OUR PEOPLE, WORKING TOGETHER, FOR OUR CLIENTS

Diederik is a Managing Director at Europa and is responsible for the asset management of Europa’s open-ended pan-European core fund, EDIF, and for the non-core portfolios in the Netherlands. Before joining Europa in 2021, Diederik worked at Multi Corporation (Blackstone) where he was a Senior Director overseeing teams in Ireland, UK, Benelux, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Diederik has also had senior positions at LaSalle Investment Management and UBS, including founding the Benelux asset management departments at both firms. Diederik is a fellow of the RICS (FRICS) and a past member of the RICS European Board. Diederik received an Msc in Financial Management from the University of Nyenrode.

Alexia is the Chief of Staff at Europa and is responsible for leading the people and culture strategy on behalf of our senior management. Before joining Europa in 2020,  Alexia was the European HR Director for a global investment banking firm, with over 20 years of experience within financial services. Alexia is a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, a member of the International Coaches Federation and accredited in Myers Briggs and other professional development tools.

Emilie is Deputy Fund Manager at Europa and is responsible for Europa’s open-ended pan-European core fund, EDIF. As Deputy Fund Manager, Emilie is the focal point for all of Europa’s teams that work on the Fund, including the transaction management, asset management, fund accounting, real estate finance and investor relations teams. Before joining Europa in 2021, Emilie held fund management roles at Generali Real Estate, Nuveen and CBRE Investment Management. Emilie started her career at Morgan Stanley as an investment banking analyst. Emilie received an MSc in Management, Majors in finance and business strategy from HEC Paris.

Russell is the Chief Investment Officer at Europa and is responsible for the delivery of Europa’s investment goals. Before joining Europa in 2022, Russell worked at Aberdeen Asset Management, where he was the Chief Investment Officer for the property team. He also held strategic roles at UBS Global Asset Management and Henderson Global Investors. Russell was an Associate Fellow of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford between 2020 and 2024. Russell received a BSc (Hons) in Estate Management from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and holds MPhil (Cantab) and PhD (Cantab) degrees in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge. Russell is also a Chartered Surveyor, MRICS.

Ed is Head of Residential Investment at Europa. He is responsible for leading Europa’s residential activity in the UK and Europe in line with the business’ strategy of seeking mispriced risk on behalf of its clients. Ed works closely with the fund management, transaction and asset management teams across Europa to oversee its existing residential portfolio, grow its network of local partners, whilst also collaborating with its in-house research capability to identify new opportunities. Ed has over 20 years’ experience in real estate markets, joining Europa from Savills where he spent the last 13 months as a director in the operational capital markets team, advising clients on transactions across the UK and European residential markets. Prior to that, he spent 15 years in fund management at abdrn, including eight years as Head of UK Residential Investment where he oversaw the formation and implementation of the UK residential business. Ed joined abrdn after 3 years working at Deloitte in London and Edinburgh. He has sat on the BPF Build to Rent committee since its inception, the AREF Residential Committee and is Deputy Chair of the SPF Residential Investment Committee.  Ed received a BSc in Land Management from the University of Reading and is a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Simon is the Fund Manager for Europa’s funds III, IV and V. Prior to this role, Simon held the role of Head of Asset Management at Europa, having oversight of all asset management initiatives of the non-core funds. Before joining Europa, Simon was Head of Management, Valuation and Consultancy at King Sturge in Prague and held various roles at King Sturge, Bristol City Council and Humberts. Simon is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and received a BSc in Land Management from De Montfort University.

Gwendal is the Head of Real Estate Finance at Europa and is responsible for all financing matters for the firm’s equity funds. Prior to joining in 2022, Gwendal was the Head of Debt, responsible for all of Tristan Capital Partners equity funds. Before joining Tristan Capital Partners, he was the Head of Real Estate Finance for Europe at Cromwell Property Group, responsible for all treasury matters across EMEA and Singapore. He was directly responsible for the successful completion of secured to unsecured debt transactions in excess of €3.5Bn and provided advisory and execution oversight on interest rate hedging and credit risk issues. In addition, Gwendal has an extensive banking background gained during his time at Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank and Wells Fargo in London, originating and restructuring (Pan-European) transactions across EMEA. He holds a Masters in Geography from University Augsburg (Germany).

