Nicholas Garattini, head of business development and investor relations at Generali Real Estate, has been appointed as chair of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) NEXT group in Europe, which engages and supports real estate professionals aged 35–45 as they seek to take the next step in their careers. He succeeds Galyna Permyakova, who chaired the European NEXT Group for the last two years. Nicholas officially began his voluntary two-year term on 1 July 2021 and will join the ULI Europe Executive Committee as part of his role.

ULI is the world’s oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate experts, with more than 45,000 members globally, and over 4,000 in Europe spread across 15 National Councils and beyond. ULI’s mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide and the NEXT group in Europe supports that mission by identifying, connecting, and elevating the next generation of leaders. ULI NEXT has a dedicated and varied events programme in place at the European and local levels, including an annual conference, digital/in-person events, and other networking opportunities. The European leadership and that of the local chapters in France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom actively collaborate and exchange experiences on programme ideas and content.

Nicholas Garattini has been a member of ULI since 2014 and has previously served as chair of ULI Italy’s Young Leaders group (for members aged under 35). As chair of the ULI NEXT group in Europe, Garattini plans to actively engage with national ULI NEXT groups to help them grow and reinforce their attractiveness for members by focusing on innovation, collaboration and personal development.

“We have witnessed unprecedented events and changes over the past year”, says Garattini. “ULI can contribute to improving our communities thanks to the role of real estate becoming more and more central to how we live our lives. ULI NEXT offers a privileged point of view to learn and generate ideas with a diverse group of engaged mid-career leaders who are looking at how to innovate the industry whilst highlighting social and environmental value as a core principle.”

Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, said: “I am delighted to welcome Nicholas as the new chair of the ULI NEXT group in Europe. As a long-time active member, he has shown great passion and energy for ULI over the years and his previous experience will help to further develop the collaboration between the National Council and European NEXT groups. We see strong potential for the group to expand further by creating specific programming and initiatives of interest to the NEXT group as well as the wider ULI membership. I would also like to thank Galyna Permyakova for her tenure over the last two years, which saw the introduction of a new ULI NEXT Forum, part of the ULI Europe conference, pivoting towards a digital programme during the pandemic and increased networking opportunities.”

Marnix Galle, chair of ULI Europe and executive chairman of Belgian developer Immobel, said: “The ULI NEXT programme in Europe has been valuable in supporting real estate professionals as they develop towards the next step in their careers. We look forward to working with Nicholas as he joins the ULI Europe Executive Committee to represent the interests of our members aged 35–45.”

Outside of ULI, Nicholas Garattini heads the business development & investor relations department at Generali Real Estate, overseeing the setup and implementation of new investment strategies and funds. He previously held several senior positions within Generali Real Estate, among which was head of indirect investments setting up the Asian platform for Generali and managing a €2bn global portfolio. He is also a member of INREV and an AFIRE board member. He began his career in Mediobanca working on M&A projects and graduated from Bocconi University in Milan.

For more information about ULI NEXT Europe and the programme of events, visit europe.uli.org/uli-next