Our people

At JY Group, our strength lies in the depth and diversity of our team.

Across investment, finance, legal, operations, and asset management, our professionals bring decades of experience from leading institutions and top-tier firms across Australia and the Asia-Pacific. United by a shared commitment to excellence, integrity, and performance, we combine strategic insight with executional rigour to deliver lasting value to our clients and partners.

Kai Zhang

Founder

Kai Zhang
Founder & Managing Director

Kai has a distinguished career spanning over two decades in legal, tax, and investment advisory. He brings deep expertise in structuring complex transactions and guiding strategic decision-making for listed companies, institutional investors, and ultra-high-net-worth families across the Asia-Pacific region.

Read more

Executive Team

Jiayi Zeng (Ellie)

Jiayi Zeng (Ellie)
Director General Manager, Finance
Ed Hardy

Ed Hardy
General Manager, Asset Management
Roy Gruenpeter

Roy Gruenpeter
General Manager, Development Management
Edwin Tan

Edwin Tan
General Manager, Investor Relations
Lei Lesley Huang

Lei Lesley Huang (AKA Sukie)
General Manager, Investor Relations
Ningli Huang

Ningli Huang (Bernard)
Investment Manager
Tina Popovski

Tina Popovski
Operations Manager

Advisory Committee

Eugene Chen

Eugene Chen
AFSL Compliance Legal
John Frangi

John Frangi
Property Legal
Brooke Conlon

Brooke Conlon
Debt Advisory

Commercial Real Estate Investing, Reimagined

Quick Links

Get in touch

Australia

  • Level 7, 14 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000
Return to top
  • © JY GROUP 2025
  • AFSL 510252
  • ABN 12 618 088 609

Kai Zhang
Founder & Managing Director

Kai has a distinguished career spanning over two decades in legal, tax, and investment advisory. He brings deep expertise in structuring complex transactions and guiding strategic decision-making for listed companies, institutional investors, and ultra-high-net-worth families across the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to establishing JY Group, Kai was a senior equity partner at PwC Australia, where he spent 12 years advising boardrooms and high-net-worth families on tax structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and capital strategies.

During the COVID-19 period, Kai spearheaded JY Group’s expansion, growing its assets under management from the ground up to a substantial market presence. Retiring from PwC in early 2024, he now focuses exclusively on driving JY Group’s continued growth, investment strategy, and market leadership in real estate.

Kai is a Chartered Accountant and a Fellow of the Tax Institute. He holds five tertiary degrees, including a Juris Doctor (Monash University), a Master of Tax Law (University of Melbourne), a Master of Accounting (Monash University), a Bachelor of World Economics (Fudan University), and an Advanced Diploma in Management (La Trobe University).

Passionate about innovation in real estate, and a self-admitted amateur programer, Kai is an active proponent for use of proptech and AI to to enhance asset selection and portfolio performance.

JIAYI ZENG (ELLIE)
Director, General Manager, Finance

Ellie brings over 12 years of finance experience with a strong foundation in accounting and financial management. Before joining JY Group, she served as a senior Assurance Executive at a leading international accounting firm, specialising in the property sector.

As General Manager, Finance, Ellie oversees financial performance, AFSL and banking compliance, financial reporting, audit processes, and is actively involved in asset acquisitions and investor relations.

She holds a Master of Professional Accounting from Queensland University of Technology and is a Chartered Accountant.

ED HARDY
General Manager, Asset Management

Ed Hardy is a seasoned real estate professional. Prior to joining JY Group, he served as General Manager of Asset Management at Westfield/Scentre Group.

With over 25 years of extensive experience, Ed has held various leadership roles throughout his career in the shopping centre industry, covering development, centre management, and operations.

With a strong background in retail, commercial, and mixed-use asset classes, Ed has successfully led large teams and delivered major development projects across Queensland, South Australia, and New South Wales. 

He played a pivotal role in shaping many of the key centres within the Westfield/Scentre Group portfolio, contributing to its reputation as Australia’s premier destination-focused retail portfolio.

ROY GRUENPETER
General Manager, Development Management

Prior to joining JY Group, Roy served as General Manager of Development at Westfield/Scentre Group.

He is a seasoned real estate professional with over 25 years of industry experience.

During his time at Westfield, he held multiple leadership roles across key areas including development, investment management, asset management, leasing, and property management.

