Dieter Knittel is Managing Director and Head of International Real Estate Finance for Central and Eastern Europe at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank. Dieter is responsible for the bank’s lending portfolio in the region. The regional focus is on Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Dieter has been active in the CEE market for more than twenty years, including five years based in Warsaw as Head of Credit and Senior Risk Management.

Hubert has over 19 years of experience in banking with a focus on commercial property and corporate financing. He started his professional career in 2000 with BRE Bank (currently mBank), in the Warsaw Branch, where he was responsible for large corporate clients. Then in 2002 he moved to Nordea Bank, where in Nordic Corporate Banking Department he was dealing with all aspects of commercial banking for clients from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, who were investing in Poland, including corporate and real estate financing. In 2007 Hubert joined Aareal Bank, where for more than 10 years he was responsible for structuring and providing commercial real estate loans to big international as well as Polish clients. In March 2018 he left Aareal Bank and joined CBRE as the Head of Debt & Structure Finance Department however he rejoined Aareal Bank in December in a role of General Manager for Poland.

Przemysław Wieczorek MRICS, President and Managing Director of Puro Hotel Development responsible for real estate, development, and financing within Puro investment activities. Present in the company since beginning. Przemysław has over 15 year experience in real estate sector both residential and commercial, specializing in financing, market analysis and acquisitions. Puro is a Polish lifestyle hotel brand present in Warsaw, Cracow, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Poznań and Łódź. Puro prepares and develops next hotels in Budapest, Warsaw, Wrocław and Katowice. Puro acts as investor, developer and operator.

Christoph Szakowski. Managing Partner LogCon East

Has been acting as M&A consultant, Executive Search partner and Board Advisor in companies from the Logistics, Infrastructure, Transportation and Freight Forwarding sector since 2009. LogCon East is an independent boutique consultancy that is industry-sector specialized, offers tailor-made solutions and covers mainly the CEE and DACH-region. Christoph worked in numerous deals in the sector in different roles, for both the Buy-side and Sell-side, in the deal brokering, its preparation and coordination and in the post-merger integration as well.

Prior to his advisory activities Christoph had a C-level track record in the logistics, working as Sales Director, CEO and Management Board member for leading Third-Party Logistics providers like DB Schenker and Logwin AG in Germany, Austria, Poland and Russia. With Polish, German, English and Russian he is quadrilingual and holds an MBA from Hamburg University. He always strives for more and better but under the condition of staying independent and in healthy work-life-balance.  Proud husband and father of a 2 years young son. Currently located in Warsaw with strong business and private ties to Hamburg, Vienna, Lugano and Kiev (Ukraine).

24 years of experience in the industrial sector. Complex project management focused on cost-saving, logistics optimization programs, suppliers resourcing, in the field of industrial projects with lean manufacturing methodology managing investments, production plant construction, and global contracts negotiation.

Graduated in Physics and Mathematics faculty at Maria-Curie University in Lublin (Poland).

Professional career and experience in Daewoo Motor Poland (automotive) – head of Purchasing and Logistics Dept. restructuring of purchasing department and effective logistics models implementation.

Since 1997 Thomson multimedia (consumer electronics) – Purchasing Manager with European, American and Asia plant responsibilities.

Focused on operational and purchasing cost optimization, Supply Chain Programs, low-cost regions suppliers panel.

Since 2004 – Valeo (automotive). Wide range of responsibility: cost optimization as a continuous improvement program, productivity projects, production process improvement, lean manufacturing methodology, material and product optimization with quality improvement, and finally operational cost optimization.

In 2008 appointed for Industrial Project Director & Public Funding National Director position in Valeo with multi projects management: production lines transfer within Europe, outsourcing, investments, and manufacturing plants construction with project co-ordination for all Valeo plants located in Poland.

He plays a key role in Valeo in terms of public subsidies for innovation.

Member of #Entrepreneur Counsel as a business advisor for Skawina town Mayer, #Małopolska Innovation Committee (Małopolska Marshal Office) as opinion body for key regional projects realization and #French-Polish Chamber of Commerce.

Then a member of the working group and co-author of InnoMoto program (public aid program for automotive sector in Poland) with the co-operation of Ministry of Economy Department and NCBiR (National Centre for Research and Development).

His professionalism has been recognized by Professional of The Year 2016 Award by CEE Manufacturing Excellence.

About Valeo

Valeo Group is an independent group, fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for the automotive industry, mainly for the reduction of CO2 emissions. Having 186 production units in 33 countries and 59 R&D centres, employing 113 600 people.

Valeo in Poland has a sales office in Warsaw and 4 production plants with above 8 000 employees.

Since 2004 Marek works for Valeo – one of the most innovative automotive companies in the world taking wide range responsibility of cost reduction as a continuous improvement program on the field of productivity projects, production process improvement with lean manufacturing methodology, material and products optimization with quality improvement and finally operational cost savings.

In 2008 he has been appointed as Industrial Project Director responsible for operational areas such multi projects management: production lines transfer within Europe, outsourcing as well as investments and manufacturing plant extensions with projects co-ordination for all Valeo plants located in Poland.
Additionally he plays a key role in Valeo Poland organisation in term of public subsidy with achieved success in creation of special economy zones with the investment commitment and working places creation in Poland.