Chris joined Europa as Head of ESG in August 2022. He is responsible for delivering ESG solutions and initiatives across Europa Capital’s Funds and leading the development of Europa Capital’s Net Zero strategy. Chris has over 20 years environmental and sustainability consultancy experience working for Arcadis, WSP and KPMG. Prior to joining Europa, Chris was Director of Sustainability at BWB Consulting. Chris received a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Management from Sheffield Hallam University and a BSc in Earth Sciences from the University of Leicester. Chris is active in his local community and was formerly co-convenor for the UKELA environmental due diligence working party group.

Vanessa is the investment strategist at Europa and her role helps to establish how markets are priced now compared to intrinsic value, why they depart from intrinsic value and how the business can take advantage of this. The focus is on investments and investment decision making. Before joining Europa in 2020, Vanessa held research roles at M&G Real Estate & LaSalle Investment Management. She received an MSc in Property Development & Planning from University College London and an MEng in European Civil Engineering from the University of Warwick. Vanessa demonstrates commitment to the research community in her roles as Past Chair of the Society of Property Researchers (SPR) and member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Smart Urban Growth group, Urban Regeneration Council, Women Leadership Initiative and Europe Awards for Excellence jury.

Graham is Head of Research at Europa and is responsible for translating our investment approach into individual, property-level actions, supporting the fund management and investment management teams. Before joining Europa in 2023, Graham worked at abrdn as an Investment Manager in its multi-manager team and, prior to that, was their Head of UK Property Research. Graham started his property career at Cushman & Wakefield in 2005 and also worked at ING REIM prior to joining abrdn in 2011. Graham received a BSc in International Business with German from Aston University and holds the IMC from the CFA Society of the UK.

Jean-Baptiste Puppi is a Director at Europa and is responsible for Transaction Management in the Southern European and Benelux regions. Before joining Europa in 2022, he held investment management roles at Hines (London) and Société Foncière Lyonnaise (Paris). Jean-Baptiste started his real estate career at BNP Paribas Real Estate as an analyst, and also held previous roles in finance and at the United Nations (New York). Jean-Baptiste received an MSc in Management and a BA in Economy from Paris Dauphine University, and a MS in Corporate Finance from EM Lyon Business School.

Rob is the Managing Partner of Europa and a member of the non-core Investment Committee. Before joining Europa in 2003, Rob worked at LaSalle Investment Management, and was responsible for investment on behalf of a major UK pension fund. Rob started his career at Jones Lang LaSalle on the graduate training programme in 1988. Rob is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Rob received an MA in Economics and Geography from St Andrews University and has a Postgraduate Diploma in Surveying from Reading University.

Tim is a Partner at Europa and is the Fund Manager for UK Living strategies including the Europa Generation Student Fund. Tim is also an Investment Committee member on the Europa Capital Debt Investment products. He was previously the Chief Investment Officer of Hermes Real Estate. Whilst at Hermes Real Estate, Tim was also the fund manager of the British Telecom Pension Scheme’s UK Real Estate portfolio, a director of two operating businesses, MEPC and Argent, and a member of the Brockton Capital Fund I investment committee. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Aberdeen Asset Management, where he was responsible for Barclays Life Assurance Company and subsequently ADIA’s UK real estate portfolios.  Prior to Aberdeen Asset Management, Tim worked at Knight Frank for five years. Tim has a BSc in Property Valuation and Finance from City University Business School and is a member of the Investment Property Forum and the RICS. Tim has extensive experience in fund management as well as in transactions, development financing and asset management throughout the UK in all market sectors.

Roberto is responsible for leading Europa’s fundraising initiatives as well as expanding new and existing investor and consultant relationships in the EMEA region for MEC’s global real estate investment management platform, MEC Global Partners. Roberto joined Europa in June 2022 from China Orient Summit Capital where he spent the last five years as Head of EMEA. Before COS Capital, Roberto was Global Head of Business Development – Property at Aberdeen Asset Management between 2011 and 2016. Prior to Aberdeen, Roberto served as European Head of Business Development – Global Real Estate at UBS Global Asset Management. Over his 20-year career in real estate, Roberto has been involved in over 30 fund launches, representing over US 17 billion of capital raised. Roberto has an MBA in Finance from London Business School.