Throughout his career, Roy has built deep expertise in property development, strategic planning, investor relations, joint venture formation and structuring, as well as property acquisition, divestment, and management. He has successfully led multidisciplinary teams in delivering major and minor projects across NSW, ACT, VIC, SA, and WA.

EDWIN TAN
General Manager, Investor Relations

Edwin is responsible for client management of JY Group’s ultra-high-net-worth clientele. 

Before joining JY Group, he was an Executive Director at UBS Private Banking (formerly Credit Suisse) for over 16  years, focusing on Asian clients with ties to Australia. 

Prior to UBS/Credit Suisse, Edwin was a Senior Financial Advisor at Citibank Australia and previously worked with several banks in Singapore before moving to Australia in 2005.

Edwin holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management (Double Majors) from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Financial Services in Australia.

LEI LESLEY HUANG (AKA SUKIE)
General Manager, Investor Relations

Lesley manages investor relations, fostering long-term relationships with investors and supporting communication delivery.

Before joining JY Group, she held a senior role at a notable family office in Singapore and previously at Citibank Australia, where she advised on diverse investments, commercial real estate acquisitions, and wealth structuring solutions.

With over a decade of experience in financial markets and real estate, Lesley is well-regarded in UHNW investment circles across Asia-Pacific.

She holds a Master of Business in Banking and Finance from Monash University and a bachelor’s in management from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

NINGLI HUANG (BERNARD)
Investment Manager

Bernard brings over 10 years of experience in real estate investment and fund management.

Known for his analytical rigor, he has a strong background in financial modeling, investment analysis, market research, and due diligence.

He has participated in acquisitions of Australian shopping centers worth a total of $2.6 billion.

Before JY Group, Bernard worked at Challenger, Haben Property Fund, KPMG, and two public companies. He holds a Master of Science in Finance from Clark University (USA), a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from Shanghai Tongji University, and is a member of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants and CPA Australia.

TINA POPOVSKI
Operations Manager

With over 24 years at a top-four accounting firm, Tina brings her extensive expertise to JY Group’s operations.

She collaborates closely with management across the organisation, excelling in managing calendars, high-level meetings, events, and confidential communications.

Known for her foresight, she achieves results under tight deadlines, strengthened by her interpersonal skills and commitment to teamwork.

EUGENE CHEN
AFSL Compliance Legal

Eugene is a Managing Partner at Hall & Wilcox, a leading Australian law firm with over 100 years of history and a team of more than 1,000 lawyers. 

He specialises in funds management compliance, financial services licensing, and anti-money laundering law.

Eugene’s key clients include major Australian funds management firms, corporate advisory companies, property developers, and retail banks.

He is recommended in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2020 for banking and finance and was recognised in the Legal and Professional category at the 2022 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards.

JOHN FRANGI
Property Legal

John is a Partner and Head of Real Estate at Hamilton Locke. Prior to joining Hamilton Locke, John served as Property Group Counsel at Woolworths Limited.

A specialist in property development, major tenancy leasing, sales, acquisitions, and property dispute resolution, John brings over 20 years of experience across private practice and in-house counsel roles.

His expertise spans mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, litigation, as well as construction, environmental, and planning law.

John’s industry recognition includes listings in the Legal 500, GC Powerlist: Australia and New Zealand (2016), Doyles Leading Australia In-House Property & Real Estate Lawyers (2015), and the ACLA In-House Legal Team of the Year (2013).

BROOKE CONLON
Debt Advisory

Brooke is the Principal of Arden Debt Advisory, leading the debt-raising process for borrower clients from pitch through to completion. 

With 15 years of experience in real estate finance and social infrastructure investment, she applies rigorous analysis to develop strategies and make final recommendations, ensuring uncompromising standards in every transaction.

Brooke is dedicated to providing an exceptional client experience. Her meticulous attention to detail anticipates potential challenges, creating a seamless process from start to finish.

Throughout her career, Brooke has overseen $2.2 billion in debt-raising mandates, settled and managed over $1 billion in real estate loan portfolios, and coordinated bid submissions for infrastructure projects and PPPs.

Brooke is also committed to mentoring, having supported youth through the RAISE Foundation and ABCN, and has served on the PCA Debt Capital Markets Committee.

Before founding Arden, Brooke was a Director with Colliers International in the Capital Advisory Business.

QLD

VIC

NSW

WA

Contact

Please complete the form and we will be in touch.