APREA Singapore Conference

Sigrid is the Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA). Based in Singapore, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction, initiatives and operations of the association across Asia Pacific. Under her leadership, APREA repositioned to an industry trade group focusing on real estate and infrastructure.

Sigrid joined APREA’s executive team in January 2019.

Prior to APREA, she served as Managing Director of Asia Pacific Research and Advisory Services of Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) from 2010 through 2018, where she was responsible for research, thought leadership, strategy formulation and client management.  Before relocating to Singapore, she was based in Washington, D.C. and led C&W’s U.S. research group in the Mid-Atlantic region, overseeing all aspects of market research activities in the Washington, DC; Virginia; Suburban Maryland, Baltimore; and Philadelphia areas. Prior to joining C&W, Sigrid served as a Senior Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In that position, she developed NAR’s office, warehouse, retail, multi-family housing, and international research programs.

A recognized expert in global economic, public policy and real estate issues, Sigrid is a frequent speaker at industry events.  Her commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets is also regularly featured in a wide array of global publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg, New York Times and Reuters. Additionally, she has made several television appearances on financial networks and radio such as CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, National Public Radio and Channel News Asia.

Sigrid holds a Master of Business Administration from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Master’s degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of several civic groups including the Rotary Club of Raffles City in Singapore, where she has served in various leadership positions, and serves in the Executive Committee of the Crohn’s & Colitis Society of Singapore.

Mr John Lim is the Chairman of JL Family Office. He is also the Senior Advisor and Non-executive Director of ESR Cayman Limited and serves as a Non-executive Director of ARA Asset Management (Fortune) Limited, ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Limited, ARA Asset Management (Prosperity) Limited and Hui Xian Asset Management Limited.

Mr Lim is Chairman of the Asia Pacific Real Assets Association (APREA) and the Consultative Committee to the Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore. He is also a Patron of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) and a Council Member of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mr Lim co-founded ARA Asset Management in 2002 and was its Group CEO for 18 years and Deputy Chairman from February 2021 to January 2022.

Mr Lim has over 40 years of experience in the real estate industry and has received many notable corporate awards. These include the PERE Global Awards 2020 and 2016 Industry Figure of the Year: Asia, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of the Year Singapore 2012 and the Outstanding CEO of the Year 2011 at the Singapore Business Awards 2012. Mr Lim, along with the Board of Directors of ARA, was a recipient of the prestigious Best Managed Board (Gold) Award at the Singapore Corporate Awards 2012. In 2017, he was conferred the Public Service Medal (PBM) by the President of Singapore in recognition of his contributions to the community.

Mr Lim holds a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, as well as a Diploma in Business Administration, each from the National University of Singapore.

Stuart leads JLL’s Asia Pacific Capital Markets business, overseeing more than 450 Investment Sales Advisory and Corporate Finance professionals. Stuart is responsible for providing investment and financial structuring advice for major real estate transactions across the region. He is responsible for ensuring the offshore capital team is fully committed to identifying the most aggressive capital for our customers and leveraging key investor relationships where required.  

With over 25 years of experience in property finance and investment, Stuart has worked across all the major real estate markets in the Asia Pacific and concentrates on identifying debt and equity investment opportunities for cross-border investors. He specialises in assisting clients with their market entry and investment strategies. On behalf of owners, investors and developers, Stuart has assisted in raising more than $17 billion in foreign capital for direct real estate and joint venture transactions over the past three years.​

Mr Chia Ngiang Hong joined CDL in 1981 and has more than 40 years of experience in the real estate industry in Singapore and the region. A much-respected industry veteran, Mr Chia is the Immediate Past President of the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS) and was awarded REDAS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. He is a Board Member of the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies and Honorary Advisor of the Singapore Green Building Council.

Beyond his contributions to the building, construction and real estate industry, Mr Chia is also active in community and grassroots activities and was awarded the PBM, BBM and BBM(L) National Day Awards. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Estate Management (Honours) from the University of Singapore and a Master in Business Administration (Distinction) from the University of Hull, UK.

