Top level moves at fund manager Actis and WeWork lead this week’s review of personnel changes from around Asia Pacific, as the UK fund manager expands into Japan and the trouble co-working pioneer reshuffles its leadership. Also reporting fresh management appointments are Capitaland Investment, Colliers, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield and The Executive Centre.
Actis is continuing its Asia Pacific expansion with the announcement last week that it has opened a Japan office helmed by former Macquarie Capital executive Jun Ohashi. Having served as head of the Australian firm’s Japan operation from 2008 until leaving last month, Ohashi joins Actis as the UK-based fund manager aims to commit nearly $500 million to Japan over the next four to five years, primarily in the areas of energy transition assets and new economy real estate. Also joining Actis from Macquarie Capital last month was Tareq Sirhan, who will lead the firm’s energy business in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
WeWork announced last week that its chief executive, Sandeep Mathrani, has taken on the additional role of chairman at the flexible workspace provider. Mathrani, who joined WeWork in a clean-up operation following founder Adam Neumann’s departure in the wake of a failed 2019 IPO, is taking over the chairman position left vacant when Marcelo Claure left the company in January as part of his exit from WeWork’s primary backer, Softbank.
Sharon Teo has taken on a new role with CapitaLand Investment in Singapore this month, joining Southeast Asia’s largest real estate company as head of workspace management, according to a LinkedIn update. Teo steps into her role with CapitaLand after just more than three years as a managing director with Savills in Singapore, and also has previous experience with Malaysian developer UEM Sunrise and with M+S Pte Ltd, a real estate investment joint venture between Temasek Holdings and Khazanah Nasional.
Colliers is expanding its services to investors in South Korea with the announcement last week that it has hired Sungwook Cho as executive director and head of capital markets and investment services. Cho, who officially joined the firm on 28 March, had previously served as head of capital markets with Canadian real estate advisory firm Avison Young since 2018 and has more than 22 years of commercial real estate experience.
Frederick Lai has been promoted to senior director with the capital markets team at CBRE in Hong Kong after more than seven years as a director with real estate advisory firm’s investment services division. Lai has now been with CBRE for more than 10 years, after starting with the firm as an analyst soon after completing university and later working as an assistant manager with the valuation and advisory services department.
Wendy Huang has been promoted to city head with The Executive Centre in Shanghai, just under one year after returning to the flexible workspace provider as head of business development in China’s commercial capital. Huang had previously worked with The Executive Centre in Shanghai from 2014 to 2018 before serving with Brookfield’s BGIS division in Singapore and with project management firm Unispace in Hong Kong.
Cushman & Wakefield said on 1 April that it has promoted Cameron Ahrens to head of its global occupier services business for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Ahrens is taking over the top spot regionally with Cushman & Wakefield’s global occupier services team later this month as incumbent Shaun Jenkinson heads to the US to assume the role of head of integrated portfolio management for the Americas with the property services firm, according to a statement.
If you know of other Asia real estate professionals changing their jobs, getting promoted or just doing something exciting, please contact us here at Mingtiandi.
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