Tridiana Ong moves from Colliers to lead Knight Frank’s industrial, office leasing team 

[SINGAPORE] One of Singapore’s leading office and industrial leasing brokers, Tridiana Ong, has joined Knight Frank Singapore as the real estate consultancy moves to beef up its occupier strategy and solutions team. 

She will take over from Calvin Yeo, who led the firm’s office and industrial leasing divisions for almost 10 years. Yeo was appointed managing director in 2022 and also oversees project management. 

Ong began her new role as executive director and head of occupier strategy and solutions on Monday (Nov 3). She leads a team of 16, including three brokers who previously worked with her at Colliers Singapore, where she last held the position of executive director and head of tenant representation. 

The three are Gabriel Liong, deputy director of occupier strategy and solutions; Charles Lim, senior manager of occupier strategy and solutions; and Keir Huang, analyst in the same team.

Speaking to The Business Times, Ong said she will focus on strengthening the firm’s occupier advisory platform while continuing to champion a client-first approach. 

“I look forward to helping clients make real estate decisions that support their operations, people and purpose, while collaborating with my team and mentoring the next generation of real estate professionals to help them realise their full potential,” she said.

Ong, who has close to two decades of experience in Singapore’s commercial real estate market, led major leasing deals involving two global life-sciences firms with a combined footprint of more than one million square feet. 

“Her ability to navigate complex requirements and align real estate strategy with the operational needs of industrial occupiers has made her a trusted adviser among corporate clients,” the consultancy said. “In the office sector, she recently advised a prominent technology company on a lease portfolio of nearly 50,000 sq ft and a government-linked entity with a 30,000 sq ft office ... This is a testament to her deep understanding of various occupier needs in a rapidly evolving workplace landscape.” 

At Colliers, Ong had led the tenant representation team, guiding the group to a record financial year. She joined Colliers in 2021. 

In her new role, Ong will report to Knight Frank Singapore’s chief executive officer Galven Tan. 

“The office leasing market in Singapore continues to show resilience,” said Tan. “Together with our Apac occupier strategy and solutions team, we anticipate strong growth in our market share under Ong’s leadership.” The consultancy also recognises the need for succession planning and will continue to invest in talent both within and beyond the firm, he said. 

Knight Frank Singapore has also been beefing up its capital markets team. In November 2024, Melvin Chay joined as a senior director from Colliers, where he was director of international capital for Asia-Pacific for about three years.

Dayna Ang, a senior manager in the capital markets team, joined Knight Frank Singapore this March. She was previously part of Savills Singapore’s investment sales and capital markets team. 

Tan said that since then, the capital markets team “has transacted more than S$1.3 billion of commercial real estate, while working on a pipeline of transactions that will continue to strengthen our position as the market leader”.

In the past two years, there have been several leadership changes at Knight Frank Singapore. 

Tan joined the consultancy as CEO in February 2024, after four years at Savills Singapore, where he last held the position of deputy managing director of investment sales and capital markets. Knight Frank Singapore announced then that Tan’s immediate focus would be on strengthening the consultancy’s core service lines and further developing its market presence.

In July, former PropertyGuru country manager for Singapore Tan Tee Khoon was named head of Knight Frank Singapore’s agency business KF Property Network, after former head Evan Chung left to join Singapore Realtors Inc; Tan Tee Khoon is also managing director of corporate affairs. 

A change in ownership is also under way, after shareholder AF Global said last month it will sell its entire 55 per cent interest in Knight Frank Singapore for S$36.9 million. AF Global, controlled by the Koh family behind the Fragrance group and Aspial, is selling its holdings to Knight Frank Asia Pacific – a subsidiary of London-based parent Knight Frank – which holds the remaining 45 per cent stake.