The eighth edition of Getting to Know Who’s NEXT features Teresa Gonzalez, Hospitality Sector Lead at AECOM and ULI Spain NEXT Executive Committee member.

Teresa oversees hospitality projects both nationally and internationally—from new developments to the repositioning of existing assets. With a strong foundation in architecture and project management, she approaches each project through a developer’s lens, delivering innovative, sustainable, and commercially sound solutions. Since joining AECOM in 2014, Teresa has played a key role in expanding the firm’s global hospitality portfolio, successfully delivering projects across multiple continents. She is also an active member of ULI Spain NEXT and serves on the Spanish NEXT Committee, contributing to the advancement of industry knowledge and collaboration.

In the following Q&A, Teresa shares how ULI has broadened her understanding of the full real estate lifecycle and how she’s helping shape the ULI Academy in Spain. With nearly 20 years of experience, she leads hospitality projects globally at AECOM, combining a developer’s mindset with a strong focus on innovation and sustainability. She reflects on the challenges of balancing investment returns with long-term quality, the excitement around AI’s role in the industry, and the importance of global collaboration on sustainability.

Q1. ULI: So many of us in real estate fall into the industry and hence commercial real estate professional organisations. How did you get involved with ULI?

ULI is a reference in the sector globally. It is great how it connects all key players in the real estate sector. It gives me a 360º view of the asset lifecycle that, as architects, we often lack—what happens before and after we develop the project. I am part of the ULI Spain NEXT Committee with Conchita Sainz from Bird & Bird Partners and chaired by Felipe Perez from Praemia. We are also promoting the exciting ULI Academy in Spain, with topics as interesting and needed as the life cycle of an investment or emerging markets with the idea to spread knowledge and understand the complete process of real estate development.

Q2. ULI: What is the most interesting project you’ve worked on over your career in real estate?

Hospitality projects bring a lot of challenges, and all of them are really interesting! From the design side but also from the development side. I would say that the ones that bring together teams from different regions are the most challenging and rewarding at the same time. My first project in AECOM was a seven-star hotel project in Azerbaijan, with our leading team in Spain and teams in London, Dubai, Singapore, and Canada. Imagine the coordination! Also, a really great experience to learn from other working cultures!

Q3. ULI: What challenges do you face at this point in your career?

This might be a bit controversial, but the main challenge we face as architects and project developers is that sometimes real estate transactions do not properly value the needs of the assets, or the investment required especially when the society is demanding to attend the sustainable goals. We see constant value engineering processes that prioritise investment returns over quality and sustainability—however in the long term, cheaper ends up being more expensive. With some short-term operations, the quality, sustainability and durability of materials and systems are not always at the forefront of real estate transactions. It is in our hands to find solutions to balance sustainability in terms of environmental, social and financial aspects of the projects from the early stages.

Q4. ULI: What are you most excited about regarding the industry’s future?

The challenges we have with the geopolitical situation are affecting our industry—the perspective on sustainability and how to ensure that we all, globally, understand this as a reality that we need to be all hands on. On the other side, it might be topical, but I really believe that AI is transforming the way we work. The challenge here is the automation of processes without losing the essence of the projects, enhancing sustainability, and making sure that we keep developing projects that are adequate for each community.

Q5. ULI: ULI: What are you currently reading/watching?

Related to work, I read daily real estate news from Spain and European magazines. During my commute, I find it most useful to listen to podcasts. I follow Simon Sinek’s podcast “A Bit of Optimism,” where he interviews inspiring people with a focus on leadership and personal development. From the hospitality sector, there is a podcast (in Spanish) called “Lobby Talks,” where Rodrigo Martinez interviews key people in the hospitality sector. This is a must to learn from their experience. Before ending my day, I always have some “lighter” reading to soften my mind. Right now, I am reading “The Company: A Novel of the CIA” by Robert Littell. It goes through a generation of CIA agents from 1950 to 1995, based on fictional and historical characters. I am just in the first half of the book, and it’s getting me hooked!

Check out the past Getting to Know Who’s NEXT articles here.