Speakers
GTIS Partners
Head of Real Estate Europe
Deutsche Asset Management
Georg Allendorf is co-head of real estate Europe, alternatives and real assets at Deustche Asset Management. Based in Frankfurt, he previously served as head of real estate Germany and was also the CEO of RREEF Real Estate Germany and a member of the management board of RREEF Spezial Invest GmbH.
Allendorf has also worked at R+V Versicherung as a real estate portfolio manager and was previously a vice-chairman of INREV as well as a senior member of the Real Estate Consultancy and Advanced Training divisions of EBS Immobilienakademie, which is part of EBS University in Wiesbaden.
He currently sits on the board of directors of the German Investment Funds Association (BVI), representing the property industry.
Head of Global Real Estate Private Markets
Employees Provident Fund
Kamarulzaman Bin Hassan joined the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) in 2008 to establish its global real estate unit, which has since reviewed opportunities more than $20bn and secured assets worth more than $7bn of assets in Malaysia, United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Japan and Australia.
Hassan started his career as a research analyst in Fima Securities in August 1999 before moving to several other firms in the same capacity until joining the EPF 2008.
He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – majoring in finance – from Ohio University before obtaining a Master’s of Business Administration (Finance) from Oklahoma City University
Chief Investment Officer
M&G Real Estate
Tony Brown leads M&G Real Estate's fund managers and investment teams across its global fund range. He has over 25 years of real estate investment experience across the UK, Continental Europe and Asia.
Prior to joining M&G Real Estate in 2014, he was managing director of Lend Lease Investment Management, EMEA, where he was responsible for a business managing £2bn of real estate and £2.5bn of infrastructure funds on behalf of over 50 institutional clients. Before that, he was fund director at Schroder Investment Management, where he worked for 14 years, with responsibility for the Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust, the largest balanced trust in the UK, with investment in circa £10bn of assets.
Brown started his career with Cushman and Wakefield where he worked for three years as a graduate surveyor.
CIO
Union Investment
Martin Brühl is Chief Investment Officer of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH in charge of transactions management for the real estate division of the Union Investment Group. With assets under management totalling some €33bn, the division’s investment focus lies on office, retail and hospitality assets in core markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Prior to joining Union Investment, Brühl enjoyed a 20-year career in the real estate and business consultancy industry, working for groups like Arthur Andersen and Cushman & Wakefield. Trained as a bank officer with a degree in real estate appraisal and finance, he has served as President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a global professional body in land, property and construction and continues to act as ambassador for responsible and sustainable investment in real assets.
Chief Urban Economist
Patrizia
Dr Marcus Cieleback has headed up the research department of Patrizia Immobilien AG since October 2008, focusing on the risk-return based analysis and comparison of European and global real estate markets and the development of models for forecasting the commercial and residential sectors to develop individual investment strategies.
Before joining Patrizia, he worked for Eurohypo as Head of Research and MEAG, the asset management company of Munich Re Group.
Cieleback is a frequent speaker at international conferences and has regularly contributed articles to various international journals. He studied economics at the University in Freiburg and the London School of Economics and completed his doctorate at the University of Bayreuth in real estate finance.
Professor
Maastricht University
Piet Eichholtz teaches courses in finance, real estate finance and investments at Maastricht University, where he was chairman of the Finance Department between 2005 and 2014. Most of his work regards real estate markets, with a focus on international investment, portfolio management, property companies, and housing markets.
Eichholtz has also done extensive research on the economic performance of sustainable properties, the long-run behaviour of real estate markets and demographics. He has also provided extensive services to public society, mainly through board memberships of industry organisations in the property sector, such as EPRA, and consulted with various government bodies in different countries.
His practical experience includes positions at ABP and NIB Capital, and non-executive and advisory board memberships at NSI, Oppenheim, Redevco, and IPD.
Chief Executive Officer
AFIRE
James Fetgatter is Chief Executive of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE), a position he has held since 1992. AFIRE is a not-for-profit association formed in 1988 whose members are foreign institutions who have a common interest in international real estate investing. AFIRE members have approximately USD2trn in real estate investments worldwide. He has guided the growth of the association from a small group of Dutch pension funds to an organisation of over 200 investors from 22 countries.
Prior to this appointment, Fetgatter spent 15 years in various aspects of the real estate industry. His last two positions before AFIRE were with Dutch and UK investment and development companies.
Fetgatter holds a Master in Business Administration from Harvard University and a BS from Oklahoma State University.
Global Head of Commercial Real Estate Debt
TH Real Estate
With over 32 years of investment experience, Jack Gay oversees TH Real Estate’s global origination, portfolio management and business development.
