Denis plans to strengthen ULI’s position as a leading voice for solutions to Belgium’s real estate and land use challenges.

BRUSSELS (2 July 2018) — Xavier Denis, Chief Development Officer and Member of the Management Committee and the Board of Directors at AG Real Estate, has been appointed as the next Chair of ULI Belgium. Denis officially began his term on 1 July 2018 and will serve on a voluntary basis for the next two years.

Denis plans to leverage the global expertise of members to make ULI Belgium a leading voice when it comes to real estate and land use challenges in Belgium. “Belgium has among the most innovative and entrepreneurial real estate industry in Europe,” said Denis. “ULI Belgium must help wherever possible all real estate actors in developing a positive and collaborative environment for the swift and qualitative execution of projects.”

Among the key topics that ULI Belgium will address under Denis’s leadership are obsolescence of existing buildings, urban mobility, and mixed-use development. “The development of cities is more and more about mixed-use developments and synergies between projects at a larger scale. ULI must be a pro-active player in helping actors in the real estate industry grasp all the challenges related to this structural trend,” he said.

As a priority, Denis aims to further develop ULI Belgium’s outreach to key players in the public, private, and academic sectors. Through more engagement with existing and future member, he plans to increase the value, relevance, and singularity of the council. “Nothing compares to meeting and listening to our members, learning about their expectations, and enhancing the benefits they get from their memberships with the help of our corporate partners,” said Denis. “Our activities will focus not only on Brussels, but also on all major cities across Belgium, offering critical mass for events and member engagement opportunities.”

“Xavier’s keen understanding of the real estate landscape in Belgium, his longstanding active engagement with ULI, and his commitment to our mission make him the perfect choice to lead ULI Belgium,” said Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe. “I look forward to working with Xavier to enact his vision for the council.”

Denis succeeds Marnix Galle, Executive Chairman of the Board at Immobel. Denis has been a member of ULI for 15 years and until the end of June he served as Chair of the ULI Europe Office and Mixed-use Product Council.

Prior to his current position, Xavier was Chief Operating Officer and Board Member at Cofinimmo, a diversified REIT with a €3.4 billion portfolio. He graduated from the Université Catholique de Louvain in 1996 as a civil engineer architect, received an MBA from INSEAD in 2002, and attended various programmes at the Harvard Business School.

About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has over 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. ULI has almost 3,500 members in Europe across 14 National Council country networks. For more information, please visit europe.uli.org, follow us on Twitter, or follow our LinkedIn page.