Has a brain drain started at CapitaLand?

ON Sept 1, CapitaLand announced the resignation of Lim Beng Chee, chief executive officer of CapitaMalls Asia (CMA). Could this be the start of a brain drain from the group? Talk in the market is that Sharon Lim, chief executive of CapitaMalls Malaysia Reit Management, has also tendered her resignation. And word on the street is that the CV of at least one other senior CapitaMalls management executive is doing the headhunting rounds in the market.

Mr Lim's resignation is said to have been triggered by his unhappiness at not being consulted on CapitaLand's privatisation of CMA. CMA has since been delisted in July. Perhaps corporate governance concerns could have held back CapitaLand's head honchos from engaging CMA's top management about their intentions. But the bottomline is that Mr Lim is said to have left the group in a huff. Jason Leow was named as his replacement effective Sept 15.

Prior to his latest appointment, Mr Leow was CEO of CapitaLand China and is a close associate of CapitaLand's president and group CEO Lim Ming Yan, who himself was formerly CEO of CapitaLand China.