CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Asia Pacific to retire
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CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Asia Pacific to retire
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2009-12-21
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels announces the retirement of David Gibson after 17 years of service
“Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels today announced the retirement of
David Gibson after seventeen years with the firm – thirteen of those as CEO Asia Pacific”, said Peter Barge, Chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. David Gibson is an International Director and a member of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ global board.
“David is part of the team that originally founded Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels and he has made an immense contribution to the firm during his long career. Initially a hotel operations and Asset Management specialist, David rapidly emerged as a consummate deal maker before going on to
become regional CEO for Asia Pacific, a position he has held for the past 13 years,” said Mr Barge. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Global CEO Mr Arthur de Haast added, “David has given important input into our global strategy and acted as a mentor and coach to many in the global team. During his time as CEO in Asia Pacific the business grew from a market leading position in Australia to become a dominant force throughout this vast and fast growing region.” Mr de Haast added, “ David has also made an enormous contribution to the hotel property industry, recently recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Australia’s Tourism & Transport Forum.”
Given the enormous geographical scale of the region and the expected growth in business, from 2010, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels in Asia Pacific will be managed as two separate areas.
“Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) will be led by Craig Collins, Sydney based Managing Director. He will be closely supported by Troy Craig, Executive Vice President as head of the Advisory business. Based in Singapore, Scott Hetherington, Managing Director, will continue to head up Asia with his executive team of Tom Sawayanagi in Japan, Andy Flaig in China and Mike Batchelor (Capital Markets) and Hok Yean Chee (Advisory) in Singapore,” said Mr de Haast.
“Given David’s considerable experience, boundless energy and great enthusiasm for the hotel and tourism industry, I am sure he will continue to make a valuable contribution to the hotel investment sector in the future,” said Mr de Haast.
Mr Gibson said “I am very much looking forward to taking a break, spending more time with family and pursuing personal interests, including seeking out new ways to use myknowledge to help make a future contribution to the tourism investment industry.” He added, “I am very privileged to have been given the opportunity to work with and lead a wonderful team of enormously talented and vibrant people. I am proud to have played a role in creating and maintaining the leading and – in my mind – greatest hotel investment advisory firm in the world.”
David Gibson will retire on Friday 26 February 2010 and will act in a consultancy capacity for a further three months until the end of May 2010.
Biographies
• David Gibson
David has specialised in the tourism and hospitality industry for over 30 years. For the past 13 years David has led the growth of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels to see it become the leading tourism property services group in Asia Pacific and globally. He personally advises many of the leading hotel investment and operating groups to help them achieve their tourism goals. Earlier in his career, David moved rapidly through the ranks of Hilton International to a senior operational role. He has been CEO of a group of 28 international hotels, resorts and serviced apartments in the three, four and five star markets in Australia and New Zealand and has served as Managing Director of a public listed company. David has developed the concept briefs and designs for numerous international hotels and resorts and has been involved in or overseen some 30 hotel openings and management takeovers. In 1990, David established a specialist hospitality consulting company which quickly entrenched itself as Australia’s leading hotel asset management group. Specialising in and providing operational based hospitality advice to owners and financiers, his company had numerous successful projects converting loss-making operations into profitable investments.
• Craig Collins
Between 1994 and 2000, Craig was involved in numerous hotel, resort and golf course transactions throughout Australia. Many sales involved sourcing capital both locally and internationally. In 2000 he joined boutique Investment Bank Grant Samuel in Sydney. In 2001, Craig was appointed Senior Vice President Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels
Asia and subsequently promoted to Executive Vice President in 2004 and Managing Director - Investment Sales Asia in 2007. Over a seven year period based in Singapore Craig successfully concluded more than 20 city centre and resort hotel transactions in Singapore, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
During this time he also built personal relationships with many high profile Asian investors and is now focused on leveraging these relationships and importing Asian capital into Australia. Since re-locating CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Asia Pacific to retire to Sydney in 2008 Craig has facilitated two of Australia’s largest tourism real estate transactions as well as overseeing numerous other hotel and resort sales undertaken by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
• Scott Hetherington
Over the past 27 years Scott has undertaken not only the sale of major hotels throughout Australia, Europe and Asia, but also been involved in portfolio transactions and the sale of public hotel companies. Additionally, he has undertaken and overseen individual and portfolio hotel valuation assignments throughout Asia and Europe. Prior to his 10 years in Europe, Scott was based at Jones Lang LaSalle in Sydney and undertook sales, valuations and feasibility studies of hotels throughout Australia. During Scott’s time in Asia he has lead numerous assignments including the creation of the Las Vegas Strip in Macau SAR, the recapitalisation of Bintan Resorts Limited and the negotiation of hotel operating agreements on behalf of owners such as Mitsui Fudosan against the likes of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and The Ritz-Carlton. Recently Scott has lead the negotiations on behalf of All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd (“ANA”) in the formation of their hotel operating joint venture with InterContinental Hotels Group in Japan and then the disposal of ANA 13 owned and leased hotels, Asia Pacific largest hotel transaction at USD 2.36 billion.
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