IWG Hires Former WeWork Exec Elizabeth Laws Fuller to Expand in SE Asia, Korea

Flexible office giant IWG is ramping up its business in Asia Pacific, with the parent company of Regus and Spaces announcing recently that it has hired a former WeWork senior executive based in Singapore.

Elizabeth Laws Fuller, who formerly served as head of growth for Southeast Asia and head of sales transaction services for Pacific at the co-working pioneer, has come on board at IWG as country head for Singapore and regional director of growth for a territory covering South Korea in addition to Southeast Asia.

“I am thrilled to join IWG at this pivotal time, as the rise in hybrid working solutions presents a wealth of opportunities in Singapore and across Asia Pacific as businesses of all sizes permanently embrace the model,” Laws Fuller said in a statement. “My role will focus on harnessing these emerging trends to unlock new business avenues and expand IWG’s reach in the region through strategic partnerships.”

After IWG signed up nearly 900 new locations last year globally and 163 in Asia Pacific, the company is gearing up to launch 1,000 new centres across the region in the next three years under its Regus, Spaces, Signature, HQ and No.18 brands.

To the Heartland and Beyond

Integral to IWG’s expansion plan is extending its network into decentralised areas in Singapore along with second- and third-tier cities in other regional markets, like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Of IWG’s 24 Singapore locations, 10 are Regus and Spaces centres across decentralised office hubs like Harbourfront, Paya Lebar and Tampines. Now the group plans to extend its footprint further into the city-state’s heartland.

“It doesn’t mean we’re not going to be in the city. That’s the whole point,” Laws Fuller told Mingtiandi. “People will some days be working in the city centre and other days will be working near their house. It’s important that we have that coverage so we can serve our clients for the full range of their working needs on a day-to-day basis.”

The expansion plan is in line with IWG’s partnership model, under which the company seeks to work together with landlords to operate flexible office centres in their properties and to assist investors seeking to establish franchises to open new flexible office locations. This approach serves companies looking for alternatives to traditional leasing and seeking to avoid build-out costs.

Southeast Asia Potential

With 4,000 centres established globally, IWG says it aims to grow in second- and third-tier cities across Asia, including establishing national networks in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“In Indonesia we have 25 to 30 target cities that we are strategically approaching this year,” Laws Fuller said. “Currently we only have one centre in Surabaya. We target signing at least 25 new centres in Indonesia in the coming year.” She added that the company is targeting the island of Sulawesi in addition to Sumatra and Java.

Laws Fuller spent nearly four years at WeWork in Singapore and also has experience with investment intelligence firm 13D Research & Strategy and CBRE, as well as having served as an independent consultant on real estate and strategy from 2012 to 2019.