M&G Real Estate Asia has recruited a trio of industry veterans for its Asian operations, bringing in senior managers from CBRE Global Investors, ADIA and Japan’s Tosei to strengthen its team in the region.
The real estate fund management arm of UK-based M&G Investments announced it has hired Richard van den Berg as fund manager for its core Asia real estate fund. The former Country Manager for China at CBRE Global Investors will join M&G Real Estate’s Singapore team in mid-August.
The 30-year industry veteran had been with the private equity real estate affiliate of the property services firm since the days when it was still known as ING Real Estate. Van den Berg had originally joined ING Real Estate Investment Management in 2004, and also has experience at Rodamco Asia. At M&G, van der Berg will replace current fund manager Scott Girard, who has left the firm to relocate to Australia.
Subject to regulatory approval, former ADIA real estate leader Robert Walker will also join the board of M&G‘s core Asia property strategy in November as a non-executive director.
Walker stepped down from his role at the world’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund earlier this year, after heading the sovereign wealth fund’s Asia Pacific real estate division since 2012. He has previously held senior Asia-based positions at JLL, Hines and Macquarie.
Former Tosei Exec to Run Japan Office
In addition to the new talent targetting M&G’s core Asian strategy, Tenshin Ito joined M&G’s Tokyo office earlier this month to manage the company’s Japanese teams. Reporting to Chiang Ling Ng, chief executive of M&G Real Estate Asia, Ito will supervise the firm’s acquisitions and asset management teams for Japan.
Ito has more than 25 years of real estate experience in Japan with stints at IDERA Capital Management, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, and most recently Tosei Asset Advisors.
M&G launched its core Asia property strategy in 2006. The open-ended institutional property fund has grown rapidly over the past decade, and currently holds 23 real estate assets in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
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