Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan expands Asia Pacific role for venture growth head

Olivia Steedman will add oversight of Asia Pacific investing and portfolio management to her role at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan from 1 January 2027. PGIM promotes Ryuji Katayama to head Japan real estate, while Penny Ransom steps down as Lendlease investment management CEO.

Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) has expanded the remit of Olivia Steedman, who will add oversight of investing and portfolio management across Asia Pacific to her current duties from 1 January 2027. Steedman, who has led OTPP’s Teachers’ Venture Growth venture capital and growth equity arm since 2019, will keep that role and move to Singapore as executive managing director of Teachers’ Venture Growth and head of Asia Pacific. She joined Ontario Teachers’ in 2002 as a founding member of its infrastructure and natural resources group.

Prudential Financial’s asset management arm PGIM has named Ryuji Katayama head of Japan real estate, effective in October. Based in Tokyo, Katayama was most recently deputy head of Japan for real estate and earlier led transactions in Japan, after joining PGIM in 2012 from ORIX. He remains portfolio manager for the firm’s Asia Pacific value add and Japan-focused strategies and reports to David Fassbender, who became PGIM’s Asia Pacific head in July.

Penny Ransom will step down as chief executive of investment management at Australian property group Lendlease but will remain chairperson of the manager of Singapore-listed Lendlease Global Commercial REIT, according to an announcement to the Singapore Exchange. Ransom, who became chairperson of the manager in June, joined Lendlease in 2022 as group head of investments from Investa Property Group, where she was chief investment officer, and became Lendlease’s chief investment officer in 2024.

Yu Ichikawa has been named executive director and chief investment officer of Kenedix-sponsored KDX Kolet REIT, which is due to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on 25 November. Ichikawa, who also heads the REIT division at its manager, Kenedix Real Estate Fund Management, took the posts with the single-family rental J-REIT in July. He previously led the Kenedix division that built the Kolet rental business and joined the group in 2005.

Jason Siu has left his role as senior director of group financial planning and data analysis at ESR Group in Singapore after just over a year. He is joining Sydney-based facilities maintenance and fit-out company Modus Projects as chief financial officer, returning to Sydney after 10 years in Hong Kong and Singapore. Chris Key has joined Westfield shopping centre owner Scentre Group as a management executive to work on mixed-use development across its portfolio of Westfield centres in Australia and New Zealand.

Ashish Goyal has joined emerging markets alternatives manager Gramercy Funds Management as senior advisor. Goyal left Canadian pension fund OMERS in December 2025 as its head of Asia Pacific. Pete King is leaving his post as head of property at state-owned investment manager Victorian Funds Management Corporation after 18 years, with Georgina Bishop promoted to head of property effective in late October.