The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has appointed Nicolas Bearelle, Executive Chairman, Revive, as Chair of the ULI Belgium and Luxembourg National Council. Nicolas succeeds Michel van Geyte, CEO, Nextensa, and will serve on a voluntary basis for a one-year term commencing 1 October 2025. His appointment was announced during this week’s annual ULI Belgium and Luxembourg Annual Conference in Brussels.

Nicolas Bearelle

Nicolas joined ULI in 2006 and is a long serving and active member of the ULI Belgium and Luxembourg Executive Committee. In addition, he is a ULI Global Governing Trustee and was Co-Chair of the ULI Europe Affordable Living Council which focuses on the opportunities and challenges related to the delivery of high quality, sustainable and affordable housing.

He is Executive Chairman and founder of Revive, a real estate development company focused on regenerating underutilised urban brownfield sites and redundant infrastructures to deliver resilient and high-quality neighbourhoods. He is also co-founder of Inclusio, a social investment fund, and Watt Factory, a community of entrepreneurs and creatives focused on smart cities & climate change.

L-R Michel van Geyte, Lisette van Doorn, Nicolas Bearelle

Outgoing Chair Michael van Geyte comments: “It has been an absolute pleasure to serve as the Chair of ULI Belgium and Luxembourg over the past two years, a period that has certainly presented its fair share of challenges in our sector. Despite the challenges, during this time, our members in Belgium and Luxembourg have continued to come together to share their knowledge and experience, and learn from each other in events, peer group meetings and site tours. I am truly honoured to pass the baton to Nicolas Bearelle, and I wish him well as he takes on this role. His leadership will undoubtedly steer ULI Belgium towards new heights.”

Nicolas Bearelle comments, “I am pleased to have been appointed the next Chair of ULI Belgium and Luxembourg. ULI is recognised as a leading platform for knowledge exchange, bringing experts from across the value chain together around a common goal, to build resilient cities for all. The fast-changing world of financing, construction technology, climate, politics and demographics, emphasises the importance of us all, from public and private sectors, working together transparently and collaboratively in delivering this goal.”

“As such, my vision is to strengthen the integration of the National Council into ULI’s local, pan-European and global networks, to learn from local and international expertise and enhance our programme and value proposition for our members. My key priorities will include a focus on broadening our membership base, both in terms of members and sectors, to increase the impact. I’ll also look to strengthen and optimise our ULI Product Councils in the region, which are true thought leadership peer groups dedicated to specific sectors of the real estate market, to focus on particular industry priorities and challenges. Finally, my ambition for the upcoming year is to foster discussions around the capital markets topic, as well as promote and advance the C Change decarbonisation programme in Belgium.”

Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, said: “Nicolas is a long serving, committed and much valued active member of ULI both in Belgium and Luxembourg as well as in Europe, and with his extensive experience and valuable network is ideal to lead ULI Belgium and Luxembourg, developing our presence and thought leadership here. His ambition to develop our membership, expand the range of activities delivered to our members, and leverage the expertise and ideas exchange of our international network, bodes well for the future and we look forward to working with him and the local executive committee to enhance ULI’s impact.”

“I would also like to express my gratitude to our outgoing Chair Michel for his commitment and contribution to ULI over the past two years during what has been a challenging and uncertain period for the sector. His work in developing our membership offer, including with groups such as NEXT and Young Leaders, and his commitment to facilitating knowledge exchange through our events programme, has positioned the Council well to benefit from future growth opportunities.”

ULI is a global, non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.

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Notes to Editors:

The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has over 48,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. In Europe ULI has over 5,500 members across 15 National Council country networks.

For more information on ULI, please visit https://europe.uli.org and https://belgium.uli.org/