HONG KONG—Colliers International Group Inc. has hired Nigel Smith as managing director of the company's Hong Kong business. Smith joins Colliers after 13 years with CBRE, and is the latest in a series of appointments to strengthen the company's Asia Pacific platform.

Smith has 30 years' experience in real estate, with 25 of those based in Hong Kong. At CBRE, he was most recently the managing director, office agency services Asia. Prior to this, he worked at another firm here for 11 years, which published reports identify as JLL and its predecessor firm, Jones Lang Wooton.

Over the course of his time in Hong Kong, Smith has handled leasing for some of the region's tallest buildings, including Central 18 Zone at 2ifc and International Commerce Center in Hong Kong, TAIPEI 101, China World Tower Beijing, Shanghai Tower, K11 Guangzhou and Lotte World Tower. He is also the current chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors commercial property professional groups for Asia and Hong Kong, and is a member of the RICS Hong Kong Board.

Smith counts himself “delighted to join Colliers International, which has a strong global brand, excellent reputation and a broad platform of services. Hong Kong is a major market for the company and as a leading commercial real estate market globally, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to lead the strategic direction of the two Colliers offices in Hong Kong and Kowloon.” In his new capacity, he's succeeding Richard Kirke, who reportedly left the firm this past October to oversee CBRE's Asia Pacific capital markets team.

The new hire comes a few weeks after CIGI hired David Hand as the new CEO for Asia Pacific and Paul Baxter as COO for Asia, and after CIGI was formally spun off from its former parent company, FirstService Corp. “Smith's appointment is a game changer for Colliers International and will enable us to accelerate the success we have already achieved over the past 35 years in Asia Pacific,” says Hand. “His professionalism and passion will enable us to meet the changing needs of our clients, drive our service delivery and deepen our platform in the region.” Smith formally assumes his new responsibilities with Colliers in September.