Lisette van Doorn OIC 2007: Hall of Fame

When Lisette van Doorn won the Outstanding Industry Award at the 2nd IPE Real Estate Awards in 2007, real estate investing by European pension funds – particularly in private funds – was still a fledgling industry. And in order to help the European investment market mature into a mainstream proposition, accurate and easily accessible information was top priority.

The European Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Vehicles – INREV – was set up to fill this gap, and in soon became an integral part of the real estate investing landscape. It was for her work in bringing INREV to this point that Lisette van Doorn, INREV’s the then chief executive, won won this Platinum Award. INREV acts on behalf of investors and other participants in the growing European market for non-listed real estate vehicles. It aims to improve the transparency of the market and accessibility of funds and market information.

For each fund INREV comprises, the database lists its investment strategy, size, structure, fees and investors. All the leading asset managers are now members. Meanwhile the INREV Index, which measures the performance of non-listed property funds, contains well over 200 vehicles. INREV has also published guidelines on both corporate governance and the operation of a secondary market, as well as reporting guidelines for investment vehicles, a due diligence protocol and a set of core definitions.

During the period, INREV’s membership almost doubled, from about 130 members to 250. Van Doorn came to INREV from ING Real Estate European Investment Management, Europe where she was responsible for research and strategy activities. She has a doctoral degree in business economics from the University of Maastricht, as well as a postgraduate financial analyst degree. “We knew her pretty well as an excellent research manager with ING Real Estate,” says Michiel Olland, director, SNS Property Finance southern Europe and new markets, and one time chairman of INREV. “She delivers an outstanding quality of research and information. She is very pragmatic and doesn’t feel the urge to make things more complex than necessary.” He also says, “There was already generally respect for INREV in the marketplace, but Lisette has further professionalised it as an investor-driven platform.”

Van Doorn herself feels the most important achievement at INREFV at this time was the publication of guidelines, especially the guide to common definitions. “This has been an important step, and what is good is that it has been driven by people in the industry itself, not INREV,” she said. “The biggest challenge facing the industry is a lack of transparency and there is still some way to go. However, I hope and believe that these guidelines will lead to a higher level of standardisation, professionalism and transparency.”

Van Doorn has since gone on to take her expertise to the UK-based Urban Land Institute, where she is chief executive officer for Europe. The mission of the Urban Land Institute is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.

ULI is committed to:

Bringing together leaders from across the fields of real estate and land use policy to exchange best practices and serve community needs
Fostering collaboration within and beyond ULI’s membership through mentoring, dialogue, and problem solving
Exploring issues of urbanisation, conservation, regeneration, land use, capital formation, and sustainable development
Advancing land use policies and design practices that respect the uniqueness of both the built and natural environments
Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media
Sustaining a diverse global network of local practice and advisory efforts that address current and future challenges.

Outstanding Industry Contribution 2007

Lisette van Doorn