Q&A with Paul Marshall, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, Unispace

As organisations across Asia continue to rethink how workplace strategy supports business performance, employee experience, and long-term growth, the demand for integrated, client-centric solutions has never been greater.

Following his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Asia, we sat down with Paul Marshall to discuss the evolving workplace landscape, Unispace’s differentiated methodology, and his vision for growth across the region.

What attracted you to Unispace at this stage of your career?

What resonated strongly with me was Unispace’s integrated and co-creative methodology, which brings strategy, design, and delivery together from the very beginning of the client journey.

In many parts of the market, those disciplines still operate independently, which can create inefficiencies, fragmented decision-making, and inconsistent outcomes for clients. Unispace’s model is different because it creates a much more collaborative and seamless experience throughout the project lifecycle.

That approach aligns closely with how I’ve worked throughout my career — staying close to clients, understanding their broader business objectives, and ensuring delivery excellence is connected to long-term value creation.

You’ve spent more than 25 years working across Asia Pacific. What has shaped your approach to client engagement?

One of the biggest lessons from working across multiple markets in Asia Pacific is that strong client relationships are built on consistency, trust, and responsiveness.

Clients today are navigating increasingly complex business environments — whether that’s portfolio transformation, rapid expansion, changing workplace expectations, or cost pressures. They are looking for partners who understand not just the physical environment, but the operational and strategic challenges behind it.

Throughout my career, I’ve focused heavily on building long-term partnerships by maintaining close engagement with clients and ensuring teams remain highly responsive, commercially disciplined, and delivery-focused. That client-centric mindset is something that strongly aligns with the culture at Unispace.

How does Unispace’s methodology differentiate the business in today’s market?

What differentiates Unispace is the ability to integrate strategy, design, and delivery through a single, cross-functional approach.

By involving the right disciplines early in the process, clients benefit from greater collaboration, stronger cost certainty, earlier buildability validation, and more seamless execution from concept through to delivery.

Importantly, it also creates better alignment between workplace strategy and business outcomes. Clients are no longer looking purely for a design-and-build provider — they want a strategic partner that can help them navigate growth, change, and operational complexity in a more holistic way.

That is where I believe Unispace is particularly well positioned.

You’ve successfully scaled businesses across the region. What excites you most about the opportunity in Asia?

Asia remains one of the most dynamic and fast-evolving regions globally. There is strong momentum across multiple markets, alongside increasing demand for workplaces that support agility, performance, and employee experience.

What excites me most is the opportunity to continue expanding Unispace’s presence across the region while strengthening the consistency of how we support clients across markets.

Having worked extensively across Asia Pacific, I understand the importance of balancing regional scale with local market expertise. The opportunity ahead is not simply about growth — it is about building deeper client partnerships and delivering a consistently high-quality experience across every interaction and project.

What will your priorities be as CEO, Asia?

My priority is to continue strengthening our client relationships and supporting the next phase of growth across the region.

That includes enhancing collaboration across our teams, continuing to elevate the client experience, and ensuring we maintain the high standards of delivery and operational excellence that Unispace is known for.

At the same time, there is a significant opportunity to further strengthen our integrated offering across strategy, design, and delivery — helping clients simplify complexity and achieve better business outcomes through a more connected approach.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of Unispace in Asia?

Unispace already has a strong foundation, an exceptional team, and a highly differentiated model.

What excites me is the opportunity to build on that momentum — continuing to expand our regional presence, deepen relationships with clients and partners, and further position Unispace as a trusted advisor for organisations navigating change across Asia.

The market continues to evolve rapidly, and I believe Unispace is uniquely positioned to help clients respond with agility, clarity, and confidence.

To connect with Paul Marshall and learn more about how Unispace is helping clients create future-ready workplaces across Asia, connect with him on LinkedIn or reach out directly at paul.marshall@unispace.com.