Khoo aims to leverage ULI’s global platform in the Asia Pacific region while increasing membership and expanding geographic reach.
Khoo Teng Chye, who is on the faculty of Engineering and the School of Design and Environment at the National University of Singapore, has been appointed chair of ULI Asia Pacific. Khoo, a fellow and former executive director at the Centre for Liveable Cities, began his three-year term in July, succeeding Nicholas Brooke, chairman of Professional Property Services Limited in Hong Kong.
Khoo, who joins the ULI Global Board of Directors, brings extensive ULI leadership experience to his new role, having served as chair of ULI Singapore from 2017 to 2019, vice chair of the ULI Asia Pacific Executive Committee from 2020 to 2021, and a ULI global governing trustee since 2018c
“It is a great honor to be appointed as the ULI Asia Pacific chair, and I look forward to building on the legacy that Nick Brooke has left,” Khoo says. “During his term as chair, the region has grown to over 2,600 members and expanded the engagement opportunities by adding more in-person and virtual events, creating new product councils, and launching programs such as the regional Awards for Excellence, UrbanPlan, and ULI Learning.”
“Teng Chye is a widely acclaimed authority on land administration and sustainable built environments,” says David Faulkner, president of ULI Asia Pacific. “He is a globally recognized industry leader with connections across different sectors and is dedicated to ULI’s mission of shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. We believe that the Asia Pacific region will continue to thrive under his leadership, building on what has already been achieved so far. I’d like to also thank Nick Brooke for everything that he has contributed as chair over the past three years, and I’m delighted that he will continue to play an active role in the region’s success.”
Khoo will lead the region’s efforts on three new ULI global mission priorities: decarbonizing the real estate sector and targeting net zero, educating the next generation of diverse real estate leaders, and increasing housing attainability in communities around the world. All three priorities will be underpinned by a commitment to and focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which recognizes that communities can only be successful and sustainable if they work for everyone. In addition, the ULI Asia Pacific region will be developing key themes of work focused on building a presence in capital markets, technology, and innovation.
“Being a ULI member is more important than ever as we collaborate to navigate some of the key challenges facing real estate,” Khoo says. “Pushing net zero to the top of our agenda is absolutely essential to ensure that we are creating sustainable and resilient cities, but as an industry we need to consider all of the environmental, social, and corporate governance [ESG] factors to truly have a positive impact on society. Everyone deserves a decent, safe, and attainable place to live, and we will be looking at creative housing solutions that build vibrant communities.”
He adds: “We have ambitions to grow ULI’s membership throughout the Asia Pacific region, including in new markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam. In order to do this, it is vital that we are staying ahead of the curve in terms of providing programming that looks at future investment opportunities and considering ‘big picture’ topics like the influence of proptech [property technology]. We will leverage ULI’s global platform so that there are learning and networking opportunities for the leading players in real estate, benefiting from collaborating with some of the best and the brightest in the industry.”
Khoo is supported in his role by the new vice chair of ULI Asia Pacific, Hei Ming Cheng, who is chair of ULI China Mainland, as well as founder and chairman of KaiLong Group in China. In addition, five new members of the ULI Asia Pacific Executive Committee started new terms in July: Magdelene Chua, real estate assurance partner, PwC, Singapore, and ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) representative; and at-large members Scott Dunn, vice president, strategy and growth, Southeast Asia, AECOM-AP, Singapore; Hwang Yu-Ning, chief planner and deputy chief executive officer, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore; Jon Tanaka, managing director and senior adviser, Angelo Gordon International LLC, Tokyo; and James Wong, executive director, Hon Kwok Land Investment Co., Hong Kong.
Completing changes to the ULI Asia Pacific Executive Committee, Phil Kim, managing director of Asia Pacific at Jerde Partnership, has been appointed chair of ULI Hong Kong, and Benett Theseira, managing director and head of Asia Pacific at PGIM Real Estate, has been appointed chair of ULI Singapore.
At a global level, six real estate leaders from the Asia Pacific region have been named ULI global governing trustees: Benett Theseira; Tim Blackburn, chief executive officer, Chinese mainland Swire Properties, Beijing; Kristine Li, acting general manager, portfolio leasing department, Henderson Land Development Company Limited, Hong Kong; Carrie Liu, general manager, China Life Asset Management Company Ltd., Shanghai; Stephanie Lo, executive director, Shui On Land, Hong Kong; and Hiroo Mori, director and executive vice president, Mori Building Company Ltd., Tokyo.
