Company veteran Sonia Khan becomes new Lendlease CFO
Lendlease has named a new chief financial officer for its Asia business, as the Sydney-based developer continues to reshape its leadership in the region following former Asia boss Tony Lombardo’s promotion to group chief executive earlier this year.
Company veteran Sonia Khan will now look after Lendlease’s finances from the company’s regional base in Singapore, according to a company statement, after former CFO Justin Gabbani took over Lombardo’s Asia chief executive spot in June.
Khan’s promotion is part of a set of leadership moves which the group says are designed to boost its Asia strategy, along with the delivery of a A$110 billion ($81.2 million) global development pipeline—which includes 22 urbanisation projects, such as Sydney’s Barangaroo South and the International Quarter London.
“I am pleased to welcome the new members to the Asia leadership team, who bring with them deep experience in their respective fields,” said Gabbani, who was promoted to Asia CEO in June. “I am confident the updated Asia structure places us well to deliver our strategy and growth ambitions, as well as enable greater efficiencies and consistency across our markets.”
Leadership Shuffle
With over 19 years of experience in finance and risk management, strategy, business planning and capital management, Khan joined Lendlease in 2006 and began taking on leadership roles in Asia seven years later.
Justin Gabbani became Asia CEO in June
A 2001 grad from the University of New South Wales, Sydney-based Khan relocated to Singapore as Asia’s executive general manager of finance in 2015, before relocating to Kuala Lumpur as the executive general manager finance for Malaysia and TRX in 2019.
Khan will remain based in Kuala Lumpur as the new CFO.
Other additions to the Asia team included Sam Okeby, the former head of office and industrial in Sydney, who will be relocating to Singapore as the managing director of development in Asia.
Steve Willet, who held the role of Asia’s regional operations director, based out of both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, will become managing director of construction in November.
Guy Cawthra, who joined Lendlease in 2014 and executed transactions with investment partners across APAC, will remain in Singapore to take on the managing director of investment & capital markets role.
A Future in Asia
The staffing changes come as the ASX-listed firm strengthens its foothold in Asia, with projects developing in gateway cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai.
In the company’s 2021 half-year report, projects under development in Asia included Shanghai’s Ardor Gardens, a 878-apartment senior living complex, and a mixed-use, 453-apartment development within Kuala Lumpur’s Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).
In April, a Lendlease-backed joint venture with security firm Certis also bought two buildings at 20 Jalan Afifi in Singapore’s Paya Lebar area for S$150 million ($111.5 million), with plans to redevelop a sustainable commercial project on the site.
Last year, only 350 metres (1,148 feet) away from the Paya Lebar site, Lendlease developed the Paya Lebar Quarter, a key component of URA’s master plan to regenerate the area into a business hub, featuring three Grade A office towers, three residential towers and the 340,000 square foot (31,587 square meter) retail space.
With its expanding footprint, Lendlease announced a new global leadership team in June to drive growth in all operating regions, including Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. The team is led by Tony Lombardo, who moved from Singapore to Sydney to become group CEO at the end of May this year.
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