Previously, he was lead portfolio manager and head of the TIAA General Account portfolio management team responsible for the company’s investments in areas such as equity real estate, commercial mortgages and single asset CMBS investments. Other prior roles include heading capital markets activities and managing commercial mortgage production teams.
Gay joined the company in 2002, having previously worked at JP Morgan Chase in a variety of roles. He holds a BS in Finance from Lehigh University and an MBA in Finance from New York University and is a member of TH Real Estate’s investment committee.
Chief Executive Officer
TRIUVA
Wenzel Hoberg has been managing director of TRIUVA Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH since February 2016, with overall corporate responsibility including development, investor relations, portfolio management and fund and asset management, among others.
Herzog has 20 years experience as a senior European real estate investment executive at a major Canadian pension fund and German open-ended real estate fund. At the Canadian pension fund, he was responsible for building a European investment portfolio of CAD8 billion. At the German open-ended fund, he was responsible for a transaction volume of €10 billion in Europe and North America assets.
Herzog has a BA in Business from TFH Berlin and an MSc in Business from the University of Wisconsin and has been on the board of the European Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (INREV) since 2013.
Global Chief Executive Officer
LaSalle Investment Management
Jeff Jacobson is CEO of LaSalle Investment Management, responsible for a 700-person team managing investments in both private and public real estate across all major markets in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Jacobson is a member of JLL’s Global Executive Board, a member of the JLL Co-Investment Capital Allocation Committee and sits on LaSalle’s Investment Committees in all three regions.
Prior to his appointment as global CEO in January 2007, he was regional CEO for LaSalle’s European operation, based in London, where he was responsible for all aspects of the European business. He has over 30 years experience in property investment and transactions worldwide and holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master’s from Stanford University. He also serves on the management board of INREV and is a member of both PREA and AFIRE.
CEO
FremForsk
Jesper Bo Jensen is a researcher with a Ph.D. in political science and post doctorate studies at Stanford University. He has worked with the future of buildings and construction for many years, being a stakeholder in a large governmental development project called ‘Project House’ and is also former board member of a major Danish architect firm.
Jensen has years of experience in strategic planning within the financial sector and in strategic thinking for a large number of big and smaller companies and public institutions. He has also prepared a number of analyses of the future for ministries, districts, counties and municipalities.
Jensen is the author of a number of books and has over the years written a vast number of articles for periodicals, newspapers and anthologies.
Fellow in Comparative Politics
London School of Economics
Dr Brian Klaas is a Fellow in Global and Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and an expert on global democracy, democratic transitions, American politics, Western foreign policy, political violence, and elections. He is the author of the forthcoming book ‘The Despot's Accomplice: How the West is Aiding & Abetting the Decline of Democracy. Klaas has advised governments, multi-billion dollar investors, international NGOs, and high-profile politicians.
He has extensive experience working in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and United States politics. Prior clients include the conflict management organisation, International Crisis Group, the international election monitoring organisation, The Carter Center, and large private firms. In the last two years, he has worked with elites at the highest levels of government and public affairs in Thailand, Tunisia, Madagascar, Zambia, Belarus, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire.
Global Head of Investment Management
BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management
Barbara A. Knoflach was appointed as Global Head of Investment Management of BNP Paribas Real Estate in 2015, responsible for defining the strategy for the business line and lead its effective execution through almost 300 employees in eight European countries.
Knoflach was CEO of SEB Asset Management AG from August 2005 before joining BNP Paribas. Before that, she was appointed managing director of the investment company SEB Investment GmbH in June 1999, having joined the SEB Bank group in 1994.
After finishing her studies in 1986, she began her career in Deutsche Bank AG’s International Project Financing unit in Frankfurt am Main. In 1991, she switched within Deutsche Bank Group to the Consulting and Research department of the bank’s real estate subsidiary. She has also served as chairman of AFIRE and a member of the board of the BVI – German Investment Funds Association.
Head of Real Estate Investment Management
Bayerische Versorgungskammer
Rainer Komenda is Head of Real Estate Investment Management with Bayerische Versorgungskammer (BVK), a position he acquired in 2019 having joined BVK in 2003 with responsibility for transactions in Germany and real estate funds. Prior to joining BVK, he worked for different real estate companies in business development, transactions, project management and general management. Komenda has over 25 years’ experience in real estate and holds a master’s in business administration from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich.
Chief Executive Officer
WPV
Dr. Hans Wilhelm Korfmacher has been CEO of WPV (Versorgungswerk der Wirtschaftsprüfer und der vereidigten Buchprüfer im Lande Nordrhein-Westfalen) in Düsseldorf since it was founded by the German State of North Rhine Westfalia in 1993.
After studying law and economics, Korfmacher started his career as a scientific assistant at the university of Bielefeld and worked as legal officer of the German Chamber of Auditors from 1987 to 1993.
