Ten real estate industry professionals have joined the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI’s) Europe Young Leaders Executive Committee, which represents members under the age of 35 and is chaired by Thibault Weston Smith, Managing Director, Realty Corporation.

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 members (over a third are Young Leaders members) across Europe in 13 National Councils.

The new committee members represent 15+ citizenships and are based in 6 different countries:

• Simon Abboud, Program Manager – European Management Services, Hines

• Laura Calleja Diez, Madrid City Plan Consultant, CBRE

• Elena Corredor, Sustainability Business Development Manager Spain & Portugal, Arcadis

• Bernard d’Arche, Business Growth Associate, Longevity Partners

• Cristina Delgado, Portfolio Manager, Cromwell Property Group

• Paris Georgoudis, Senior Vice President, Vanke Group

• Brice Hoffer, Portfolio Management Global Real Estate Multi-Managers, UBS

• Alexander Poorvu, Senior Business Analyst, Value Retail Management

• Ariana Popal, Origination International Investors, Berlin Hyp

• Imogen Thompson, Director, Planning & Development, Deloitte

Weston Smith recognises that the built world and the broader real estate industry are going through an unprecedented period of transformation with challenges to tackle including decarbonisation, affordability, diversity, equity, and inclusion. In parallel, real estate players are striving to catch up from low adoption of technology, automation, and digitisation, building links with a fast-growing PropTech start-up ecosystem: “As Young Leaders, we provide one of the best forums for current decision makers to engage with the leaders of tomorrow. We question, challenge and can disrupt. We bring a focus on purpose and responsibility. Via a continuous strengthening of cross-generational bridges with the ULI, we can collectively identify and apply new, innovative, and pragmatic solutions to address today’s industry challenges. Leveraging ULI’s global reach, diversity, emphasis on education, communities, and the best land use, we have all the ingredients to sensitively shape the future of the built environment together.”

Weston Smith plans to build on the initiatives led by the previous Chair William Riordan during his tenure and create new programmes for European Young Leaders to increasingly connect, discuss, and network whilst encouraging the cross-pollination of ideas.