Senior Real Estate Leaders:
Your Gateway to Private Networking and Premier Real Estate Events in Europe

Christina Forrest is the Managing Director, Real Estate, Europe at La Caisse, where she leads investment strategies, transactions, and portfolio management for the European continent. With over 20 years of extensive experience in the European real estate sector, Christina previously held leadership positions at CBRE Investment Management, Pradera, and Resolution Property, focusing on fund management, transaction execution, and asset disposals across various European markets. She began her career at Cushman & Wakefield and holds a Master's Degree in Business and Economics from Maastricht University.

Krysto Nikolic is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate at ICG. He is a member of ICG’s Management Committee. Prior to joining ICG, he was Head of European Real Estate at Starwood Capital Group, where he served on its Global Investment and Operating Committees. Previously, Krysto was a Partner at TPG and started his career at Goldman Sachs International. Krysto has led over $14 billion of real estate acquisitions and served on the Board of Directors of multiple portfolio companies and real estate platforms. He holds an MA from Cambridge University.

Mark Allnutt is an Executive Director and leads our vertically integrated platform in Europe, overseeing investment, development, and operations in seven markets. He works closely with our in-country leaders in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, and the UK to deliver a superior product for consumers and drive returns for investors. Since 2013, we have grown exponentially, delivering purpose-designed and thoughtfully amenitised buildings at scale for multifamily, young professional, and student housing.

Oliver Vines serves as the Senior Director of Real Estate Europe at PSP Investments, one of Canada's largest pension investment managers. In this role, he contributes to managing a diversified global portfolio with a significant focus on real estate investments across Europe. PSP Investments' real estate strategy involves establishing joint ventures with leading partners and investing across various property sectors.

Cherine Aboulzelof is Managing Partner & Global Co-Head for BGO Strategic Capital Partners ("BGO SCP") and sits on its global investment committee. BGO SCP provides strategic capital by way of asset and portfolio recapitalisations, structured transactions, co investments trhrough its discretionary co-mingled vehicles, and fund investments for managed accounts. Prior to joining BGO SCP platform in 2017, she has been responsible for Europe investments with two different real estate investment managers, investing across a number of real estate sectors in Europe between 2005 and 2017. She started her career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. She holds an M.B.A from INSEAD and a graduate degree from EM Lyon. She is a French, British and Lebanese citizen. Cherine serves as a Non Executive Director on the board Urban Logistics REIT.

Thomas Jackson is the Managing Director and Head of Real Estate for the United Kingdom & Europe at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a role he assumed in July 2023. Based in London, he oversees CPPIB's real estate investments and leads the investment team across Europe and the UK. Since joining CPPIB in 2011, Jackson has been instrumental in building the European and UK real estate portfolio through joint ventures and platform investments, expanding into new sectors such as student housing, life sciences, and Built-to-Rent. His extensive experience includes leadership roles at Macquarie Capital, Jones Lang LaSalle, and BNP Paribas Real Estate. He earned a Master's degree from London South Bank University.

Michael Swank is a Senior Managing Director in the Real Estate Group based in London, where he is involved in Blackstone’s real estate acquisitions across continental Europe. Since joining Blackstone in 2010, Mr. Swank has been involved in a number of Blackstone’s investments in Europe and the U.S., including Dream Global, Hembla (D. Carnegie), Obligo, Sponda, Hilton Worldwide, and Gecina. Mr. Swank graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a BS in Economics from the Wharton School.

Brad Hyler is a Managing Partner in Brookfield’s Property Group, responsible for originating and executing European real estate investments. Mr. Hyler joined Brookfield in 2011 in New York and relocated to London in 2015.  Since joining, he has been heavily involved in a number of significant M&A transactions including the acquisitions of Verde, IDI, Gazeley and Rose.  He has also been instrumental in the creation of BSREP’s logistics and UK student housing operating platforms and overseeing significant growth of both portfolios.  Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Hyler held various positions at O’Connor Capital Partners and Jones Lang Lasalle. Mr. Hyler holds a BA in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In charge of the global real estate investment department. Setting the investment strategy, sourcing and executing investments across the capital structure in real estate opportunities globally. Regular participant in the Investment Committee. Non-Executive Director and Advisory Board member of private equity real estate funds in the US, Europe and Asia.

Mr. Bashir joined the firm in 2020 and is Chief Executive Officer of Europe. In this role Mr. Bashir leads the expansion of Harrison Street’s European strategies and he is also responsible for overseeing and growing the firm’s team of professionals across the U.K. and Europe. Mr. Bashir brings over 20 years of experience in private equity real estate, operations and corporate finance to Harrison Street. Prior to joining Harrison Street, Mr. Bashir was most recently President and Chief Operating Officer at Round Hill Capital, a real estate investment and asset management firm with a global footprint. While at Round Hill Capital, he managed a business with an $8+ billion portfolio as well as a team of 260 people across 15 offices.