Senior Portfolio Manager, Real Estate, Investments
Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
Lisa Lafave is Senior Portfolio Manager, Real Estate at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) and Vice-President of HOOPP Realty Inc. In this capacity, she and her colleagues are responsible for acquisitions, dispositions and portfolio management of direct real estate investments with a market value in excess of CAD 10bn. The portfolio comprises office, industrial and retail properties in all major Canadian markets.
As of 2007, HOOPP began foreign investments in property markets across the globe as well. Lafave oversees 15 different external real estate management firms to meet the pension plan target returns and has successfully delivered superior investment returns over all IPD benchmarks.
She has also spearheaded and implemented HOOPP's Environmental Management Policy and established the portfolio carbon baseline in 2008. As a speaker at many "green" investment conferences, she illustrates how fiduciary responsibility can be compatible with sustainability objectives.
Chief Executive
British Property Federation
Melanie Leech joined the British Property Federation as Chief Executive in January 2015, following nine years as Director General of the Food and Drink Federation.
Her role is to champion UK real estate and to promote a long-term, sustainable partnership between governments and the sector to deliver a high quality built environment, and to create wealth.
Leech began her working life as a Police Constable in the Metropolitan Police Service. She joined the civil service at HM Customs in 1988 and subsequently held senior roles in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Office of the Rail Regulator and the Cabinet Office.
Leech is a Fellow of the RSA. In 2015 she was awarded a CBE for services to the food and drink industry.
Head of Global Investment
Capstone Asset Management
Alex Limb is Head of Global Investment at Capstone Asset Management, with responsibility for sourcing deals, underwriting, structuring and fund raising. He has helped establish the firm’s asset management strategy, manages global portfolios and works actively with global and regional experts and asset managers.
Before joining Capstone, Limb was Head of Investment at Simone Investment Managers, where he invested around USD 2.1bn in equity, mezzanine debt and fund of funds in US and European real estate. Prior to that, he was an investment manager in Hanwha Asset Management’s REITs investment team and was a manager in asset services at CBRE Korea.
Limb has a BSc in Architectural Engineering from Seoul National University and an MA in Architecture from University College London.
Senior Managing Director
Wafra Investment Advisory Group
Frank Lively is the executive Vice President of Wafra Investment Advisory Group’s real estate division, responsible for determining its policies and strategic direction. Lively’s has over 35 years real estate experience, having directed buy and sell deals worth an aggregate of over USD 2bn.
Lively joined Wafra in 1997, having begun his career in 1976 at Helmsley Spear, where he was active in all aspects of real estate operations, finance and acquisitions. In 1980, he moved to Pannell Kerr Forster, an international CPA firm and Stephen W. Brener & Associates in 1982, where he was responsible for the brokerage, management and advisory divisions. Following that, he became president of Lively & Associates, a full service real estate firm.
Lively holds a BA in Accounting from Manhattan College and a Master’s in Real Estate Finance and Development from New York University.
Editor
IPE Real Assets
Lowe was appointed editor of IPE Real Assets in July 2011, one of the leading publications for institutional investment in the global property markets.
He has contributed to IPE Real Assets for more than six years, also as deputy editor and as a freelance journalist.
IPE Real Assets combines global real estate market reporting with an in-depth knowledge of the pension fund industry, and Lowe has experience in covering both areas. He has written for numerous real estate and pension titles, and won Pensions Journalist of the Year (trade publications) at the State Street Institutional Press Awards in 2010.
He started his career in journalism at the Bristol Evening Post newspaper in 2001, before moving into financial journalism.
Lowe has a degree in history from the University of the West of England, and lives in London.
Head of Department for Planning & Building Regulations
City of Munich
Prof Dr Elisabeth Merk has been the City of Munich's Planning Director since 2007, having begun her career in 1988 where until 1994 she worked in architecture and monument protection before completing her PhD in Florence.
From 1995 to 2000, she contributed to urban planning, monument conservation and special projects in Munich and Regensburg before leading the urban development and planning division in Halle/Saale from 2000 to 2006.
Between 2005-2007, she held a chair in urban construction and planning at HFT Stuttgart, where she was appointed honorary professor in 2009. In 2015, she was elected President of the German Academy for Urban Construction and Regional Planning.
Senior Investment Manager
PGGM
Focusing on the Americas region, Eugene Philips is senior investment manager for PGGM Private Real Estate, which runs a portfolio on non-listed real estate worth €11bn. He joined PGGM in 2014 and is a member of various advisory committees and boards of directors.
After a career in insurance, mortgages and assessing technology firms, Philips joined ING Real Estate Investment Management as business developer in 2001. In various roles he gained broad experience in real estate investment and, amongst others, had a seat in the European Investment Committee of ING REIM and CBRE Global Investors.