In May 2010 Marek has been nominated as a member of the Małopolska Innovation Committee  supporting Kraków province  government as a opinion body for key regional projects realization.

Experience in European Union grants and public aid programs management mixed with industrial projects background was a perfect reason to be nominated in 2014 as a member of working group and co-author of InnoMoto program creation (public aid program for automotive sector in Poland) with co-operation of Ministry of Economy Department and NCBiR (National Centre for Research and Development).

His 20 years of experience in operations working under various issues makes him a good understanding of the wide scope of the different projects. On top of this has a proven record in the field of projects management gained in the course of various big projects assignments

About Valeo
Valeo Group is an independent group, fully focused on the design, production, and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for the automotive industry, mainly for the reduction of CO2 emissions. Having 123 production sites globally in 29 countries and 51 R&D and development centers, employing 78 600 people.
Valeo in Poland has a sales office in Warsaw and 4 production plants with 7000 employees.

James has spent almost 30 years in the property industry, and prior to establishing his own business in 2003, held various senior roles with Westfield (over a successful 10 year career there), culminating in co-establishing their European business in 1998 in London. James has been directly involved with over 2.7m Sqm of shopping centre assets (worth approximately £8.7 billion (€9.8 billion)), over his career.

James joined the Westfield Group in 1993 and has covered many disciplines including finance, investment, development and leasing and held the responsibility for the management of Westfield’s Australian joint ventures with international investors. In 1999 at the age of 32, James along with Peter Miller, was one of three key Westfield personnel transferred to the UK to spearhead the £6Bn+ assets under management European business, taking responsibility initially for finance, management and leasing. During that time, James took responsibility for both business development and the establishment of the systems and operations for the group.

After leaving Westfield in 2003, James established the Balmain Asset Management Group, a multi-disciplined advisory, management business and operating partner focussed on retail and leisure assets in Central Europe. In 2019 this became Sierra Balmain, a joint venture between James, his 3 partners and the global real estate services business, Sonae Sierra. Sierra Balmain employs 155 people and has been successfully operating in Central Europe for 20 years and has €1.3bn+ assets under management with a wide variety of leading international investors and banks.

James attended Avondale College (Newcastle) completing a Bachelor of Business degree before qualifying as a CPA. Prior to his Westfield career, James worked at Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation in Australia in a senior finance capacity. Over his 30+ year career James has worked in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and executed transactions across Europe, the USA and in Canada.

Anita Rajchelt is Real Estate Asset & Transaction Manager in Amazon, based in Warsaw. She is responsible for the management of Amazon’s real estate portfolio in Poland and involved in RE transactions supporting Amazon’s expansion in the region.
Prior to joining Amazon, Anita was Portfolio Manager at TFI PZU, a Polish Investment Fund, active in all industry sectors, where she was responsible for new acquisitions as well as coordinating development processes. Anita has also gained extensive professional experience in Asset Management and Investment Transaction Services, having hold a number of senior positions in Cushman & Wakefield and King Sturge, international property agencies.
Anita earned a master degree in Finance and Banking with faculty in Real Estate and Investment at University of Lodz. In addition she graduated postgraduate studies in Property Appraisal and Management at Sheffield Hallam University. She is also a qualified RICS surveyor and a member of INREV.

David Hay is a private investor in income producing assets and the founder and CEO of ADD Value Management SRL (AVM).

AVM provides in-house services for international investors covering portfolio management, financial management, asset management, property management and development management focusing on Romania.

AVM is currently providing asset management services for America House office project in Bucharest CBD which was recently acquired by Morgan Stanley in joint venture with David Hay.

David Hay served previously as the CEO of AFI Europe in Romania, Czech Republic, Germany and Poland for 12 years and holds an LLM from Buckingham University in the U.K..

Maciej Runkiewicz has been involved in the construction sector since 1995. Since 2001, he has been working for Kajima, a Japanese general contractor specializing in large-size buildings. He has gone through all career levels here, first as a Project Director in charge of construction of production facilities. Currently, as the President of the Company’s Management Board, he leads its over 180 employees and is fully accountable for the overall business of Kajima Poland.

Vladimír Bolek studied social sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava and Law and economics at Nottingham Trent University.
He began his career in 1994 in public administration at central state administration level in Bratislava. Later, after the transition to the private sphere, he became asset manager specializing in real estate investments. After the establishment of specialized real estate mutual funds in Slovakia in 2006, he became the portfolio manager of specialized real estate fund in Erste Asset Management in Slovakia. He also created and managed portfolios for private banking department.   He also participated in portfolio management of corporate real estate company Slovnaft as. In 2010 he became a portfolio manager of the „First real estate fund“ of IAD Investments and deputy of several real estate companies incorporated in the structure of the first real estate fund of IAD Investments. In 2015 he was promoted into IAD Investments board as member of board responsible for portfolio management department and real estate investment.

Vladimir Bolek is also a contributor to professional publications dealing with the issue of investment and asset management of real – estate in Slovakia.