As Managing Director of Gensler’s Singapore office, Angela provides leadership on the development and execution of the firm’s key business strategies and delivers insights on how businesses can successfully navigate today’s complex and challenging environments. An accomplished project leader with over two decades of experience and a portfolio that spans across multiple countries, sectors, and markets, Angela pushes the boundaries of design and user experience with innovative design solutions across workplace, retail, residential, and hospitality sectors. Angela works closely with her teams and clients to create sustainable businesses and offer strategic solutions that respect and advance design excellence on multidisciplinary projects across geographic boundaries. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Built Environment in Interior Design and a graduate degree in Interior Design from Queensland University of Technology.

Michelle Ling joined the Board as Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer in January 2025. In this newly established position, Ms Ling is responsible for formulating and implementing investment and capital management strategies across the organisation. She is also facilitating the company's growth through strategic transactions.

Ms. Ling brings a wealth of expertise to the Company with over 20 years of experience in the real estate sector, encompassing both private and public domains. Prior to joining the Company, Ms Ling served as the Chief Executive Officer of Private Capital Management at Mapletree, where she was instrumental in managing and expanding the private fund business, as well as spearheading new business initiatives. Under her leadership, she has grown assets under management in private capital management to S$23 billion. Prior to her tenure at Mapletree, Ms Ling held the position of Managing Director for Southeast Asia Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs Asia.

Ms Ling began her career with the UBS Real Estate Investment Banking team in Hong Kong SAR. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Real Estate from NUS.

Sarah Winbur is Director of Real Estate at APG Asset Management Asia. She joined APG in Hong Kong in 2018 and relocated to Singapore in January 2023 to support the establishment of APG’s new office, with a focus on South and Southeast Asia.

Sarah is responsible for executing investment and asset management strategies across Asia-Pacific and serves on the Asian Real Estate Investment Committee. She has a diverse track record spanning core sectors (office, residential, logistics, retail), as well as alternatives, including data centers and private debt.

With 14 years of experience in real estate and funds management, Sarah previously worked as Assistant Portfolio Manager at Savills Investment Management in Hong Kong and London. She holds a Master’s in Real Estate Economics & Finance (with Distinction), a First-Class Honours degree from the University of Durham, and is a Chartered Surveyor.

Donna Hutchings is the Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific at Citco Fund Services. With over 15 years at Citco, Donna has been instrumental in overseeing operations and client services across multiple global offices, including Sydney, Dublin, New Jersey, and Singapore. She currently leads a team dedicated to delivering expert knowledge and innovative solutions to clients in the Asia Pacific region.
Donna's experience in the fund services industry includes her previous roles HSBC Alternative Funds Services, formerly Bank of Bermuda, where she worked in Bermuda, South Africa, and New York. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, is a Chartered Accountant in Canada, and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Mr Snyder was part of the management team that led the successful listing of KORE US REIT (formerly known as Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT) and has been the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer since its listing on 9 November 2017. Prior to his current appointment, Mr Snyder was a consultant to KBS Capital Advisors where he managed the AFRT portfolio.

From 2008 to 2015, Mr Snyder was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of KBS Capital Advisors and five of its non-traded REITs. In addition to his CFO responsibilities, he led the negotiation for the transfer of the AFRT portfolio comprising over 800 properties valued at over US$1.7 billion. He subsequently managed that portfolio for KBS Real Estate Investment Trust. From 1998 to 2008, Mr Snyder was the Financial Controller for Nationwide Health Properties, a publicly traded healthcare REIT. Prior to that, he was the Director of Financial Reporting for Regency Health Services.

He started his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP after graduating from Biola University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.

Joachim Kehr is a Partner and Portfolio & Regional Head Asia-Pacific at CenterSquare Investment Management. Joachim joined CenterSquare in 2011 and is based in Singapore. He is Regional Portfolio Manager for CenterSquare’s listed real estate securities funds, having previously held primary coverage of real estate equities in China, Japan and Australia. Joachim brings close to two decades of investment management experience to his role. He holds a master’s degree in Economics from Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Prior to joining the firm, Joachim was a member of BNP Paribas Asset Management’s listed real estate team, based in Amsterdam and Singapore.

Ronald Tan is the principal responsible for the marketing & business development of attracting Real Estate listings in particular REITs across global markets for Singapore Exchange (SGX) for the last 18 years, where it is now the largest Global REIT hub in Asia. He also leads a team that covers the listing of Infrastructure Business Trusts and Consumer & Services sector, coupled with a regional coverage of Thailand. Previously he also held geographical responsibility for listings from Malaysia, Middle East & Indonesia. He joined SGX in May 2006.

