CapitaLand has announced its wholly-owned serviced residence business unit, The Ascott, has appointed Lee Chee Koon as its chief executive with effect from June 1st 2013.

He will succeed Chong Kee Hiong who has resigned to pursue other opportunities.

Chong will step down as Ascott’s chief executive and as a non-independent non-executive director from the board of Ascott Residence Trust Management, the manager of Ascott Residence Trust, with effect from June 1st 2013.

Lee will take over Chong on the board of ARTML, subject to approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Lim Ming Yan, president and group chief executive of CapitaLand said: “We thank Kee Hiong for his contributions to CapitaLand.

“The decision to leave is not an easy one for him and for us but we fully respect Kee Hiong’s decision to pursue the next stage of his career.

“Kee Hiong has served the company for 12 years and has been instrumental in leading the growth of Ascott and Ascott Residence Trust.

“We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

He added: “With Chee Koon’s extensive experience in strategy development and his wealth of knowledge in operations, we are confident that he will lead Ascott to further strengthen its position as a world leader in the serviced residence industry.”

Lee will relinquish his current appointments as Ascott’s deputy chief executive and managing director for North Asia.