SINGAPORE (Nov 20): Global Logistic Properties, China’s biggest modern warehouse operator, said co-founder and the chairman of its executive committee, Jeffrey Schwartz, passed away yesterday.

Schwartz, 55, had taken time off from the company for health reasons.

When it announced Schwartz’s leave in a Nov. 4 statement, GLP said that Chief Executive Officer Ming Z. Mei would “continue to lead the company.”

Schwartz and Ming partnered with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte in 2008 to buy Prologis Inc.’s China operations and a stake in its Japanese property funds for US$1.3 billion ($1.7 billion).

The operations were rebranded as Global Logistic Properties in March 2009.

After an initial public offering in 2010, GLP grew into one of the largest providers of modern logistics facilities in China, Japan and Brazil. GIC remains the company’s largest shareholder, according to GLP.

Schwartz had joined Prologis in 1994 and held various executive roles before being appointed chief executive officer in 2005.

He resigned from Prologis in 2008.

GLP completed a US$2.5 billion agreement with a group of Chinese state-owned enterprises and financial institutions in September, which gave them a 33.8% stake in GLP China.

The transaction is expected to enhance GLP’s access to land and generate new business opportunities, the company said on Nov. 4.

Schwartz, who was also a board member for Las Vegas Sands Corp., graduated from Harvard Business School in 1985 with a master’s degree in business administration, according to his profile on GLP’s website. Schwartz is survived by his wife and four children, the company said.