Swire taps Henry Bott to replace Kieran Bowers as president in Miami
Bowers, who held the role for six years, is leaving the company and moving to the U.K.
Kieran Bowers is leaving Swire Properties, and will be succeeded as president by Swire’s chief representative in Vietnam, Henry Bott.
Bowers led Miami-based Swire for six years, taking over from longtime president Stephen Owens. Owens was in that role for more than 30 years, since Swire opened its Miami headquarters. Bowers will be moving back to the United Kingdom with his family in March, according to a spokesperson.
Bott was previously involved in Swire Properties Limited’s projects in China, Hong Kong (where Swire is based), and southeast Asia, according to a press release.
Under Bowers’ leadership, Swire completed the first phase of Brickell City Centre, a mixed-use office, retail, residential and hotel development. He also formed a joint venture partnership with billionaire developer Steve Ross of New York-based Related Companies. The two firms plan to develop One Brickell City Centre, a supertall office tower that will have the largest office floor plates in the city of Miami.
Bott will oversee that project, as well as others in Swire’s pipeline, according to the release. That could also include the redevelopment of the Mandarin Oriental hotel and the adjacent park on Brickell Key into a two-tower development. One of the buildings could also be a supertall, recent filings with the Federal Aviation Association indicate. Swire Properties acquired and developed over the last several decades much of the 44-acre Brickell Key, which was previously called Claughton Island.
Bowers also oversaw sales of some of Swire’s properties, the proceeds of which it reinvested into new projects, the release states. That includes the bulk sale of the remaining condos at Brickell City Centre’s Reach and Rise condo towers to developers Shahab Karmely and Edgardo Defortuna in 2021, and the sale of East, Miami hotel, also in 2021.
In 2018, two former employees sued Swire, alleging that the company fired them for their “Hispanic emotionalism” under Bowers’ leadership. The lawsuits were both dismissed in 2021.