Prior to joining SGX his career included positions with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) & International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore). In SingTel, he was responsible for commercial partnerships in Middle East & South Asia, while he covered international partnerships & international operations (Europe) in IE Singapore. He started his working career as a full time pastor in one of the largest church in Singapore.

Mr Tan graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration Honours (Second Upper) degree from the National University of Singapore in 1997.

Matthew is responsible for Perpetual's Asia Pacific business, focused on the Perpetual Corporate Trust business, as well as cross border transactions into Australia. Matthew is one of the qualified Trustee Resident Managers in Singapore and also sits on the Perpetual (Asia) Limited board.

Matthew worked in Senior Sales and Relationship Management roles in Perpetual Corporate Trust from 2007 to 2017, including three years in Singapore as Senior Vice President. In 2017 Matthew joined TMF Group as Regional Director Asia Pacific – Business Development, based in Singapore, where he led a team of 70+ sales and client management professionals across 10 countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Thailand, plus sales responsibilities for the Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and Philippines markets.

Matthew is an Admitted Solicitor in NSW and holds a Bachelor of Law, as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of International Business.

Natalie as Chief Executive, Singapore leads Cushman & Wakefield’s full-service platform across brokerage, projects, and facility management. She oversees a team of more than 2,000 employees from both the commercial real estate and C&W Services businesses.

While she took on the expanded role in early 2024, she has been leading the C&W Services business since 2020, managing a portfolio of 100 million sq ft, making it the largest provider of facilities management services in Singapore. 

Natalie has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate having worked across business functions and organisations. Within Cushman & Wakefield she was General Council for Asia Pacific based out of Sydney before moving to Singapore. Throughout her career, she has held leadership roles at CBRE and Macquarie Bank and contributed her legal expertise at Minter Ellison.

Natalie brings a dynamic, cross-functional, high impact approach to her work. She is passionate about creating high-performing and inclusive cultures. She has been instrumental in implementation of initiatives such as digital upskilling, disability employment, and corporate volunteering. She is also the Asia Pacific Executive Sponsor of WIN – Women’s Integrated Network, an employee resource group focused on gender equality.

Natalie is a leading voice in the industry and has been featured in leading publications such as The Business Times, Asia Business Outlook, CEO Insights Asia and has spoken at CoreNet Global Summit, Singapore Green Building Council Conference and IBEW.

Under her leadership, C&W Services has achieved numerous milestones, including becoming the first facilities management firm in Singapore to attain WELL v2 Gold certification. The company has also been recognised as a Great Place to Work for three consecutive years and received the Enabling Mark (Silver) Accreditation for its efforts in creating meaningful careers for persons with disabilities.

Most recently, the company was conferred Champion of Good – the highest honour under NVPC’s Company of Good Recognition System, in recognition of its commitment to Corporate Purpose and positive impact across People, Society, Governance, Environment, and the Economy.

In addition, C&W Services was honoured with the Tripartite Alliance Award, recognising its commitment to fair and progressive employment practices as a trailblazing employer.

She holds an Economics degree and a First-Class Honours law degree from the University of Sydney.

Matt leads Kiri Capital’s global real estate investment and asset management activities and is a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and Management Committee.  Based in Asia since 2004, Matt is a Vancouver native with more than 20 years of property experience, and currently manages a diversified portfolio of direct assets, coinvestments, fund investments, and REITs.  Matt attended INSEAD’s MBA programme and has a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Land Economics from the University of British Columbia.

Ninghao Ho is a Managing Director of Ho Group overseeing group strategy. Ho Group is a privately-held, family-owned real estate investment business with over 50 years of experience developing, owning and operating real estate across Asia Pacific. Ninghao also oversees Ho Group's single family investment office and charitable foundation headquartered in Singapore.

Prior to joining Ho Group, Ninghao was a Director at Sentinel Real Estate Corporation in New York, a leading global real estate investment management firm. He started his career as a corporate lawyer in Australia and Hong Kong and holds a B.Comm & B.Laws from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and a Master’s in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, New York.

