Martin Towns, Global Head of Real Estate at M&G. He is responsible for the strategic direction and growth of the business which has AUM of c. 50$bn across 26 countries in Europe, Asia and North America. He has more than 20 years’ experience in real estate investment management, including 15 years at M&G in various fund and business management positions. Towns started his career at Jones Lang LaSalle/LaSalle Investment Management. He previously worked for Close Brothers investment bank, responsible for establishing and managing a series of property funds in the United Kingdom and Europe. He has a BLE Hons in Land Economy from the University of Aberdeen and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS.