Merrill Lynch Hong Kong deputy director of research for Asia-Pacific Simon Garing has joined Cromwell as a chief capital officer.
Mr Garing has 25 years’ experience behind him as a global real estate capital markets manager, analyst and investor, with particular experience with bulge bracket investment banks.
He has held a number of senior roles over his seven years at Merrill Lynch, including global co-ordinator, real estate research; head of real estate research; and deputy director research.
Prior to that, he was head of real estate research at Bell Potter Securities, managing director at UBS from 2002 to 2008 and has held roles at Barclays de Zoete Wedd, Citigroup and IBM.
Chief executive Paul Weightman said Cromwell had been seeking someone “with the experience, knowledge and capability” to drive further growth in the firm’s ability to access capital from multiple sources across the globe, pointing to its recent IPO of the Cromwell European REIT and its recently announced $170 million strategic placement.
“Simon has been known to us for a long time and we are delighted to have him on board,” Mr Weightman said.
Commenting on his own appointment, Mr Garing said he had been observing the growth of Cromwell “with interest”.
“Cromwell is a trusted capital partner and investor based on the strength of its global team, which I am excited to join,” Mr Garing said.
“Capital is increasingly global, with Asian capital, in particular, becoming more prevalent in international markets.
“This trend can only continue, and I admire Cromwell’s strategy to attract these flows with a single-minded purpose to drive value for investors.”