Piotr Dopierała – is one of the most experienced supply chain managers in the retail industry. He started his professional career in Raben Group and then for many years he was responsible for Global Supply Chain and Logistics strategy in Metro Group, working in: Dusseldorf, Istanbul and Hong Kong. After returning to the home country, he worked as the Logistics Director at LPP SA and since 3 years as a Supply Chain and Logistics Director at Auchan Retail Poland. He is a graduate of the University of Life Sciences and the University of Logistics in Poznań, besides that he completed Executive MBA studies at ETH in Zurich and doctoral studies at the College of Management and Finance at the Warsaw School of Economics.

Bruno Lambrecht is the General Manager of CFE Polska, a company which is part of the international construction group CFE. He is a graduate of the faculty of civil engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium) and has considerable experience in engineering and management in the construction sector. He has been working in the Polish construction market for 15 years. He is fluent in Dutch (mother tongue), French and English and can communicate in Polish and German. In July 2012, he was elected Chairman of the Board of the Belgian Business Chamber. He embraced this position until June 2016.

Razvan Nica was one of the early advocates of sustainable development and socially responsible business in Romania, becoming the first BREEAM assessor and second LEED AP BD+C in the country. He founded BuildGreen in 2010, the first company in Romania to offer sustainable building and certification consultancy services. BuildGreen is now the leading consultancy company in this field in Romania, having an outstanding track record, including the largest portfolio of LEED and BREEAM certified properties, the highest success rate and the highest certification level ever obtained by a building in Romania. Having over 10 years of experience in real estate and more than 30 projects certified to date, Razvan Nica managed sustainable real estate developments for leading companies across the Central and Eastern European region, including: Immochan, NEPI, Aberdeen Asset Management, Portland Trust, EBRD, S Group Holding, Genesis Development, PADECO, BogArt Construct, Bluehouse Development, S IMMO AG, Arup. Prior to founding BuildGreen, Razvan coordinated the first BREEAM certification ever obtained by an office building in Romania (Euro Tower – Cascade Group).

Hubert Abt has been working in the real estate industry for over 30 years. He worked as a developer and later in the land banking sector and provided equity and Mezzanine capital for various real estate projects. In 2013 he founded NEW WORK Offices in Budapest, which provides various flexible office solutions. Since then he developed the business model further and grew the company to today 16 locations in 3 countries with approx. 43.000 sqm which brings NEW WORK in the top 3 list in CEE. Hubert now leads the company as CEO while focusing on investor relations and franchising. Since December 2020 Hubert is also a founder and CEO of workcloud24, which provides digital solutions for workforce and workspace management.

Agnieszka is an advocate of commercial real estate industry promoting knowledge about the real estate all around the world. She is a mission driven real estate soul.

A sole trader since 2017 providing advisory and consulting services to the companies from the real estate industry. Helping companies in business development.

Running lectures and workshops on property and asset management matters.
Author of numerous publications regarding real estate including a guidebook for property managers.

Author of The Real Estate Galaxy – television program and YouTube channel.

Law graduate, holding property manager’s and real estate agent’s license and CCIM title.

Before establishing her own business working as an asset and property manager for renowned real estate companies such as DTZ (currently Cushman & Wakefield), Savills, Cromwell Property Group among others.

Szymon set up and run fund’s operations in Europe.

Previously, Szymon worked as Executive Director at Haitong investment bank, where he was responsible for various investment banking transactions (M&A, DCM, ECM and structured finance), as well as in the private equity fund SINO-CEEF, where he was responsible for the CEE region, including fundraising, searching for investment transactions and relations with the governments of CEE countries. Previously, Szymon had also worked at ICBC bank, where he had been responsible for business development in the CEE region, and at Citi bank, where he had worked in various areas of corporate banking in Poland, London and the CEE region.

Szymon studied at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University and Warsaw School of Economics in Poland as well as Henley Business School in Great Britain.

Roee Shamir is the CEO of LivUp – one of the first investor and operator in the Polish PRS market. He has been the CEO of LivUp since its establishment and has played a significant role in its dynamic growth across the country, as well as contributed to the creation of this segment in the Polish real estate market in general. His role includes, among others, executing the company’s strategic and operational long-term plans.

Roee obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics and business management, as well as a master’s degree in economics. His specialty is game theory.

In the course of his career, Roee has gained multidisciplinary experience in several industries, including pharmaceutical, telecommunication, insurance, alternative investments and real estate investments.

For the vast majority of his career, Roee was responsible for real estate investments in different territories – mainly USA and Europe, which allowed him to obtain a wide and comprehensive perspective over investments cycles across different real estate sectors with experience that spans more than 15 years. His specialties include among others – acquisitions, structuring, operations, valuations, and financing of real-estate transactions.

Committed to delivering an exceptional living experience, under the leadership of Roee, LivUp remains at the forefront of redefining urban living in Poland. With a strong foundation for future growth, the company’s vision is to shape the PRS market further by providing tenants with the highest quality apartments, top-notch amenities, and an unmatched urban living experience in its conveniently located properties – all of them in line with the 15-minute city concept. This commitment is evidenced by the high tenant satisfaction across all LivUp’s portfolio. Currently, LivUp’s portfolio consists of approximately 750 residential units in Warsaw and Krakow. LivUp has 2 operational projects: one in the gentrified area of Praga-Północ, where lots of bars, restaurants, theaters and parks can be found within few minutes of walking, as well as in Mokotów district – one of the most sought-after residential district in the city. Both projects are located in Warsaw – the capital city of Poland. Two more projects are scheduled to be commercialized in the upcoming months  – one in Warsaw, while the other in Krakow.

