ABOUT Our People

Mr. Schaefer serves as the Chairman of AEW’s Asia Pacific region. He is a member of the AEW Asia Investment and Risk Management Committees. Mr. Schaefer plays an integral part within the firm’s Senior Leadership Team, actively contributing to AEW’s overall strategic vision and direction. Mr. Schaefer has 33 years of real estate investment experience in the Asia Pacific region, including extensive portfolio management and acquisitions experience. Mr. Schaefer plays an integral part within the firm’s Senior Leadership Team, actively contributing to AEW’s overall strategic vision and direction. Prior to joining AEW, Mr. Schaefer was the Global Head of Institutional Capital and Head of Asia Pacific for DTZ Investment and Asset Management. Mr. Schaefer was also the Head of Asia Pacific at Citi Property Investors, where he created Citi’s first Pan-Asia real estate opportunity fund, the $1.3 billion CPI Capital Partners Asia Pacific, L.P. Prior to Citi, he was Head of Property-Asia for Macquarie Bank, and Senior Advisor to the Schroder Asian Properties Fund. David has a B.A. and M.B.A. from Cornell University.

Jason Lee is Head of Asia Pacific and Chief Investment Officer for AEW Asia Pacific. He is also a member of the AEW Asia Pacific Investment and Risk Management Committees. Jason has nearly 30 years of experience implementing value-add and numerous investment strategies including, identifying, structuring, and underwriting of investment opportunities. Prior roles include being a Director of Merrill Lynch’s Asia Opportunistic Real Estate Fund and the Global Principal Investments Group. Jason is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S.), holds an M.S. from MIT and is fluent in Mandarin and English. Jason sits on the advisory board of Cornell University’s Center for Real Estate and Finance (CREF).

Mr. Nelson is a Managing Director and a Portfolio Manager of the AEW Asia Pacific Core Strategy. In this capacity he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the strategy's investments and operations as well as working closely with investor relations on marketing and providing support to investors. He is a member of the AEW Asia Investment and Risk Management Committees. Mr. Nelson has over 25 years of real estate experience in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining AEW, he served as Head of Asia Pacific Property Research for Aberdeen Asset Management and as Head of Real Estate Intelligence for Jones Lang LaSalle. He is a graduate of University of Auckland and University of Texas at Arlington (M.S. in Real Estate).

As Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Asset Management, Jean-Phillippe Gaudin is responsible for Regional Asset Management in Asia Pacific. He has over 20 years of experience, with 15 years in the real estate industry working for global Institutional Investors and investment management firms. His prior recent positions include Head of Asset Management for AEW in France (July 2015 to December 2017) and Head of Asset Management for GE Capital Real Estate in France. He started his career working as a consultant in Information Systems working for PWC and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young with a focus on technology, transformation, process and change management. Mr. Gaudin holds a M.S. in Engineering from Ecole Centrale de Nantes (France) and M.B.A. from Nantes University.

Jason Maxwell is Country Manager-Australia with responsibilities including investment origination, acquisition and asset management. Jason has over 13 years of experience across a number of Australian and European markets. Prior roles include Senior Asset Management positions at both Charter Hall and Macquarie Real Estate in Sydney and London. Mr. Maxwell has a B.Com and a B. Law from the University of Wollongong in Australia.

Michael Moon is Director and Country Manager-Korea. Michael oversees the firm’s activities in Korea, which includes investment origination, acquisitions and asset management. He has over 25 years of real estate investment and asset management experience including the last 20 years in Seoul. Prior roles include Head of Macquarie Real Estate Korea. Mr. Moon has a B.A. from Northwestern State University of Louisiana and is fluent in Korean.

Yian Wang is responsible for investment and asset management in China and Hong Kong. She has more than 10 years of solid experience in real estate investment and asset management in Greater China. Ms. Wang has worked in both Mainland China and Hong Kong with prior investment management roles including Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing and Hongkong Land, a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson Group. She graduated with First Class from the University of Cambridge and has an M.A., M. Eng and B.A. in Chemical Engineering and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. She is a native Mandarin speaker.

Kiyomasa Matsuda is Director and Country Manager for Japan. He is responsible for managing AEW’s day-to-day business activities in Japan. His real estate investment career spans nearly 20 years in Japan covering multiple asset classes and strategies. Prior to joining AEW, he was an Executive Director at Orion Partners where he was principally responsible for Orion’s investments in Japanese Senior Housing. Prior to joining Orion Partners in 2010, Mr. Matsuda held positions at CBRE Global Investors and Macquarie Group where he was in charge of acquisitions. He is a graduate of Keio University, where he earned a B.A. in business, and Rice University, where he earned an MBA. He qualified for the U.S. CPA designation and is a Licensed Real Estate Broker.

Hanna Safdar is an Associate Director and Head of Research and Strategy for AEW's Asia Pacific Region where she supports both the direct and indirect investment teams in the region. Ms. Safdar has over ten years of real estate experience which she relies on to provide research and strategy support for all new and existing property investments. She joined AEW in 2018 from Cambridge Associates, where she conducted fund manager research and due diligence projects across Asia Pacific's real estate and infrastructure managers. Prior, she also held a research position at DTZ in Singapore. Ms. Safdar has a B.Sc Real Estate from the National University of Singapore.

John Cho is a Director in AEW’s Investor Relations Group and is responsible for developing and maintaining client and consultant relationships in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Cho has more than 14 years of real estate experience in Asia, Europe and North America. Prior to joining AEW, he was Senior Portfolio Manager at National Pension Service of Korea. He has also held real estate investment position at Hana Alternative Asset Management. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Real Estate & Urban Economics.

Mr. Sparrow is an Associate Director and the Head of Client Services in Asia Pacific based in the firm’s Singapore office. He is responsible for maintaining client and consultant relationships in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to joining AEW, Mr. Sparrow was with UBS Asset Management for 13 years covering various functions from risk management to client services. Mr. Sparrow has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia and is a CFA.

Steven Song is an Assistant Director in AEW's Investor Relations Group and is responsible for developing and maintaining client and consultant relationships in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Song has experience in private markets across Asia, Europe and North America. Before joining AEW, he was Senior Investment Manager at Meritz Securities in Korea, responsible for real estate investment and asset management. Prior to that, he held private debt investment and leveraged finance roles. He is a graduate of Emory University and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Mathematics.