Grant Lewis Kelley (58) is a seasoned, international leader in private equity, business strategy, real estate investing, and sports management. With over 30 years of professional experience, Grant has developed a well-earned reputation for finding creative solutions to complex challenges. During his career he has worked in 10 countries for at least one year or more, including 20 years in Asia Pacific.
His career began in 1989 at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he served as a Principal in both Asia Pacific and the United States. In 2004, he was chosen to lead Colony Capital Asia as its CEO, overseeing the company’s investment and asset management activities in the region. His leadership resulted in several landmark transactions, including most notably the acquisitions of Fukuoka Hawkstown in 2004, and Raffles Hotels and Resorts in 2005, and the financing of Challenger Financial Services in 2007. He received collectively six industry awards for these transactions.
Grant founded his own private equity vehicle, the Holdfast Group, in 2008 and serves as its Chairman and 100% shareholder. Under his direction, Holdfast Assets owns and oversees significant agricultural, sporting, and tourism assets in South Australia, including the Adelaide 36ers professional basketball team, and the Port Willunga vineyard. Past investments have included an Asian-based funds management business, Holdfast Capital (acquired by Apollo Global Management in 2010), and the “Maylands Aggregation”, a 3,800 acre sheep farm sold to a consortium of SA-based investors in 2020.
Holdfast via its 100% owned subsidiary Adelaide Basketball has held the license for the four-time NBL champion 36ers since 2016. During this period the 36ers won the 2017 Merlion Cup in Singapore, competed in the 2017-18 NBL Championship series (narrowly losing 3-2), and in September 2022 became the first NBL team to defeat an NBA franchise with their victory over the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix, Arizona.
In parallel with his leadership of Holdfast Group, Grant has also led large cap (i.e. above 5BN market capitalization), publicly-listed companies in both Singapore and Australia, respectively City Developments Limited (2014-2017) and Vicinity Centers (2018 to 2022).
Grant is a prominent member of the Australian business community. He is the immediate Past Deputy Chairman of Pulteney Grammar School, a Councilor of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and Chair of the Australian Hearing Dogs national fundraising campaign. From 2020 to 2022 he served on the SA Premier’s Economic Advisory Council. He was also a key member of the NBL task force which navigated the successful response to the Covid pandemic in 2020-21.
Grant holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, a Master of Economic Sciences (with Distinction) from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.