Mingtiandi’s first look at personnel moves from around Asia Pacific for 2026 starts off with the leadership transition at Hong Kong’s Link REIT, which is continuing to search for a new CEO. Also making our list this week are a promotion at GLP Japan and a new finance chief on the way at Lendlease.
Link Asset Management announced on 2 January that John Saunders has taken on an executive director position with the manager of Hong Kong’s Link REIT from the start of the year and will lead the company, together with group chief financial officer Kok Siong Ng, on an interim basis. Saunders, who serves as Link’s group chief investment officer, is filling in while the Hong Kong investment manager searches for a chief executive to replace George Hongchoy, who retired at the end of the year.
Ryota Nagao has been promoted to managing director with GLP Japan from the start of this month, according to a LinkedIn update. Nagao had joined GLP Capital Partners, the fund management unit of GLP in September 2024 before shifting to a vice president role with GLP Japan after Ares bought out GLP’s fund management business outside of China in a deal which concluded in March last year. Nagao also previously served as chief executive of Washington State Investment Board-backed Myria Residential in Tokyo.
Lendlease announced last month that it has promoted Andrew Nieland (pictured) to group chief financial officer, following Simon Dixon’s retirement from the role. Nieland will take on his new position from 1 March, following Dixon’s departure on 28 February, which is scheduled for soon after Lendlease’s 23 February release of its half-year financial results. Dixon will continue to assist Lendlease in an advisory capacity through 31 December of this year.
ESR co-founder and co-CEO Jeffrey Shen (pictured) has retired from his role as a non-executive director on the board of Suntec REIT from 31 December, departing the decision-making body along with fellow independent director and ESR group chief financial officer Matthew Lawson, according to separate announcements to the Singapore exchange. Also having stepped down are independent, non-executive directors Peter Chan Pee Teck and Foo Yee Shoon, both of whom had reached the nine-year time limit for independent directors. ESR agreed last month to sell the manager of Suntec REIT to Gordon Tang’s Acrophyte for $147 million.
Sunac China Holdings informed the Hong Kong stock exchange on 31 December that Tian Qiang resigned from his executive director position on the board of the Tianjin-based developer with effect from that day. Now 49, Tian first joined Sunac precursor Sunco China in 2002 and has been executive president of Sunac since 2015. The mainland developer finalised a second restructuring of its offshore debt in November.
JD Logistics announced on 29 December that it has appointed Laura J Peterson to an independent, non-executive director role on its board with effect from that day. Now 66, Peterson was a senior executive with US aircraft maker Boeing from 1994 to 2016 and now serves as an independent director on the board of robotics software maker Palladyne AI after previously working as an executive with the Utah-based tech firm.
Joel Alagirisamy has joined Brookfield Properties in Singapore as senior vice president for asset management, according to a LinkedIn update. In his new role Alagirisamy manages Brookfield’s life science, business park and industrial portfolio in Singapore, with the company having agreed last month to buy a set of eight industrial assets from ESR REIT for S$338 million ($262.3 million). Alagirisamy joins Brookfield after having served as head of asset management in Singapore for PGIM Real Estate for more than six years.
Jennifer Ma has been promoted to deputy general manager of asset management at Sino Group in Hong Kong, according to a LinkedIn update. Ma took on her new role last month after joining the HKEX-listed developer in 2024 as an assistant general manager with the company’s leasing team. Ma also has previous experience with developers Hongkong Land, Wharf Holdings and Hang Lung Properties.
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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