Real Estate Publishers (REP) will facilitate this panel discussion along with other short presentations at the 'Gateway Netherlands' pavillion - a combined initiative of MIPIM and the Dutch publishing houses SDU (Vastgoedmarkt), PropertyNL and Real Estate Publishers (REP).
At MIPIM 2011, REP will be launching the eight edition of its Europe Real Estate Yearbook. Copies will be available free-of-charge from the main aisle on level 01 near row 16 (in return for a business card while stocks last).

High-level panel
Brad Olsen – whose experience bridges the investment worlds of both North America and the Netherlands – will lead a high-level panel discussion where US and Canadian investors share their ideas with a top Dutch real estate investment team. Are there differences in their approach? Do they see the best investment opportunities in the Netherlands/Europe or in the US and Canada? And in which sector? Should it be listed or non-listed? What do they think about US REITs compared to Dutch or European REITs? What makes them different? Or has the focus turned to new investment opportunities in Asia, the Middle East, Russia or Turkey? Is there really a different approach as seen from a US and Canadian perspective compared to the Dutch vision on the new investment world?

About the panelists:
Bradley A. Olsen has been active in the area of international real estate investment for the past 30 years. During that time, he has represented investors from the US, Germany, the Netherlands, UK, Canada and Japan on transactions valued in excess of US $5 billion. He serves as President of Atlantic Partners, Ltd based in Cary, North Carolina and helps his clients design and implement cross-border real estate investment strategies. Olsen is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He is the author of numerous articles on international real estate investment and is a frequent lecturer at leading universities and professional conferences. Olsen has been a member of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) for more than 15 years and has served on its Executive Board.

Adam Calman joined The Townsend Group as Head of Europe in April 2009. He previously held positions as Finance Director within various real estate groups, including Canary Wharf plc and Nomura Principal Finance Group. Prior to joining Townsend he was Co-Head of Corporate Finance at the Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets Group in London. While at Cushman & Wakefield the team which Calman led, advised on and underwrote over 100 transactions, worth in excess of US $2.5 bln., for a range of over 40 limited partners investing into indirect real estate vehicles across the globe. At Townsend, Calman is jointly responsible for underwriting new investments in EMEA, as well as expanding the business throughout the region. He is a Chartered Accountant with over 16 years' experience in the real estate industry, having qualified with PWC in London in 1991. He has a masters degree in Property Investment and Finance from City University Business School and jointly designed and delivered the first Real Estate Finance Elective on the Executive MBA program at INSEAD in Paris.

Rob Reiskin. As Co-Head of Europe, Rob Reiskin plays a key role in establishing and managing Heitman's overall European corporate strategic plan. Additionally, he oversees the European Acquisitions team and various other operational divisions and functions. From 2000-2010, Reiskin was the Managing Director and Head of Investments for AEW Europe (formerly Curzon Global Partners). In this role he was responsible for shaping the investment strategies of the firm's clients as well as the day-to-day management of the group's investment activities in Europe. Reiskin led AEW Europe's acquisition of over €5 billion of assets through 74 separate transactions across 13 countries in Europe. Before joining AEW Europe, Reiskin was a Vice President in the Investment Group of Security Capital European Realty where he was focused on the purchase of real estate operating companies. He played a key role in the deployment of over €2 billion in a wide range of asset classes including self-storage, car parking, rented residential and office development. Reiskin received a BA from Trinity College, where he is a member of its Board of Fellows, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the William Zucker Real Estate Award.

Maarten Vermeulen joined Composition on June 1, 2010 and is responsible for the general management of Composition’s Europe team and supervision of portfolio investment in Europe, including strategic planning and investment allocations, deal sourcing, deal structuring, and monitoring of investments. Previously, Vermeulen was a Director with Protego Real Estate Investors in London for three years, where he was responsible for European asset management, excluding the UK. Vermeulen has been responsible for the operational management of two shopping center funds in the Nordics and Germany, with a portfolio size of more than €1 billion. More specifically, he structured and managed numerous joint ventures with local operating partners. Before joining Protego, Vermeulen was National Director Acquisition and Asset Management Benelux at LaSalle Investment Management, where he was leading all acquisitions and the management of direct real estate assets within the region. Prior to these positions, he held positions at ABN AMRO Bouwfonds Asset Management, ECORYS Finance (a European real estate consultancy firm) and WPM, a Dutch shopping center management firm. Vermeulen has 16 years’ of real estate experience. He holds a bachelor degree in hotel and facility management, an MBA and a master’s degree in real estate investment management. Vermeulen is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors a member of ULI Europe and a member of the European Business Ethics Network.

Geert de Nekker heads the International Real Estate department of Syntrus Achmea Real Estate. Syntrus Achmea Real Estate invests on behalf of a large number of Dutch pension funds and is one of the largest real estate investors in the Netherlands. Syntrus Achmea International Real Estate invests through its own focused Fund of Funds and through separate accounts in unlisted real estate vehicles in North America, Europe and Asia. De Nekker has extensive experience in real estate investments and has been active in the real estate investment industry since 1981. Prior to Syntrus Achmea Real Estate he worked for APG, Cordares/SFB and Aberdeen Property Investors. De Nekker was also the first Managing Director of IVBN, the association of Dutch institutional real estate investors. He has a master’s degree in law, civil engineering and real estate investments and is member of the Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors.

Source: Real Estate Publishers