Real Assets, Real People

Could you share your career journey in real estate/infrastructure?

As CEO of Private Equity Alternative Assets at CapitaLand Investment (CLI), I lead CLI’s growth in the alternative assets sector including digital infrastructure, private credit, renewable energy, transition and sustainability investments, self-storage, automated logistics and other investment strategies to expand CLI’s private funds business.

Prior to joining CLI in 2021, I was Managing Partner and Head of Asia at Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), overseeing investment and asset management activities across real estate, infrastructure, renewables and private equity. Over my 12-year career with BAM, I also served as Chief Financial Officer of Brookfield’s global construction company and Managing Director of an Australia natural gas transmission and distribution portfolio. I have also previously held senior positions in the infrastructure financing and development sector in Canada.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the real assets industry?

I initially started in the real assets industry by developing and financing infrastructure projects across Canada and was always impressed with the scale, complexity and importantly social benefits that infrastructure can bring to communities. With this experience I was then able to expand my experience and sector diversity in real assets during my 12-year career at Brookfield.

During my 13 years living and working in Asia Pacific, I have always admired CLI’s accomplishments. CLI is a well-respected and experienced owner and manager of real assets globally and is well-positioned to expand its investment management capabilities into adjacent alternative assets such as digital infrastructure, private credit and beyond. These platforms generate predictable cash flows, and support an important component of underlying economic activity aligning with CLI’s purpose to make a positive impact where we operate in.

I was excited to join CLI at a time when institutional investors continue to allocate significant amounts of capital to alternative assets. I wanted to leverage my experience to support CLI in achieving its vision of becoming a globally competitive investment manager of alternative assets. With CLI’s strong track record in Asia, its dedicated and supportive teams and commitment to responsible capital stewardship, I am confident that we can expand CLI’s product offerings and establish CLI as a partner of choice for institutional investors.

What are the key opportunities that you see in the current real assets investment landscape and beyond?

We are seeing opportunities across the private credit, data centres and renewable energy sectors. Firstly, there is potential for non-bank lenders to gain market share in private credit in markets such as Australia, China and India, to name a few. With commercial banks reducing their exposure to commercial real estate credit, the growing need to finance new developments, and the strong downside that private credit offers, there is a significant opportunity for investors to participate in this sector.

Secondly, we are seeing strong investor interest in data centres as the surge in demand for cloud computing, AI, 5G technology, and ecommerce is driving growth in this sector. In February 2023, we established a China data centre development fund, CapitaLand China Data Centre Partners (CDCP). CDCP has committed to investing in two hyperscale data centre development projects in Greater Beijing, bringing CapitaLand’s data centre portfolio to 26 across Asia and Europe. We continue to build additional capabilities across APAC including India and hope to raise additional capital to develop more data centres in the region.

Thirdly, we are evaluating opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects, which not only aligns with our commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2050, but also supports global efforts to decarbonise and combat climate change.

From a leader's perspective, how can companies navigate and thrive in an increasingly challenging business environment?

People are the most important success factor. Having an agile, resilient and committed team is essential in today’s ever-changing business landscape. I am energised by the dedication and camaraderie of the CLI team. We have an experienced and diverse group of investment and asset management specialists globally, especially in Asia Pacific. Having boots on the ground allows us to gain extensive local insights, identify off-market opportunities and deepen our collaboration with capital partners to secure deals.

Can you share a notable success story or achievement in your journey as a leader?

I have been fortunate to serve in some exciting roles, live in some amazing cities and to work with incredibly dedicated teams. To me, success is a byproduct of surrounding myself with smart talent and having the privilege of working with such diverse teams around the world. Being able to roll up my sleeves in challenging and complex situations has always kept me motivated. Life is a journey with opportunities and setbacks, and what gets me up and keeps me going is to stay focused on the things that I enjoy.