6.3 billion portfolio of logistics properties.

Before joining Hines, Shiino was the APAC compliance officer for Chicago-based investment manager Heitman across Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Earlier he spent 18 years in total at Big Four accounting firms Ernst & Young and PwC, primarily focusing on the real estate investment industry.

Rapid Expansion

Houston-based Hines appointed former Angelo Gordon exec Tanaka in 2021 as the developer’s first Japan country head, reporting to APAC CEO Ray Lawler.

Today the family-run firm has more than $1 billion assets under management across the residential, industrial and office sectors in six cities in Japan. The company’s industrial development platform has grown to 2.7 million square feet (250,838 square metres) under construction, and Hines has pushed further into residential by growing its multi-family platform from zero to 16 assets since 2022.

Founded by Gerald D Hines in 1957 and now operating in 30 countries, Hines manages $96 billion in assets across residential, logistics, retail, office and mixed-use strategies.