Hang Lung Group and its Hang Lung Properties unit have ended a more than seven-month wait for a new chief executive, as retail veteran Leo Tsoi steps in to lead the Hong Kong-listed investment firm and its developer subsidiary. Also on the move, Blue Owl Capital, which backs data centre operator Stack, has named a new head of Japan and The Living Company has named a new head for its open-ended core fund.
Hang Lung Group and Hang Lung Properties have named Toys “R” Us Asia chief executive Leo Tsoi as their next CEO, according to a company announcement, ending more than seven months of uncertainty regarding the group’s leadership. Tsoi, 56, joins Hang Lung 7 September as CEO-designate before taking over 1 October from Weber Lo, who steps down after eight years, but remain engaged as an advisor to chairman Adriel Chan. Having led Toys R Us Asia for the past three years, Tsoi is also a veteran of more than a decade at Starbucks China, where he scaled the chain from 600 to 6,000 stores, and earlier PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.
Blue Owl Capital has hired Takeo Ikemori as head of Japan institutional capital, according to a company announcement, to co-lead its Tokyo office alongside Yoichi Nakamura, head of Japan private wealth. Ikemori, who reports to Blue Owl’s head of Asia institutional capital Michael Dale, joins from Natixis, where he led the bank’s Japan coverage of financial institutions, and spent 16 years at Barclays in senior rates and cross-asset sales. Ikemori’s team will pitch Japanese banks and insurers on private debt, real estate and GP-stake products for the $319 billion manager.
Christine Ooi has joined The Living Company as fund manager of its Core Fund, according to a LinkedIn update, arriving weeks after Mingtiandi reported the Sydney-based build-to-rent and retirement living platform hired Malavika Nambiar as investment manager for Asia. Ooi joins from Mirvac, where she spent three years as deputy fund manager for build-to-rent, helping bring Australian Retirement Trust’s 48.5 percent stake into the $1.1 billion LIV Mirvac Fund. She earlier spent 12 years at Lendlease across fund and finance roles, then three years at EY. Ooi holds a commerce degree from UNSW and is a chartered accountant.
Joshua Mudge has joined Investa as director of capital transactions, according to a LinkedIn update, tasked with co-leading high-value property deals and capital initiatives for the Sydney-based fund manager, which recently teamed with BGO and Cliffbrook on a A$715 million Dexus office buy. Mudge joins after 14 years at LaSalle Investment Management, most recently as head of acquisitions for Australia across retail, office, residential and industrial deals; LaSalle recently sold Australian shopping centres to Charter Hall for A$360 million. He earlier spent three years as a retail valuer at CBRE and holds a property economics degree from UTS.
Takuji Nozaka has joined Samty Holdings in a legal and compliance role, according to a LinkedIn update, moving to the Tokyo-based real estate asset manager that Hillhouse Investment took private last year. Nozaka joins Samty after seven years at KKR’s KJR Management unit, where he served most recently as executive officer and head of compliance and risk management, having earlier held similar roles at Vanguard and logistics developer GLP. A New York-qualified attorney and licensed real estate appraiser, Nozaka holds law degrees from the University of Tokyo and the University of Pennsylvania.
Wee Hur Holdings has promoted Peter Scott to chief executive of its Australian subsidiary, Wee Hur (Australia), effective 1 August, according to a filing with the Singapore Exchange. Scott, 49, moves up from deputy CEO after having previously served six years as general manager overseeing the Singapore-listed group’s build-out of Australia’s purpose-built student housing business, including the GIC-backed portfolio Greystar bought for A$1.6 billion. Scott earlier spent five years at AECOM as a project manager and associate director, and previously managed construction in the UK and New Zealand. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Canterbury.
Savills has hired Shun Endo as managing director for its Asia Pacific capital markets team, according to a company announcement, tasking him with expanding the firm’s data centre capabilities under APAC capital markets chief Neil Brookes. Based in Tokyo, Endo joins from CBRE, where he headed data centre capital markets for Asia Pacific, and will work with Savills’ Eastdil Secured platform, bought from Temasek for $1.1 billion. He earlier worked at KKR Japan and CLSA Capital Advisors Fudo. Savills also hired Ryota Tsutsui from CBRE as a senior associate to support Endo.
Fantasia Holdings Group has appointed Brock Silvers as a non-executive director, effective 30 July, the date its long-running offshore debt restructuring took effect, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Silvers, 62, a distressed investment veteran who has worked on behalf of Morgan Stanley Asia, earlier ran Kaiyuan Capital and served as a managing director at Adamas Asset Management. Silvers holds degrees from Columbia, Wharton and Penn’s Lauder Institute.
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