US-headquartered private equity heavyweight Warburg Pincus has promoted its head of Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific real estate Jeffrey Perlman to be president of the firm, effective immediately.
Alongside Perlman’s appointment, Timothy Geithner, former US Treasury Secretary and the firm’s current president, will become chairman, while Chip Kaye will remain chief executive officer. PERE can reveal that Perlman will relocate to New York in the fall, while continuing to spend meaningful time in Asia.
He will remain “a critical part of our real estate investing team” and at this time will maintain his leadership responsibilities in the region, a spokeswoman told PERE. He is supported in Asia by four other real estate partners – Ellen Ng, Qiqi Zhang, Fan Li and Chloe Zhang. Outside of real estate, the firm’s leadership in the region also includes head of India Vishal Mahadevia, head of China Frank Wei and managing director Saurabh Agarwal.
Meanwhile, Perlman’s role as chairman and non-executive director at Warburg Pincus-backed Asia Pacific industrial specialist the ESR Group – which places eighth on the PERE 100 ranking – remains unchanged. Perlman – who was featured in the Big Interview in PERE’s June issue – will continue to work with ESR’s co-founders and co-CEOs Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson.
“Now is the ideal time to put in place a plan for the next generation of leadership at the firm. We are actively investing out of our latest global flagship fund. With significant uncalled capital, we are well-positioned to take advantage of the complex investing environment that plays to our strengths as a firm,” Kaye said of Perlman’s appointment.
Perlman is “at the core of a very talented next generation of leaders at the firm,” Geithner added. “His proven track record and deep experience, working with entrepreneurs and investors across many geographies in Asia and across both private equity and real estate, make him well-suited to help the firm navigate this more complicated investment landscape.”
Having joined the firm 17 years ago, Perlman has been a member of Warburg Pincus’s executive management group since 2018. As the head of Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific real estate, he was instrumental in expanding the firm’s business footprint in Asia and the opening of the firm’s office in Singapore.
Perlman is known for co-founding and sponsoring some of the region’s largest real estate companies, including ESR Group and data center specialist Princeton Digital Group. Currently, the real estate veteran is sitting on the board of directors for numerous Warburg Pincus portfolio companies in Asia including ESR, BW Industrial Development JSC, MoMo, Storhub and Princeton Digital Group.
During Perlman’s tenure in Asia, the firm also launched its debut private equity real estate fund Warburg Pincus Asia Real Estate Fund with $2.8 billion in commitments in 2021. “Real estate is very important to Warburg Pincus’s portfolio and the firm will continue to remain committed to the sector,” the firm’s spokeswoman said.
Warburg Pincus has been investing in Asia real estate companies and platforms for over 15 years, with $8 billion invested in 60 real estate ventures, according to its website.
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