Golf and basketball lead Mingtiandi’s look at personnel moves from around Asia Pacific’s real estate industry this week as a Chinese data centre operator turns to a retired shark for advice and an NBA team owner takes the lead at a Macau casino operator. Also making the news is a new hire for DWS in Australia and a new job for an Oracle veteran in Malaysia.
DayOne Data Centers is reported to have lined up banks for a US IPO in the coming weeks, and the company has brought in a different kind of heavy hitter as it seeks to raise as much as $5 billion. On 10 February the unit of Chinese digital infrastructure company GDS said that it has appointed former professional golfer, and current CEO and commissioner of Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf, Greg Norman as a board advisor. In a statement, DayOne chairman William Huang cited Norman’s “global perspective, approach to sustainability and long-term value creation” as aligning with the company’s goals, while Norman stated that, “Sustainable digital infrastructure is no longer optional — it’s essential.” The former champion did not comment on whether data centres were more important to the short game or an aid in hitting the long ball.
Proving that professional sports are relevant beyond the digital infrastructure sector, the holding company for one of Macau’s largest casino operators named the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team as chairman of its board this past week. In the closing hours of Friday the 13th, Sands China said that it has appointed Patrick Dumont, who has been a non-executive director of the company since 2021, to take on the leadership role from 1 March, the same day that he becomes chairman and CEO of parent company Las Vegas Sands.
DWS Group has hired Ben Taylor as head of real estate for Australia, according to a LinkedIn update. Taylor joins the asset management affiliate of Deutsche Bank from The Living Company, where he served for just over a year as fund manager for the company’s $3.8 billion open-ended student housing fund. Taylor also has previous experience with Nuveen and AXA IM (now part of BNP Paribas Asset Management).
Vantage Data Centers announced this past week that it has hired Fitri Abdullah as its country manager for Malaysia. Adbullah took on his new role this month after previously spending more than nine years leading Oracle in Malaysia, with Vantage and Oracle already collaborating on the “Stargate” data centre initiative with OpenAI. Oracle is also the anchor tenant for Vantage’s hyperscale data centre campus in Johor state’s Sedenak Tech Park.
Sydney-based GPT Group said this past week that it has hired Phillip Arbon as fund manager of Australian Core Retail Trust, an A$2.6 billion ($1.8 billion) strategy co-owned by Cbus Property and UniSuper. Arbon joins GPT from sovereign investor Queensland Investment Corporation, where he spent more than four years, including working most recently as investment general manager focused on co-owned shopping centres in the organisation’s retail portfolio, and also has previous experience with fund manager ISPT and JLL.
Former City Developments Ltd executive Frank Khoo is taking on a pair of new roles in Singapore with Stoneweg EREIT Management announcing on 10 February that it has appointed the investment veteran to an independent, non-executive director position on its board, while Centurion Corporation said on 12 February that it has named Khoo to a parallel role on its top decision-making body. Khoo, who had served as group chief investment officer for CDL from 2018 through 2022 after more than nine years as AXA Real Assets, took on his role at Centurion this past week and will join Stoneweg EREIT in March.
Starhill Global REIT announced on 11 February that CEO and executive director Ho Sing has resigned from the trust’s manager with effect from 10 August. Now 59, Ho has led the Singapore-listed REIT, which owns properties such as the Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City shopping centres in Singapore, since 2010 and is said to be leaving to enter retirement. The trust manager said in the statement that a search for a new chief executive officer is already underway with the replacement to be named in due course.
JLL announced on 9 February that Lauren Hetherington is now a senior director with its living sector capital markets team for Asia, based in Singapore. A veteran of more than a decade with JLL, Hetherington takes on her role after several years with the property consultancy’s healthcare capital markets group in London, where she served most recently as a director. JLL said in a statement that it expects Hetherington to spearhead expansion of its services to investors in Asia’s living sector.
If you know of other Asia Pacific real estate professionals changing their jobs, getting promoted or just doing something exciting, please contact us here at Mingtiandi.
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