LivUp’s unique investment strategy which is currently focused on the two main cities in Poland, combined with its reach investment portfolio projects which consist of redeveloped historical centrally located properties, as well as new built projects – provides the company with the needed diversification in order to address its customers.

Other than his deep passionate for creating urban living experiences and redefining the PRS market in Poland, Roee is a true admirer of nature trips with his family while exploring different cultures, as well as cycling, scuba diving and skiing.

Malgorzata oversees real estate investment and asset management of the MNK Partners in Europe. She was a co-founder and Vice President (until 2017) of REINO Partners, a platform raising and managing real estate funds and investment vehicles in Poland. She has 25 years of experience in Real Estate and Financing (PWC, Hypo Real Estate Bank London, Reino Partners) She holds a Master Degree from School of Business and Business Administration. She is a Property Valuer and a Member of RICS (MRICS) having completed Post Graduate Studies in Valuation and Management at Sheffield Hallam University, UK.

Małgorzata specialises in transaction advisory and tax restructuring. She has extensive experience in regard to transactions on the commercial real estate market as well as analysing and implementing holding structures and investment financing. She is also a specialist in regard to providing advisory services to investment funds. She is a member of the IFA (International Fiscal Association) and the Stowarzyszenie REIT Polska association. She is a licensed tax advisor, the head of the Warsaw tax office of TPA Poland as well as the Real Estate Market Advisory Department. In 2013, she was awarded second place in the DGP ranking in the category of the best tax advisors in regard to mergers and acquisitions.

Robert Dobrzycki oversees the operations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic and Slovakia. He set up Panattoni Europe’s headquarters for the CEE region in Poland in 2005 and in 2014 was appointed CEO for Europe. In 15 years under Robert’s management the company has developed over 10  million sqm of warehouse space in Europe. Robert began his career with Menard Doswell & Co., an industrial real estate development company, has over 17 years of experience in the real estate business. He is a Warsaw University graduate and has a Masters in Business Management degree.

Originally from Israel, Doron Klein has more than 18 years’ experience operating in Central and Eastern European real estate markets, having been based in Czech Republic for most of that time. He joined AFI Europe in 2008, and since 2011 he has served, and will continue to serve, as CEO of AFI Europe’s operations in the Czech Republic and in Germany. Doron Klein has an MBA degree from the University of New York in Prague, Czech Republic, and is fluent in Hebrew, English and Czech.

Joining S+B Gruppe AG, which is active as a real estate developer and investor, Johannes heads the activities of the group in Poland as Country Manager and oversees all hotel projects in CEE. Johannes furthermore was appointed to S+Bs Leading Team for the CEE countries. This team guides a number of major developments currently underway in Poland, Czech Republic and Romania.

Peter Noack is co-founder of ZEITGEIST Asset Management. Prior to ZEITGEIST, Peter worked in institutional real estate in Germany, Central Eastern Europe and Turkey for HOCHTIEF Development and Rödl & Partner in Germany and Czech Republic. He is registered as licenced attorney at law in Germany and Czech Republic and holds a Law degree from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.

Raimund Paetzmann is VP Corporate Real Estate at Zalando SE in Berlin and focuses on Real Estate Management, Construction, Architecture as well as all building-related employee services like Building Operations, Security, Office, Travel and Event Management. He joined Zalando in 2017 to support the growth of the company’s office, retail and logistics Real Estate portfolio.

Previously to joining Zalando he built and led the Amazon EMEA real estate team, which was involved in the strategic network planning and design of the European Fulfillment Network. He has pioneered introducing new buildings and a new type of advanced e-commerce logistics network across Europe. He also contributed significantly to the new generation of European Fulfillment Warehouse types. Since June 2018, he has also been Deputy Chairman of the Logistics Real Estate Committee of the German Property Federation ZIA.

Arvi co-founded Blackbrook and is responsible for the overall strategy, operations and investment activities of the firm. He has more than 15 years of real estate investment experience extending to over €4 billion of Sale-Leaseback, Build to Suit, Net Lease and Value-Add real estate acquisitions across more than 20 countries (including seven in CEE/SEE) and across all major asset classes including industrial & logistics, office, retail, healthcare and hospitality.

Wolfgang has started his career as technician where he worked for ten years and has been responsible for water treatment plants. Afterwards more than two decades ago he joined Erste Group Bank AG which is heading the Austrian savings bank sector.
Here, based in Erste`s Viennese Headquarter Wolfgang has gained various experience (retail, restructuring, origination) primarily in the Erste Group Commercial Real Estate Division where he is currently responsible for origination and structuring real estate transactions (office, retail, mixed-use, logistics) in Austria, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Erste Group manages a commercial real estate portfolio of more than EUR 14billion with an annual deal flow of more than EUR 2.5 billion, the regional focus including Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Croatia

A native of Minnesota, Paul Kusmierz, has been a resident in Poland and active in the Polish and CEE real estate markets since 1996. In 2006, Mr. Kusmierz founded Master Management Group (MMG). MMG has become one of the top leaders in the Polish real estate market, gaining the trust of international business partners in terms of development, management and investment. Mr. Kusmierz has been responsible for over 40 transactions totalling over 1.3 billion Euros.

