Meet Gary — Senior Manager of the Taiwan Real Estate team

Hi, my name is Gary. I’m the Senior Manager of the Taiwan Real Estate team. I joined Coupang in December of 2023. My job revolves around the expansion of our Fulfillment Centers (FCs) real estate portfolio, I mainly deal with bigger size properties. 

The Taiwan Real Estate team is in charge of expanding the real estate portfolio of Coupang. This includes industrial properties as well as office spaces. Our goal is to fulfill demands from the business, for example we find warehouses or office spaces, we confirm that properties are suitable by doing our due diligences in terms of architecture (legal and regulation), engineering, and then we collaborate with finance to lease the property. 

Another part of our job is development, we analyze the market for potential opportunities for new properties development, we talk to landlords and collaborate with the relevant government agencies and bureaus. 

Can you share your career background? How do you think it helped with your current responsibilities?  

I started from engineering; I studied civil engineering in Canada. After graduation, my career spans for over a decade and includes experiences at a global commercial real estate services company, then I worked for real estate in an American multinational technology company, before moving to handling industrial real estate for a multinational logistics company. In my latest experience prior to joining Coupang, we handled demand from outside clients which meant that our work was very much dependent on possible inconsistent demand. At Coupang, since the demand comes from within and the company is expanding, this offered me a certain job security and the scale of projects I get to work on here is larger. 

Any work culture you found to be different at Coupang compared to your previous workplaces?    

One of the key elements that sets Coupang apart in my opinion is that we are a target goal-oriented company. “Aim High and Find a Way,” “Learn Voraciously,” and “Hate Waste.” These three Leadership Principles we are living them out every day. At Coupang, we get to wear different hats and get to excel in our work. Last year, when we were expanding our office spaces in Taipei, I was given a specific timeline to build an office on one floor. My experience told me it was impossible, but the company told me, “You haven’t found a way yet.” For this project, we got full support from the business and all the resources needed to make it happen, and we did. 

Do you have any goals you wish to achieve as a Logistics Real Estate expert at Coupang?   

My goal is to meet the demand of the company and see Coupang triumph. People in Taiwan still have insufficient understanding about Coupang, they are watching to see if we are going to commit ourselves into this market. I hope our team can support Coupang to become one of the main references of online retailers in Taiwan. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing how the scope of my work will evolve, and the scale of infrastructures I get to work on. 

From the external partners & organizations you've interacted with through your role, how do they perceive Coupang?  

The general idea within the real estate market is that there is huge hope at Coupang. Companies come to us as a good partner to work with, Coupang has made its voice heard in the market in terms of real estate. When going deeper into developments, any company is bound to encounter worries and skepticism. Coupang, by showing year on year growth and expansion, has shown the Taiwanese market that we are here to stay, and we are building greater trust day by day.  

Lastly, any message you’d like to convey to the job seekers wanting to apply to Coupang?   

Drop your resume now, we are hiring. We have a growing team, great resources, Coupang is growing in Taiwan, and we are creating numerous wow experiences for our customers every day. If you join, you will have the opportunity to be in charge of new projects and even set up processes for future employees. Also, compensation is competitive and great financial benefits.