Winners are:

Real Estate Investment
Previndran Sathurgasinghe, CEO, Zerin Properties

For: The sale of Four Seasons Langkawi, Malaysia , to Kingdom Hotel Investments.

In one of the landmark hospitality transactions of 2007, Previn Sathurgasinghe negotiated Kingdom Hotel Investments' entry into the Asian tourism market. Former owners Malaysian Airlines had been struggling to attain their price objectives but by structuring the deal as a win-win proposition, a US$129 mil price was achieved with the buyers able to leverage the value of private villas on the property. The transaction not only broke records for Malaysian Airlines, but also marked one of the biggest forays by an international investor into Malaysia.

Sathurgasinghe is a Registered Estate Agent with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents, a national committee member of FIABCI Malaysia and vice president of the exchange committee of FIABCI International. He is one of the very first to have taken a Malaysian brand estate agency overseas and Zerin Properties has offices in Sydney, Singapore and New Delhi.

Judging panel said: "The sale has the capability to change the scope of economic development in the region. It definitely necessitated a certain vision, comprehension and sustained efforts to convince an investor to foray into a new market."

Real Estate Strategy
Dan Wolody, International Director ( Regional Head Strategic Consulting ), Jones Lang LaSalle

For: Regional strategic planning exercises for HSBC and Microsoft. Dan Wolody completed two milestone strategic plans in 2007, for global giants in finance and IT respectively. This required matching complex business needs with turbulent local real estate markets, while taking multifaceted factors into account such as government incentives, human resources and the social and physical environments for the workforce. Portfolios were in the order of 2 million square feet with headcounts of 5,000 plus staff expected double over the next 3 to 5 years. The plans set new standards of business case documentation and formalized a repeatable planning methodology. Most importantly, the clients have already pointed to "significant financial and talent retention advantages over current approaches."

Wolody's background touches upon the fields of public accounting and strategic planning for large multinationals and is a frequent speaker on CRE issues in Asia Pacific and author of numerous related research papers. He is on the global advisory board of IDRC, a member of Institute of Management Consultants , Australia , and an Australian CPA.

Judging panel said: "Appears to have added value to clients with an admirable corporate real estate strategy."

Real Estate Transaction
- Chris Archibold, Regional Director, Country Head Corporate Solutions, Head of Singapore Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle

For: Singapore 's largest ever single lease transaction Archibold was responsible for DBS bank's total portfolio repositioning, culminating in the acquisition of over 1 million square feet of new space in Singapore . This included 700,000 sqf of office space at Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) and 300,000 sqf at Changi Business Park (CBP), as part of its strategic occupancy programme. This was accomplished against the clock as Singapore 's markets experienced unprecedented growth in 2007.

Archibold is a Chartered surveyor with over 16 years experience of advising both occupier clients and developer / investor clients principally in Asia Pacific and in EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa). Chris has worked in Asia for 9 years having lived in Hong Kong and Singapore .

Judging panel said: "A staggeringly large transaction all the more extraordinary considering the demand for space in Singapore ."

- Sahel Pramendra, National Director India, Jones Lang LaSalle

For: Retention of business with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) in India . In the face of stiff competition on the ground, and despite restrictions imposed by a global service agreement with a competitor agency, Pramendra managed to retain a strategic relationship with CSC in India . Transactions included creating an incubation space Delhi NCR, co-locating facilities to gain an optimal portfolio and enhancing the organisations' market presence in Chennai.

Pramendra has over 10 years of experience in the real estate sector and has been exposed to corporate real estate practices and developer operations. He joined Jones Lang LaSalle in 2000 and has successfully managed leasing and sales assignments for several leading corporations

Judging panel said: "A leader whose has achieved success despite complex market condition, his efforts to convince the client when threatened with strategic portfolio realignments from rival consultancy firms were commendable."


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