He studied Computer Sciences at the University of Delft and has a diverse background in real estate investment management, banking and insurance.
Head of Real Assets
Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company
Jukka Reijonen is Director, Head of Real Investments at Etera Mutual Pension Insurance Company, with responsibility for its Real Investments unit and €2bn portfolio, consisting of real estate, infrastructure, forest and other type of real assets. Real Investments unit covers all direct and indirect real investments from equity to loans globally and manages close to 30% of Etera’s total assets.
Reijonen 30 years of investment market experience. Before joining Etera in 2014, he worked as Head of Institutional Clients at Danske Bank. His CV also includes various executive roles at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Kaupthing Bank, Municipality Finance, Postipankki Asset Management and Postipankki
Reijonen has an MSc. Technology in Industrial Engineering from the Mercuri Business School.
Global Head
AXA IM Alts
Isabelle Scemama is Global Head of AXA IM Alts and Chief Executive Officer of AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets (“AXA IM - Real Assets”). Isabelle oversees AXA IM’s €168bn alternative business unit, AXA IM Alts, which employs over 750 people located in 16 offices, serving the needs of more than 400 clients globally. In her role, she is leading the definition and execution of AXA IM Alts global strategy as well as in the supervision of its day-to-day management. Isabelle also sits on AXA IM – Real Assets’ Investment Committee and chairs the Real Assets Management Board. Isabelle joined AXA IM - Real Assets in 2001 to develop the third-party business. She notably launched, respectively in 2005 and 2013, the CRE and infrastructure debt lending platforms, now firmly established as global leaders, before taking the responsibility of the full fund management activity of AXA IM- Real Assets. She was later appointed CEO of AXA IM – Real Assets in 2017, a role to which was added in 2020 the responsibility of the overall alternatives’ asset management activity of AXA IM, as Global Head of AXA IM Alts. Isabelle has more than 25 years of experience in the alternatives asset management industry, out of which 19 years within AXA IM.
Director
UPS
Greg Spick is the Director of Private Markets for the UPS Group Trust and a member of its investment committee, overseeing a team managing approximately USD6bn of alternative assets across real estate, energy, private equity and credit on behalf of its USD35bn defined benefit plan.
Since 2012, Spick’s team has completed more than USD3bn of investments utilising separately managed accounts, joint venture, co-invest, secondary and club investment structures, and the team has positioned UPSGT as a leader in the investment community.
Prior to joining UPS, he held positions with New York Life and Credit Suisse in their respective real estate groups and has transacted in more than USD3bn of direct real estate investments during his career. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds an MBA from the University of Georgia.
Managing Director
Cambridge Associates
Indeesh Tangeraas is a Senior Director in the Real Assets Investment Group at Cambridge Associates in London, leading the team’s real asset investing activities in the EMEA region.
Tangeraas has 15 years experience in the real estate sector, including advising UK, Dutch and Nordic pension fund investors on global real estate investment strategies, identifying and conducting due diligence of private fund investments, advising niche fund managers on equity raising, business planning and governance.
Before joining Cambridge Associates in 2013, she was an Associate Director on the Real Estate Corporate Finance team at Jones Lang LaSalle, and was a senior analyst and consultant at Cushman & Wakefield, starting her career in Research in 2000.
Tangeraas holds a PG Cert Real Estate Investment and Finance from the University of Reading and a BSc (Hons) Economics from the University of Surrey.
Chief Executive Officer
Allianz Real Estate
François Trausch is global CEO of Allianz Real Estate, a role he assumed in January after six years as Asia-Pacific CEO of GE Real Estate, and CEO and president of GE Real Estate Japan.
During the 20 years or so he spent at GE, Trausch held numerous roles, including head of acquisitions for Western Europe and France, regional head for Western Europe and chief risk officer.
He has also worked for Tishman Speyer and Goldman Sachs, and holds degrees from ESCP Europe in Paris and the Harvard Business School.
Senior Advisor
Oxford Properties Group
Michel Vauclair is Chairman of OPG Commercial RE Europe, the Continental European platform for Oxford Properties and is responsible for actively managing Oxford’s Continental European assets to maximise capital returns, in addition to seeking new investments in liquid European markets to expand the Oxford European portfolio.
Vauclair has four decades of experience in the financial and real estate industries, focused on the banking and hotel sectors, private equity, and debt restructuring. His career includes senior positions with some of the industry’s most successful key players in the concerned sectors.
He holds his MBA from the Lausanne Business School, completed by post graduates at New York University, IMD Lausanne and Cornell University. He is also a graduate of the Swiss Hotel Association.