India data centres lead this Halloween edition of People in the News, with a Brookfield – Digital Realty joint venture naming a new chief executive. Also making the list, Bain Capital has lured over a former Goldman exec to lead its real estate business in the country and AirTrunk names a new chairman as it heads toward an IPO.
BAM Digital Realty announced this past week that CB Velayuthan has been appointed chief executive of the India data centre platform. Velayuthan joins the Brookfield – Digital Realty joint venture after three years at Equinix in the US and also spent around two decades with Nokia. BAM Digital Realty was established in February of this year with India’s Reliance Group being added to the joint venture in July.
Former Goldman Sachs managing director Man Kinoshita has joined Bain Capital in Tokyo to head the US private equity firm’s Japan real estate operations, company representatives confirmed to Mingtiandi. Now a partner at Bain Capital, Kinoshita joins the firm as US private equity players increasingly focus their attention on the Japan market where low interest rates and deep financial markets provide opportunities for profitable exits.
Asia Pacific data centre operator AirTrunk announced on 25 October that it had appointed veteran investment banker Mark Barnaba as independent chair with effect from a day earlier. With AirTrunk selecting banks for a potential $6.3 billion initial public offering, Barnaba formerly served as chairman of Macquarie Group Western Australia and as chair of the company’s resources group. He now serves on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Mirae Asset Management said this past week that it has promoted Swarup Mohanty, chief executive of its Indian business, to vice chairman of the company, as the Korean financial service giant ramps up its operations in Asia’s third largest economy. Based in Mumbai, Mohanty has been with Mirae for more than 12 years as has served as CEO of the India business since 2016. He is the first non-Korean to be named vice chair of the company.
Kerry Properties announced to the Hong Kong stock exchange on 25 October that it has appointed Dr Li Rui as an independent, non-executive director of the company with effect from 1 November. Formerly group finance director with Ping An Insurance Group, Li, now 52, currently serves as an adjunct professor at the Institute for China Business at the University of Hong Kong. In the same announcement, Kerry said that it has made Tong Shao Ming, investment director of Kerry Holdings Ltd, the developer’s controlling shareholder a non-executive director on its board.
Tokyo-based Alyssa Partners Japan said this past week that Kenneth Fridley recently joined the firm as senior advisor. A 25-year veteran of Japan’s real estate market, Fridley will assist in implementing the company’s business development initiatives including capital markets projects. Previously, Fridley was president and chief executive of Strategic Asset Solutions, an investment advisory firm focused on monetizing corporate real estate through sale leasebacks. Before Strategic Asset Solutions, Fridley held senior leadership roles with Capbridge Investors, New City Corporation and CB Richard Ellis Investors (now CBRE Investment Management).
Catherine Chan has joined Hotel 101 Global in Singapore as chief development officer, according to a LinkedIn update. Chan picked up her new name cards with the international division of the hotel investment and management company this month after four years as a vice president with Accor One Living, where she headed up mixed-use initiatives for Asia Pacific and served as global brand advisory lead. Based in Manila, Hotel 101 is a unit of Philippine developer DoubleDragon Corporation.
Seraya Partners said this past week that it has brought on board Jenny Wong as a vice president based in its Singapore office. Wong joins the green infrastructure investment shop from competitor Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners where she had spent more than three years as an associate. Wong also served more than two years with KKR in Taiwan with her career having focused on investments in renewable energy.
Knight Frank said on 26 October that it has appointed Emily Relf as head of living sectors for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Relf has now been with the property consultancy in the Southeast Asian financial hub since 2015 and in her newly created role is expected to lead the expansion of Knight Frank’s living sectors capabilities in Asia-Pacific and advise outbound capital from the region into the US, UK, and EU.
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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