Thiti Thongbenjamas is the Managing Director of OCTAVE Living, part of the TPC (Tsao Pao Chee) Group, a family business focused on the "well-being economy" led by Chavalit Frederick Tsao

Abdulhaq is a Real Estate and Infrastructure Partner at Trowers & Hamlins and specialises in complex real estate investment deals and development projects, PPP and concession arrangements relating to urban and transport-related development, and strategic legal advice.

He has held several senior management positions within the Firm, including sitting on the Management Board for six years, as well as being the Firm's International Managing Partner until late 2021. He is consistently recognised as a top-tier lawyer by both The Legal 500 and Chambers Global.

He is now the firm's Head of Asia and spearheaded the opening of our Singapore office.

Josephine Yip is Vice-President, Investments & Asset Management at Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. She is responsible for designing and executing investment and asset-management strategies in the Asia-Pacific region. She has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry covering investments, asset management and portfolio management across varied sectors and countries in Asia-Pacific.

Before joining Ivanhoé Cambridge, she was SVP, Portfolio Management at Alpha Investment Partners where she led portfolio management and capital raising activities. She was also formerly VP, Investment Management at GIC, covering Australia, South-east Asia, India and Korea over a 12-year stint. She has a wide-ranging and versatile investment track record and is well-versed in portfolio deals.

Neel, an alumnus of Harvard Business School and a Masters' in Finance and Economics with a Degree in Law has about 26 years of rich business experience.

Neel heads the core real estate business and is now instrumental in setting up I.T. office parks and residential townships. He is on the Board of Chalet Hotels, hospitality division of the group, which manages seven 5‐star properties across India. He has successfully set up the brand 'Inorbit Malls' at pan India basis and Inorbit is now among the top 3 mall companies in the country.

Neel is also on the Board of 'Shoppers Stop', the country's prestigious department store chain.

He was selected as the Top 40 under 40 by Economic Times.

He chairs some of the important committees that shape key industry developments, like:

• APREA, Chairman, India Chapter.
• NAREDCO‐President, West.
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chairman ‐ National Committee on Real Estate and Housing.
• Advisory Board Member, SCAI (Shopping Centres Association of India)

He has been appointed by the Government of India to study and suggest changes to the Special Economic Zone policy.

He was invited by the Honourable Prime Minister of India as a member of 'Champions of Change'.

Suchad Chiaranussati is the Chairman and Founder of SC Capital Partners. He also chairs the various Investment Committees.

Mr. Chiaranussati has successfully led SC Capital Partners in its investments and provided key leadership and direction since the firm’s inception in 2004.

Prior to founding SC Capital Partners at the end of 2004, Mr. Chiaranussati spent approximately six years with Westbrook Partners, where he opened its Asia office in Singapore and served as Principal and Managing Director responsible for Asian investment activities. Prior to joining Westbrook, Mr. Chiaranussati spent seven years at JPMorgan, based in Singapore and covering Southeast Asia, serving as a Vice President in the Proprietary Investment and Investment Banking groups, focusing on real estate and financial institutions. Prior to JPMorgan, Mr. Chiaranussati worked at Temasek Holdings, an investment holding company for the Government of Singapore, and the Central Bank of Thailand. In 1998, Mr. Chiaranussati was appointed as an advisor by the Central Bank of Thailand and other bodies to assist in the restructuring of the public and private sectors of Thailand.

Mr. Chiaranussati received an Honors Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Master of Science in Management Science at Imperial College London.

Shirin is a corporate partner at Baker McKenzie and leads its M&A practice in Singapore. With over 23 years of experience in M&A and PE transactions across Asia, the U.S. and beyond, Shirin specializes in institutional real estate and asset management transactions, including capital raising platforms, joint ventures, co-investments and club deals, portfolio restructuring and exits. Shirin has led transactions with an aggregate deal value of over USD 55 billion in the last 10 years.

Shirin is a widely recognized lawyer and is ranked as a Leading Individual for Corporate/M&A in Singapore by Chambers Asia Pacific, Chambers Global and Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Additionally, she is acknowledged by IFLR 1000 as a Women Leader and is Highly Regarded for Private Equity/M&A and was recognized The Legal 500’s inaugural M&A Private Practice Powerlist: Asia Pacific 2024. Best Lawyers named Shirin their Lawyer of the Year (Singapore) for Mergers & Acquisitions in 2024.