Mr Joshua Liaw was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Manager on 17 June 2023 and works with the Board to determine the strategy for Elite Commercial REIT and with the members of the management team to ensure that Elite Commercial REIT operates in accordance with the Manager’s investment strategy.
Mr Liaw has close to two decades of experience in real estate finance and fund management across the banking and real estate investment trust management sectors.
Prior to his present appointment, Mr Liaw was Executive General Manager, Finance at the manager of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (Lendlease REIT), where he led Lendlease REIT’s investment and capital management strategy as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr Liaw was part of the team that oversaw the initial public offering of Lendlease REIT in 2019 and the transformational acquisition of Jem in 2022.
His other past roles with Lendlease include General Manager, Finance, Singapore, where he was responsible for the overall finance functions across Lendlease’s operations in Singapore, as well as Head of Treasury, Asia, where he was responsible for all debt capital management and treasury activities for Lendlease across Asia.
Mr Liaw started his career in banking, where he held various roles in Standard Chartered Bank and Citi covering real estate funds, sovereign wealth funds, real estate investment trusts and corporate developer clients.
Mr Liaw holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics (Summa cum Laude) from the Singapore Management University and a Bachelor of Business (Transport & Logistics Management) with Distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Mr Joel Cheah Zhuo Yue is the Chief Financial Officer of the Manager.
Mr Cheah is responsible for the overall financial, treasury, tax and risk management matters of the REIT, as well as working with the management team to formulate strategic plans for the REIT in accordance with the Manager's stated investment strategy.
In recognition of his outstanding stewardship over taxation matters, the Manager was named the winner for Excellence in Tax Management and Optimisation under the Operational Excellence Award category at the FutureCFO Excellence Awards 2022.
Mr Cheah has over 15 years of experience in the areas of finance, capital markets, treasury and strategic planning. Prior to his current role, he was the Finance Director of Elite UK Commercial Fund.
Prior to that, Mr Cheah was the Senior Vice President of Finance for the Manager of a SGX-ST-listed hospitality trust, where he was responsible for the oversight of the preparation of statutory accounts for reporting, managing tax affairs and treasury matters.
Mr Cheah also served as the Treasurer at Cambridge Industrial Trust Management, the manager of SGX-ST-listed Cambridge Industrial Trust (currently known as ESR-LOGOS REIT), where he was responsible for treasury, capital markets and portfolio risk management. He was named Highly Commended Winner for Best Financing Solution at the Adam Smith Asia Awards 2015.
Mr Cheah started his career in strategic planning and investment research roles for various financial institutions.
Mr Cheah holds a Bachelor of Business from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and a Master of Science (Real Estate) from National University of Singapore. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Mr Jonathan Edmunds is the Chief Investment Officer of the Manager.
Mr Edmunds has about 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, focusing on real estate investment and management across various sectors globally. Previously, he was the Investment and Asset Management Director of Elite UK Commercial Fund.
Preceding that, Mr Edmunds was the Director of the Real Estate department of AEP Investment Management Pte. Ltd., where he was responsible for the strategic investment and transaction management for their UK, Australia and Singapore mandates. He was also a lead manager of Basil Property Trust and was responsible for investments, fund acquisitions and structuring.
Mr Edmunds had previously worked in the UK and Switzerland. He was the Vice President of the Real Estate department in Beaumont Partners where he was responsible for fund raising, acquisitions, structuring, reporting, and managing the Global Student Housing and Multi-Family investment strategy. He also completed the analysis, structuring and closing of acquisitions for the company's European and North American credit income strategies.
Prior to that, Mr Edmunds served as the Director of the Real Estate department of WW Advisors Ltd, managing a US$250 million equity mandate to acquire income-producing assets in the UK and Europe. He originated and managed the acquisition of a portfolio of assets as well as structured and arranged the debt capital, implemented interest rate hedges and managed asset performance for the portfolio.
Earlier in his career, Mr Edmunds was an associate at Lazard, a Corporate Finance Advisory firm in the UK. He started off as an Associate of Deutsche Bank AG's Real Estate Debt Markets department.
Mr Edmunds graduated from University of the West of England with a BA (Hons) Business Studies. He also holds a Master of Arts in Property Valuation and Law from The City University in London, UK.
Ms Chai Hung Yin is the Assistant Vice President of Investor Relations for the Manager.
Ms Chai is responsible for facilitating communications and liaison with Unitholders, potential investors, analysts and the media. She formulates and drives investor engagement initiatives for the REIT, and provides strategic counsel and insights to senior management on investor sentiments and market conditions.
Ms Chai has over 18 years of experience in investor relations, corporate communications and journalism. Prior to joining the Manager, she spent close to four years with YTL Starhill Global REIT Management Limited, the manager of Starhill Global Real Estate Investment Trust, as the Assistant Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. During her tenure there, Ms Chai played a key role in external and internal communications as well as the process of developing the sustainability reporting framework for the REIT.
Prior to that, Ms Chai was a journalist with various newspapers, including the national financial broadsheet - The Business Times Singapore. During the 13 years of working in the media industry, Ms Chai wrote for a public audience in various beats, from macroeconomic news to corporate, business, investment, regional, social and health, catering key messages to different market segments.
Ms Chai holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Food Science and Technology from the National University of Singapore. Ms Chai also obtained the International Certificate in Investor Relations, jointly provided by The Investor Relations Society of United Kingdom and the Investor Relations Professionals Association (Singapore).
