Ascendas-Singbridge appoints India head

The Singapore-based firm has appointed the former Cushman & Wakefield India head to lead its operations in the country.

The Singapore-based developer-cum-fund manager Ascendas-Singbridge has appointed Sanjay Dutt as the chief executive officer for its India operations.

The news of Dutt’s hire comes weeks after he stepped down from his position as the managing director for Cushman & Wakefield India.

Dutt will be joining Ascendas-Singbridge in August. He is replacing Lee Fu Nyap who is relocating to the firm’s Singapore headquarters as executive vice president for real estate investment and funds, according to a company statement announcing the leadership change.

As chief executive officer for Ascendas-Singbridge India Dutt will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s operations, business development, strategic planning in the country and transactions. India is a key market for Ascendas-Singbridge, comprising around 11 percent of the group’s total assets under management that currently total S$21.6 billion (?14.2 billion; $15.9 billion).

“India is among the group’s largest overseas market and we are happy that Sanjay is joining us to lead our operations in the country,” said Miguel Ko, group chief executive officer of Ascendas-Singbridge. “Sanjay is a proven leader in the industry and we believe that he is well placed to take our India operations to the next level. We also thank Fu Nyap for his contributions in building our India business and leading a competent and cohesive team on the ground.”

Dutt has over 22 years of experience in the Indian real estate industry. He joined the global property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield in 2012. Prior to that he was the chief executive officer of business for Jones Lang LaSalle, and also had a stint with CBRE.

At Cushman & Wakefield he is passing on the leadership role to Anshul Jain, who formerly served as the head of DTZ India.