LaSalle shuffles senior team, Chandler and Ling promoted

Jack Chandler has been promoted to global chief investment officer at LaSalle Investment Management, the real estate investment management business of global property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

Chandler, who spent almost a decade building the Chicago-based firm’s Asia platform into a business with $12 billion of assets under management, has been asked to fulfil a more investor-focused role. He was previously chief executive officer for Asia.

According to an announcement on the promotion, Chandler, a qualified industrial engineer, will work alongside the firm’s main investors and private equity teams to develop new investment vehicles across its global operations.

He has also been made executive chairman of the Asia business, ensuring he keeps a regional focus, although this will run concurrently with his new role.

Replacing Chandler as chief executive officer for Asia is Philip Ling. Chartered surveyor Ling joined LaSalle in August 2008 from Lend Lease where he was chief executive officer of its Australia investment management business.

Jeff Jacobson, global chief executive officer at LaSalle, said of the promotions: “These expanded roles will enable us to continue providing the highest level of service and performance to our Asia Pacific investors and expand our ability to serve clients in our other key countries.”

LaSalle has been a patient investor in Asia of late. The firm closed on $3 billion of equity for its LaSalle Asian Opportunity Fund III opportunity fund in the summer of 2008 but, in the aftermath of the credit crunch, has been slow to make investments. An investment hiatus in the region for almost two years was broken last year. LaSalle has since spent more than $750 million in Asia across its funds, but predominantly from the opportunity fund.

Chandler, one of LaSalle’s long-term executives having joined in 1986, said of the firm’s Asia aspirations: “We see very attractive opportunities for our funds with remaining capital to invest, and I look forward to continuing working closely with him and our Asia Pacific team.”

LaSalle Investment Management currently has approximately $39 billion of assets under management, approximately a quarter of which are in Asia.

PERE ran a profile interview with Jack Chandler in March 2009. To read the interview, click here.