Cushman & Wakefield appoints Leon Ikeda for Asia Pacific

Cushman & Wakefield has appointed Leon Ikeda as Head of Advisory & Transactions, Asia Pacific, Data Centre Group, based in Singapore.

He will lead strategic advisory and transaction work for data centre operators, investors and hyperscale clients across the region. Reporting to Andrew Green, Head of Data Centre Group, Asia Pacific, Ikeda will work with regional and global teams on capital deployment, platform expansion and partnerships.

The appointment comes as property advisers and investors sharpen their focus on data centres, now a major asset class within commercial real estate and digital infrastructure. In Asia Pacific, demand has been driven by cloud computing, artificial intelligence workloads and broader digitalisation across regional economies.

Ikeda will oversee acquisitions, divestments, portfolio strategy and partnership mandates across the data centre market. The role combines advisory work with transaction execution, reflecting a market in which operators, developers and capital providers increasingly need specialist expertise in site selection, development and expansion.

He is returning to Cushman & Wakefield after more than a decade at the firm in Japan, where he worked on the data centre sector through market analysis, research and request-for-proposal processes. That experience was built in one of the region's most established hubs for colocation and hyperscale activity.

More recently, Ikeda held senior regional roles at Equinix and Digital Realty, two of the world's largest data centre operators. He was responsible for acquisitions and strategic expansion across Japan and the wider Asia Pacific region, including transactions in Tokyo and Osaka.

His background spans both the advisory and operator sides of the market. That mix has become increasingly valuable as deals grow more complex and competition for land, power access and suitable development sites intensifies across major Asian markets.

Green said the hire reflects the importance Cushman & Wakefield is placing on the segment.

"The data centre sector is evolving at unprecedented speed, driven by cloud adoption, AI and digitalisation across Asia Pacific. Leon's appointment reflects the growing importance of combining advisory excellence with real-world operator experience. His deep understanding of capital markets, development strategies and operational realities uniquely positions us to help clients make confident, future-ready decisions in an increasingly competitive environment.

Leon returns to Cushman & Wakefield with more than a decade of experience at the firm in Japan, where he developed deep market expertise in the data centre sector, supporting client mandates through market analysis, research and participation in RFP processes. He most recently held senior regional roles on the operator side with Equinix and Digital Realty, where he was responsible for acquisitions and strategic expansion across Japan and Asia Pacific, leading major transactions in core markets including Tokyo and Osaka, and earning a global CEO award for his contributions to high-impact, region-defining projects," Green said.

Regional demand

Asia Pacific has become one of the fastest-growing regions for data centre investment, though the market remains uneven. Mature locations such as Japan, Singapore and Australia continue to attract large volumes of capital, while emerging markets in South-East Asia and parts of North Asia are drawing interest from operators seeking new capacity and lower-cost expansion opportunities.

At the same time, the sector faces constraints. Power availability, planning rules, sustainability requirements, and the need to remain close to customers and network infrastructure have made transactions harder to execute. These conditions have increased the value of advisers with experience in both real estate and digital infrastructure.

Cushman & Wakefield is one of several major property services firms expanding specialist coverage in the sector as institutional investors, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds and infrastructure players raise allocations to data centre assets. Traditional office, logistics and retail landlords have also looked to the segment as part of broader portfolio strategies.

Ikeda is expected to help clients address issues that now extend beyond property selection, including capital allocation, scale and long-term platform planning. These factors are central to data centre investment decisions because operators often need to secure multiple sites, build regional footprints and align development with customer demand over several years.

Ikeda said the market now requires a broader approach than in the past.

"Data centre strategy today requires a far more integrated approach than ever before - spanning capital allocation, site selection, scalability and long-term platform value. Having worked on both the advisory and operator sides, I'm excited to return to Cushman & Wakefield and help clients navigate complexity with solutions that are practical, executable and aligned with their long-term growth across Asia Pacific," Ikeda said.

Cushman & Wakefield employs about 53,000 people across more than 350 offices in nearly 60 countries and reported revenue of USD $10.3 billion in 2025.