Henry Bott and Jessica Chen.
Henry Bott and Jessica Chen
President; director of design and construction at Swire Properties
Living in Miami after spending his career in East Asia was a culture shock for Henry Bott.
The British real estate executive, who replaced Kieran Bowers after a six-year stint as president of Swire Companies, uprooted his family from Ho Chi Minh City to Biscayne Bay just after the holidays. So far, Bott likes what he sees.
“My first impression has been very positive. It’s very multicultural. There are people with lots of different backgrounds and perspectives in the office with a rich knowledge base,” Bott said. “One of the things Swire has given you is a familiarity with moving to new places and assimilating into the culture.”
Bott has been in this situation plenty of times. The globetrotter worked part time in Beijing while studying at Nottingham University (he attended the 2008 Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies) before in 2010 joining Swire, the real estate arm of a Hong Kong-based conglomerate. He spent three years in China, six years in Hong Kong and four years in Vietnam before moving to the United States.
Throughout, Bott noticed several similarities among the places he resided, especially among its consumers. He aims to apply what he’s learned abroad to Swire’s Miami portfolio.
“There’s a lot of great things we’re doing over there in terms of design and project management that could enhance what we do in Miami,” he said. “Transport and design, and the integrated mix of projects are what we do well in Hong Kong specifically. We’ll be weaving that into the future of Brickell.”
Bott has teamed up with director of construction Jessica Chen, who joined Swire in September after working with Suffolk Construction for two decades. Together they are leading Swire’s continued expansion of Brickell City Centre, the 7-year-old shopping plaza that has attracted swanky restaurants, mini-golf courses and a 1,049-foot skyscraper with Related Companies, while anchoring Miami’s financial district. Two new supertall towers in Brickell Key Park are also under consideration.
Chen, a Miami native, has seen her city become a global capital with a skyline that finally matches its needs.
“We have a lot of people throughout the world who are noticing Miami as a city they want to live in, and we’re beginning to offer great real estate products,” Chen said. “We no longer have a vanilla-type architecture. The sky’s the limit for us.” —A.S.
