A Beijing-based investment cadre is heading to Hong Kong to join the city’s government, with that update leading this week’s roundup of personnel moves from Asia’s real estate industry. Also making the list is a retiring vice-chairman at LaSalle and a new head of research for Asia’s largest REIT.
China’s State Council announced this past week that it has appointed Qi Bin, vice president of sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC), as a deputy director of the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong. Now 57, Qi has been deputy chief investment officer at CIC since 2016 and worked as a Wall Street investment banker for four years before joining the China Securities Regulatory Commission in 2000.
LaSalle Investment Management said on 13 November that the company’s vice chairman, Jon Zehner, will be retiring from 31 December. Zehner joined LaSalle in 2012 as global head of the real estate fund manager’s investor relations team and had served as head of LaSalle Global Partner Solutions until 2023 when the business unit was merged with LaSalle Securities to form LaSalle Global Solutions. The former JP Morgan banker’s term as vice chairman began in early 2023.
Milan Khatri has joined Link REIT as head of research, based in Singapore, according to a LinkedIn update this past week. Khatri joins Asia’s largest real estate investment trust after more than five years with regional private equity firm Phoenix Property Investors, where he had served most recently as a managing director heading the company’s research team. The graduate of the London School of Economics also has experience with Aberdeen Asset Management, Goodman and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
On 14 November Link REIT revealed another change to its leadership, with the listed trust announcing the appointment of a pair of independent, non-executive directors to its board. Jana Andonegui Sehnalova (pictured) is joining the trust’s board after a career in finance that includes stints at CitiGroup and La Francaise Forum Securities, while Eng-Kwok Seat Moey formerly was a partner at law firm Allen & Gledhill. In a separate announcement on 11 November, Link REIT said Poh Lee Tan retired from her independent, non-executive director role after nearly a decade on the board.
Takanori Emura has been made a partner at Integral Real Estate Corporation in Tokyo, Japan, according to a LinkedIn update. Emura took on his new role with the division of Japanese private equity player Integral Corporation a half-year after joining the parent firm as a partner. The University of Nebraska at Kearney graduate has previous experience with Myria Residential, an investment management division of the Washington State Investment Board and with IDERA Capital Management in Tokyo.
Colliers announced on 11 November that it has appointed Akira Kuno as deputy managing director and head of capital markets for Japan. Kuno’s more than 34 years of experience in real estate and finance include executive roles with developer Hulic Co Ltd, UBS Realty (now KJR Management), Mitsubishi Corporation and GE Capital Real Estate, according to a statement by Colliers.
In another 11 November notification, Colliers said that it has appointed Alex Worthington as a director with its APAC Capital Markets team, with responsibility for key client account management and investor intelligence. Based in Singapore, joins the property consultancy after nearly four years as chief executive of commercial real estate trading platform Virgate. Prior to jumping into the startup world, Worthington spent eight years with JLL in Singapore, where he worked his way up to a director role on its capital markets team.
Melvin Chay has joined Knight Frank in Singapore as a senior director with the property consultancy, according to a LinkedIn update. Chay signed up for his new role after more than three years with Colliers in the city, where he served as a director with the firm’s international capital division. The Singapore Management University graduate also has previous experience with developer City Developments Ltd.
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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