Matthew Bouw new CEO of Cushman & Wakefield in Asia Pacific

Property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Matthew Bouw as the new Chief Executive Officer for its Asia Pacific (APAC) operation. Bouw, who took over the helm on the 1st of December, succeeded Stuart Roberts, who left the company late October, after serving as APAC chief executive since February 2015. 

Matthew Bouw, an Australian native, has been with Cushman & Wakefield and its predecessor firms through a series of mergers for over six years, having joined Australian engineering company UGL in mid-2011, before it acquired European real estate consultancy DTZ. The company become Cushman & Wakefield following a September 2015 merger that created a global top-three commercial real estate services firm with $6 billion in annual revenue. 

At DTZ, Bouw led the global human resources function for DTZ, while, prior to taking the top role at Cushman & Wakefield, he served as the company’s global chief administrative officer. He brings over 20 years of experience in the property and consultancy industry to his new job, across real estate, finance and professional services, engineering and construction, at companies including, Aviva, Orica, Leighton and PwC. 

Commenting on his promotion, Bouw stated “It is a privilege to lead the Asia Pacific business of Cushman & Wakefield and I am excited by the prospects and potential of this region.”

Bouw is responsible for leading the firm’s roughly 7,000 employees across 70 offices in 11 Asia Pacific countries. The firm’s Greater China operations – China, Hong Kong and Taiwan – however have a separate reporting line to Edward Cheung, Cushman & Wakefield’s APAC Chairman. 

“Asia Pacific presents tremendous opportunity and potential for both our staff and clients,” commented Brett White, the global CEO of Cushman & Wakefield. “Coupled with the increasing prominence of Asian investors and corporations in both the regional and global arena, we expect positive business sentiment and momentum to continue to underpin the overall growth of the region and our business.”

According to a recent report from Colliers, one of Cushman & Wakefield’s rivals, the office property market of the Philippines, Asia’s 13th largest economy, is set to face a downturn. At a broader level, executives in Asia Pacific are showing a considerable more positive sentiment compared to a year previous.