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Thread: CEO of Wheelock Properties dies

  1. #1
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    Default CEO of Wheelock Properties dies

    http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_774176.html

    CEO of Wheelock Properties dies

    Respected property ace known for raising the bar for luxury projects

    Published on Mar 6, 2012

    By Gan Yu Jia


    THE property industry is in shock after the sudden death of Wheelock Properties chief executive David Lawrence on Sunday. The 'man with the Midas touch', as he was known in the business, died in his sleep aged 65.

    A chartered surveyor by training, Mr Lawrence was managing director at property consultant group Richard Ellis (CBRE) before he joined Wheelock Properties, then known as Marco Polo Developments, in 1993. He served as executive director in 1995, managing director in 1996 and chief executive in 2001.

    The company owns Wheelock Place, one of the most iconic buildings in Orchard Road.

    Mr Lawrence, a Briton who had served in the Royal Navy, became a Singapore citizen in 2006.

    He leaves an impressive legacy of astute real estate investments.

    Many will recall the frenzied overnight queuing for the coveted Parc Oasis apartments in 1993, which was an unprecedented success in the suburban condominium market. Mr Lawrence was project manager under CBRE.

    Under his leadership, Wheelock Properties also developed the billion-dollar Ardmore Park project, raising the bar for luxury developments in Singapore.

    Friends and colleagues respected him as a shrewd and highly experienced business leader with high professional standards.

    CBRE Asia chairman Willy Shee recalls working under Mr Lawrence from 1985 to 1991.

    'As a managing director, he was very decisive and strategic. He's also a person with very high professional standards and is very business-like,' Mr Shee said, adding that Mr Lawrence also set very high standards 'for all the staff working for him'.

    Mr Colm McCarthy, independent director of Wheelock Properties and a close colleague of Mr Lawrence's for close to 15 years, described him as a 'very insightful industry leader'.

    'He was always a mine of information of the marketplace, always with great insights of what worked and what didn't work,' Mr McCarthy said.

    He added that Mr Lawrence 'had very strong views on doing things right and always wanted to make sure perfection was part of everything he did'.

    Mr Lee Liat Yeang, a partner at Rodyk & Davidson, described Mr Lawrence as 'a very level-headed man' who 'was very tough, but at the same time knew what he was talking about.'

    Mr Lawrence is survived by his wife, Tay Lai Yong, and a daughter.

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    http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...63940,00.html?

    Published March 6, 2012

    Wheelock's '$1 billion man' David Lawrence dies at 65

    Executive director Tan Bee Kim seen as likely successor

    By MINDY TAN



    ONE of the pioneers in Singapore's luxury property market, David Lawrence, died yesterday, aged 65.

    'The board of directors of Wheelock Properties (Singapore) Limited announces with regret and sadness that its managing direc-tor/chief executive officer, Mr David John Lawrence, has passed away peacefully on 4 March 2012,' Wheelock Properties said in a statement, without providing further details.

    Some industry players were shocked at the news, but others knew he had been unwell for some time.

    Nicknamed 'The $1 billion man', Mr Lawrence developed the Ardmore Park condo, which reportedly generated a $1 billion pretax profit, before going on to spearhead headline acquisitions of sites such as Seaview Hotel and Scotts Shopping Centre, and investments in Hotel Properties and SC Global.

    'In the market, many analysts say he had the Midas touch . . . In the early 90s, Parc Oasis was one of the first huge successes in suburban condominium launches. (It was) the leader in the HDB upgraders market, with over 700 units sold within four days . . . In the 1990s, he bought Ardmore Park and redeveloped it into what Ardmore Park is now, a top-end luxury condominium,' said Willy Shee, Asia chairman of CBRE.

    According to industry players, Wheelock Properties (Singapore) executive director Tan Bee Kim, who is Wheelock Properties (Singapore)'s first woman executive director, is Mr Lawrence's likely successor.

    Mr Lawrence first arrived in Singapore in the late 1960s on HMS Hermes, a British aircraft carrier, and was later on one of the last Royal Navy ships to leave Singapore as part of the British military pull-out from the island.

    He later joined Richard Ellis, working in Indonesia for four years from 1981, before being asked to helm Richard Ellis Singapore in 1985.

    'In terms of work, he was very sharp, decisive, strategic, and business-like. He did not flinch from making tough decisions in the office. During the recession in the mid-80s, he helped to restructure the company and turn it around . . . He was a man of very high professional standards and had high expectations of staff who worked with him,' said Mr Shee.

    Mr Lawrence later retired to the French Riviera, but in 1991 was persuaded to come out of retirement by Wheelock group chairman Peter Woo. He was tasked to head the group's Singapore unit, then known as Marco Polo Developments. The stock of Wheelock ended trading half a cent lower yesterday at $1.62.

    Said Jones Lang LaSalle's Singapore and South-east Asia managing director Chris Fossick: 'David hired me back in 1989 to come to Singapore (and) put his faith in me to lead the leasing and marketing of one of Singapore's largest office developments at the time, The Gateway in Beach Road. This opportunity changed the course of my career and personal life which I remain very grateful to David for.'

    Mr Lawrence leaves behind his wife and daughter.

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