As the Acquisition Director and Equity Partner in a retail fund based in Poland with Europa Capital, Mr. Kusmierz managed one of the largest transactions of 2007. He acquired 14 properties and later sold the portfolio. Further, in cooperation with the Blackstone Real Estate Group, MMG was responsible for transaction advisory, property management and leasing of high-quality Polish shopping malls of 250 000 m2 GLA, owned by King’s Street Retail, which included the successful 50 million Euro expansion of Magnolia Park in Wrocław, whereby MMG was the developer and leasing agent. MMG also partnered with UK based Marcol Group and US based Kravco Company. The latest development project in the MMG portfolio was Galeria Młociny, a prime retail complex of 70 000 m2 GLA, located in the Bielany district in Warsaw. The project was leased 60% and successfully sold to Echo Polska Properties and Echo Investment S.A. in March 2017  for  104.5 million Euros.

Master Management Group, under the leadership of Mr. Kusmierz, has been investing in commercial real estate and executing its own projects. Currently, MMG operates over 100 000 m2 of GLA in Poland including: Brama Mazur in Ełk, Galeria Niwa in Oświęcim and centers in: Poznań, Szczecin, Lubin, Kutno, Ciechanów, Piekary Śląskie and Józefosław (MMG Centers*). All galleries are “the first choice” shopping destinations in their regions with a proven track record in every aspect of management. Niwa and Brama Mazur were both developed by MMG and are award winning projects.

MMG is also an investor and developer of a mixed – use complex Hi Piotrkowska, being defined as the landmark building in the center of Łódź. The complex is located near the Public Transport Hub, accounted for 50 000 travellers daily.

Key Responsibilities • Overseeing the transactions from underwriting to financial structuring of
Real Estate projects
 Tax planning
 Due diligence
 Negotiations prior to closing
• Sourcing deals by working closely with major PE/VC funds, Investment
Bankers, and Asset Managers across the world.

Experience
• Over 25 years of international real estate, private equity and banking
experience
• Founding Partner of Solida Capital, an independent privately owned
advisory firm that sources investment opportunities and provides advisory
services in Real Estate and Industrial projects.
• Former Managing Director of Makyra Investment Fund, a captive Real
Estate Fund investing in commercial and residential assets in Europe and
the US
• Former Managing Partner of Triago, a leading global placement agent, in
charge of setting up the Dubai office and acting as the head of the
operation.
• Wide experience and knowledge in the banking sector with previous
experience in BLC bank (France) and Banque Francaise de l’Orient –
Groupe Indosuez.
• Master’s degree in Economics and Finance from Sorbonne University in
Paris and INSEAD Executive program alumni

Łukasz has 12 years of experience in advising and financing investment projects. Currently he is heading commercial real estate financing in Bank Pekao. Before taking that position he was responsible for Leveraged Buyout and Project Finance in Bank Pekao.

Before joining Pekao, Łukasz worked in Ernst & Young Coporate Finance where he was responsible for structuring and fundraising for investment projects in many industries.

Łukasz graduated Finance and Accounting as well as Management in Szkola Glowna Handlowa in Warsaw. He also holds ACCA title.

Anna Duchnowska, Managing Director – Investment Management, Europe

Anna Duchnowska has been heading European Asset Management division of Invesco Real Estate and a team of 28 professionals located in 7 offices in Europe. Invesco Real Estate manages ca 13 billion EUR of commercial and residential assets across 13 countries in EU and UK. Anna is responsible driving strategic initiatives for asset management , she is also a member of European Executive Committee.

She has 20 years of professional experience in the field of real estate asset management, investment, leasing and finance. Prior to joining IRE, Anna worked for Colliers International , AIB Polonia Property Fund and KPMG. Her professional qualifications include an Executive MBA from the University of Minnesota. Anna is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Accountants (FCCA) and a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS).

About Invesco Real Estate

Invesco Real Estate is a global leader in the real estate investment management business with €68.5 billion in real estate assets under management, 574 employees and 21 regional offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia. Invesco Real Estate has been actively investing across the risk-return spectrum, in direct real estate strategies such as core, debt, value-add and opportunistic as well as publicly-listed real estate securities since 1992. In Europe, Invesco Real Estate has eight offices in London, Munich, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Luxembourg and Warsaw, and 173 employees. It manages 177 assets across 15 European countries and with assets under management of €13.0 billion.

Martin Erbe is Head of International Real Estate Finance for Continental Europe at Helaba
Landesbank Hesse-Thuringia which belongs to the German savings bank network. Based at
the bank’s Frankfurt headquarter he manages the origination for Central Europe, Benelux and
the international Clients in Germany. Martin has worked on a wide range of financing
transactions in the past and has more than 27 years of real estate experience in the European
markets.
Helaba currently manages a loan book of around EUR 36 bn in commercial real estate, almost
half of this amount representing the bank’s international business in Europe and the US.
Helaba’s relationship-oriented strategy remained unchanged for years and is consistently
directed towards its target markets

Magdalena Reńska is a Member of the Board and the Managing Director of EURO STYL (Dom Development Capital Group), which is a leading residential developer on the Tri-City market.

Having nearly 20 years of professional experience, she began her career in the real estate industry working for Tri-City local developers. In 2008 she undertook to create a Tri-City branch of an international consulting company – JLL –  being responsible for the area of Northern Poland, which she successfully managed for 9 years. The next step in her career was working for Skanska Property Poland, where she acted as a Regional Director for leasing office spaces in the area of Northern Poland (Gdańsk, Poznań, Łódź). Since 2016 she is also a lecturer-practitioner at the University of Gdańsk at the Faculty of Investment and Real Estate. Additionally since 2019 Magda holds a position of the Board Member of Polish Association of Developers in the Tri-City Branch.

She graduated with a diploma of an engineer from the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography of the University of Agriculture and Technology in Olsztyn in the major of Spatial Management and Real Estate Valuation. She also graduated from Gdańsk University of Technology where she obtained a master’s degree diploma at the Faculty of Management and Economics.

Lukasz Skowronski is a Real Estate professional with international experience in the commercial and private equity real estate sectors, having worked for major companies in Poland, Bulgaria and Kazakhstan.

Since 2006, Lukasz has been actively engaged in:

◦ executive leadership in both entrepreneurial and corporate environments;

◦ asset/portfolio/property management;

◦ corporate real estate;

◦ leasing/brokerage (commercial and residential real estate sectors);

◦ sales (investment properties, commercial and residential projects).

He is a graduate of the Cracow University of Economics and holds a Master’s Degree in Economics. Lukasz has a strong academic background in Real Estate Management & Investment enhanced by taking part in various relevant conferences, projects and research opportunities of the Polish, European and Asian real estate markets.

In 2012 Lukasz moved to Kazakhstan to join the Global Development team (part of the Verny Capital Group). In his capacity as Commercial Director, Lukasz was managing the property portfolio on a strategic and operational level. His ‘hands on approach’ sees him actively involved in the strategic positioning of the properties, business planning, investments, business development and PR & marketing.

In July 2015 he was promoted to the position of Managing Director.

Lukasz is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), achieved through the Senior Professional Route and the Commercial Property Practice Pathway in February 2014.

In 2017 Lukasz earned his CPM® (Certified Property Manager®) designation from IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management, Chicago).

In April 2019 he was awarded Fellowship status (FRICS) from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, becoming the youngest RICS Fellow in Central and Eastern Europe and in CIS.

Sebastian Proć joined HB Reavis at the very beginning of its Polish operations in 2009 and over that time had various leadership roles, including management of teams responsible for land acquisitions and project development. Prior to joining HB Reavis in 2009, Sebastian worked as Associate Director in DTZ consulting firm. Before that, he was a Country Manager at Premiumred Real Estate Development (Investkredit / Volksbank group). Earlier he has also worked at Budimex Nieruchomości and Unikat Commercial Properties.

Gheorghe Marian Cristescu began his adventure with the hotel industry over 25 years ago. He gained professional experience in Polish and international hotel chains, such as Radisson, Accor Hotels, and Best Western. As a director for Poland and the Baltic States within the structures of Best Western International, he started a new trend in spreading franchise agreements with hotels.

In 2016, G. M. Cristescu took the position of President of the Board of Polski Holding Hotelowy (previously Chopin Airport Development), whose aim is to consolidate the management of hotel facilities owned by the State Treasury. After 6 years of managing the company, President Cristescu built the largest hotel company in the country, within Polish capital. The PHH Group currently has 54 properties. Polski Holding Hotelowy is a leader with the greatest multibranding experience, which has been cooperating as a franchisee for many years with leading global hotel chains, such as Marriott International, Hilton International, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group and Louvre Hotels Group. Moreover, PHH is the most significant Marriott partner in this part of Europe, receiving the Partnership Circle Award as the most valuable business partner among owners and franchise partners in Europe in 2019.

Gheorghe Marian Cristescu from 2017 to 2019, was the chairman of the Social Tourism Council at the Minister of Sport and Tourism, and from February 2022 he was the deputy chairman of the Council of Tourism Experts at the Minister of Sport and Tourism. In 2020, Gheorghe Marian Cristescu was awarded the Grand Prix of MT Targi Polska for his long-standing, helpful cooperation and support for the tourism industry, and was distinguished with an honorary badge for his outstanding contributions to the Polish Chamber of Tourism. In 2019, he was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit by the President of Poland – Andrzej Duda, and received the honor badge  “For merits for tourism” awarded by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. President Cristescu has been awarded three times the special award “Man of the Year” by the magazine “Hotelarz” in 2012, 2018 and 2020, while in 2021 he was honored with the Hotelier of the Decade award. Moreover, the President of PHH remains at the top of the list of “100 most influential people in Polish tourism” of the Wasza Turystyka magazine every year, winning the second place in this ranking in 2021.

Maciej has 14 years retail experience that he has gained working in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic. He is now the Primark Head of Sales for CEE.

Philippe BEURTHERET is 47 years old and is French. He has been active in real estate investment and general management for international companies (JLL, IKEA Real Estate, OBI, AUchan Group) for more than 20 years. Now, based in France, he is active in International Asset Management for ORPEA SA, a European leader in Dependency care with a network of 1,156 facilities / 116,514 beds in 23 countries.

