LaSalle Investment Management has appointed Mark Gabbay as global chief executive, effective from 1 January, 2021.
He was currently the firm’s chief executive and chief investment officer (CIO) of LaSalle Asia Pacific and would succeed Jeff Jacobson.
Gabbay would be responsible for LaSalle’s strategic direction and growth, reporting to Christian Ulbrich, president and chief executive of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated of which the firm was an independent subsidiary.
He joined LaSalle in 2010 as CIO for Asia Pacific and in 2015 he became APAC chief executive.
Gabbay’s real estate investment background before joining LaSalle included serving as managing director and head of the Asia asset finance division at Nomura, and co-head of the Asia Pacific global real estate group at Lehman Brothers.
Jeff Jacobson said, “Mark’s experience and track record of outperformance have been critical to the success of our Asia Pacific business, and he possesses the right mix of skills, innovative thinking and leadership to drive LaSalle’s growth going forward.
“The foundation of our business is very solid, and I am confident that the firm will experience great momentum and success with Mark and our entire global leadership team. I look forward to helping this transition and observing the progress in the years ahead.”
Gabbay said: “Our global platform, singular real estate focus and investment expertise around the world is unparalleled and I look forward to working with our teams to drive growth, innovation and performance in the years ahead.”
As part of the succession plan, the following leadership changes were being implemented in LaSalle’s Asia Pacific region:
- Keith Fujii, Japan CEO, would step into the Asia Pacific CEO role previously held by Mark Gabbay; and
- Claire Tang, head of Greater China, and Kunihiko (Nick) Okumura, head of Japan Acquisitions, would become Co-CIOs of Asia Pacific to fill the CIO role previously held by Mark Gabbay.
The following individuals would be stepping into new global roles as part of the global transformation of LaSalle:
- Tim Kessler, global head of corporate strategy and development, would become global chief operating officer;
- Alok Gaur, global co-head of client capital group, would become global head of client capital group; and
- Jon Zehner, global co-head of client capital group, was transitioning to CEO of global partner solutions, LaSalle’s global unlisted indirect business unit, succeeding Ed Casal.