Seasoned real estate professional with 23 years extensive experience in commercial real estate in CEE and SEE region. Strong multitasker with affinity to entrepreneurial mindset.
Multiple executive roles in service providing companies in sector of real estate as well as board member roles in industry and investment boards across SEE. Specialized in turn-around of distressed assets and value add real estate.

Dagmara was born in Poland and is currently based in Amsterdam. She has a legal background and nearly fifteen years of financial markets expertise. Prior to founding Veda Global Investments, she was in regulatory compliance roles in a fast-paced environment of market-leading financial institutions, such as TP ICAP, a global wholesale over the counter and exchange traded brokerage; and iSwap, an award-winning electronic trading platform for interest rate derivatives.

She is a seasoned investor in real estate, crypto assets, and precious metals.

As an Associate with MI – Multiple Impact, a boutique advisory and management firm in alternative operational assets and investments, she collaborates with local partners on developing quality senior living and healthcare real estate concepts in the Benelux, the CEE and Mediterranean countries. She also brings a wealth of knowledge on corporate compliance and ethics programmes, and brings this experience to senior living.  Dagmara wholeheartedly supports impact investing and ESG, and is committed to improving the lives of others and making a difference.

Andrzej Potyra is the head of the Żabka Property Fund and is responsible for real estate investment at Żabka Group. Previously, he was an executive director of Santander Bank and managed the structured finance team in its global investment banking division. Andrzej has extensive experience of raising finance for commercial real estate projects and managing them, as well as leveraged buyouts and project finance. He has also advised businesses for M&A and ECM transactions. He started his career at E&Y and KPMG.

Senior real estate executive with vast international experience and sound understanding of CEE, Russia and
Balkan real estate markets. Proven track record of fast development of top global brands across Europe as well
as diversified local commercial concepts (e.g. retail parks, galleries and other) in multiple locations. Successfully
delivered 100+ new builds across numerous countries and number of commercial re projects (incl. greenfields) of
app. 3-8k GLA in total over 80k, which brought industry leading financial results: 400% EBITDA growth.
Intrinsically entrepreneurial leader of multinational, cross-functional teams of development, construction, leasing
and asset management professionals. Dedicated people and organizational capability builder.
Strategically oriented communicator with strong influencing skills across various organizational levels with agile
mindset and get-things-done attitude.

Mikolaj Walkowski is an experienced real estate advisor focused on Industrial and Logistic sector in Poland. Over 7 years of experience in real estate industrial advisory starting as property negotiator finishing as a director leading industrial team and business line in south of Poland in worldwide agency. Also got experience in development company Panattoni Europe for at least 2 years. Currently Co-owner, Managing Partner in Triflow Agency.  CCIM Institute Designation Member since 2021.

Sebastian Vetter – alumni of Technical College at Construction and Environmental Technologies. Started his career in PORR AG just right after finishing his studies back in 1994. Since than bonded with real estate industry. Highly qualified specialist in large scale projects. During his career in PORR AG he was responsible for projects such as Stary Browar in Poznan, AGORA office building in Warsaw or one of the most recognizable hotels in this town – Hotel Sheraton. From 2006 joins UBM Development Polska as a managing director. He is now responsible for the project development, technical and quality management. During his 14 years in UBM Sebastian run such iconic projects like Poleczki Park (one of the biggest office parks in Central Europe), Pegaz office building in Wroclaw, Kotlarska 11 in Cracow and hotels: Holiday Inn “Granary” in Gdansk and Mercure Katowice Centrum

Sebastian Georg Nitsch, born in 1971, can look back on more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry and the financial sector. Following his degree and after gaining his first experience in business, he worked for a subsidiary of AKRON Immobilien Portfolio AG from 1996 where he became an authorised signatory of the company. There followed senior positions at multi-family office VT Vermögenstreuhand Investment AG as well as Dekron Invest GmbH. He has also sat on various supervisory boards. Nitsch is also a certified portfolio manager and until 2019, he worked as a sworn, certified appraiser. He began his career at 6B47 Real Estate Investors AG as CFO and since 2020 he has been the CEO, largely responsible for the company’s growth and trailblazing real estate projects.

Daniel is a partner at ALTO. He specializes in tax advisory for financial investors (mainly private equity funds) and for clients from the real estate industry.

He has repeatedly acted as a leading tax advisor for the largest transactions on the Polish market. In this respect, he advised the largest Polish and foreign clients, both on the seller’s and buyer’s side. Also, he has extensive experience in international tax structuring and tax consultancy related to debt refinancing and reorganization.

In addition to tax structuring, tax due diligence and vendor due diligence reviews, Daniel also provided day-to-day service of clients from the trade, production, TMT and Life Sciences sectors in tax issues in the area of CIT, VAT, PIT, PCC and real estate tax.

Before joining ALTO, he worked for several years in one of the companies from the so-called The Big Four.

In 2021 and 2022, Daniel was distinguished as a Recommended Tax Advisor (Transactional Advisory) in the Tax Advisory Firms Ranking published by Rzeczpospolita.

Daniel is a graduate of the University of Warsaw and the Warsaw School of Economics, a licensed tax advisor since 2011 (No. 11866) and since 2016, a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, ACCA.

Following graduation from Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) and Warsaw University Maciej started his banking carrier in 1997. He has been working for Bank of America, later for Bank Austria Creditanstalt, and then, in 2002 taken over the responsibility for the Corporate Banking Product Development and Marketing Department at Bank BPH. 16 years ago he has moved into the field of commercial real estate as a Director of Commercial Real Estate Finance Department at Bank BPH. From January 2007 until December 2014 Maciej opened and managed Representative Office of Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank in Warsaw. Since January 2015 until March 2021, Maciej led Griffin Property Finance (GPF), a commercial real estate debt fund, one of the first and very few non-bank real estate lenders operating in Poland and CEE. Since March 2021, Maciej has taken over the position of Managing Director Europe at Fortress REIT Limited.

Maciej holds a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) license number 19991 and has completed a prestigious Advanced Management Program at IESE Business School, University of Navarra.

Emilia heads the Polish team of DUAL Asset, a global leading M&A title provider, providing insurance options that give comprehensive cover for risks related to use and ownership. Emilia analyses risks attaching to transactions relating to the sale and purchase of assets located in the European Economic Area, with focus on Poland and Germany. She is a qualified legal advisor admitted to the Warsaw Bar Association and prior to joining DUAL Asset, she worked at the Warsaw offices of Beiten Burkhardt and Wolf Theiss for over 10 years.

Having graduated in Budapest in 1988, Peter is an economist by background. He also holds an MPhil degree in Land Economy from Cambridge University and a joint MSc degree in Real Estate from the Budapest Technical University and the Nottingham Trent University. He started his career 33 years ago and gained a wealth of experience in the field of property agency, development, valuation and investment & banking with local and international firms such as Price Waterhouse, Kuwait Petroleum, Jones Lang Wootton and Eurohypo. For more than a decade he was responsible for the CEE & SEE Region at HYPO NOE Landesbank für Niederoesterreich und Wien Bank AG, where he has been appointed to Head of Department for Real Estate Finance. This includes further responsibilities for countries such as Austria, Germany and Holland. Peter is an active member of RICS. He served in various positions like Chairman in Hungary or as a board member of RICS Europe and as that of Austria.

Adam Zawadzki joined Toyota in 2006 and currently holds the position of Senior Project Leader at the European Headquarters in Belgium. He is a part of a team shaping the future look of manufacturing in Europe bringing innovative technologies and approaches, especially in the areas IoT, ML/AI and intelligent processes.

He drove many international and cross-functional projects in Europe & Asia concerning Lean manufacturing, supply chain and banking processes preparation and/or optimisation. Moreover, as a direct Lean/TPS consultant he was responsible for simultaneous cost reduction and production efficiency improvement in various European manufacturing companies. Prior to Toyota he worked for such global leaders as Procter & Gamble and Tata Consultancy Services.

Mr. Zawadzki is passionate about creatively combining different techniques & mindsets and implementing them in various fields and on different levels believing that there is always a field for improvement.

Monika Duda, Managing Director DHL Supply Chain in Poland, has been working over 15 years of in the international business environment and specializes in supply chain management and business development. During her years in Kuehne + Nagel, CAT Group, and ID Logistics, she was involved in logistics projects for many international companies in the FMCG, retail, and e-commerce industries such as Ikea, Carrefour, Auchan, Hutchinson, and P&G. Following that, she became the Associate Director in the industrial department of the global consulting company Cushman & Wakefield, where she was responsible for building and managing relationships with key clients and business partners.

More recently, Monika became a partner at M4 Real Estate, a role in which she combines knowledge of processes in the supply chain with experience and knowledge in the field of industrial real estate.

Samuel Vetrak is the Founder and CEO of BONARD, a global specialist for Data,
Research and Advisory for Rented Residential Assets.
Samuel has over 20 years’ experience advising investors, developers and operators
and under his leadership, BONARD has become the global go-to address for rented
residential data, strategies and opportunities, guiding investment professionals with
scientific precision.
Samuel speaks frequently at major real estate conferences, sharing latest insights
backed by his long-term industry experience

Magdalena Bartkiewicz-Podoba has been with Liebrecht & wooD in Poland since 1998 and held significant positions in the company’s structures. In her 25 years of work in Liebrecht & wooD Group she created and managed the Legal Department and since 2002 she co-managed daily operations of Liebrecht & wooD as a Management Board member, a partner and a shareholder. From 2010 to 2015, Magdalena served as the company’s General Counsel with responsibility for major transactions and overseeing the Group’s legal services in the CEE region. Since 2018, Magdalena Bartkiewicz-Podoba has been CEO of Liebrecht & wooD in Poland. She manages a team of more than 70 people, overseeing the development of new projects as well as the management of existing buildings portfolio.

Magdalena Bartkiewicz-Podoba graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw as well as the British and European Law studies run by Cambridge University in cooperation with the University of Warsaw. She is a qualified attorney-at-law. She is a Harvard Business School Alumna (GMP, Executive Education). Magdalena completed also postgraduate studies in negotiation & mediation at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and History of Art at the Polish Academy of Sciences. She is a mother of three daughters.