Nine real estate industry leaders have joined the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI’s) Portugal Executive Committee, which supports the setting of the strategic direction and oversees the Institute’s Portugal activities. ULI is the world’s oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate experts, with more than 45,000 members globally, including over 4,000 members across Europe in 14 National Councils.

The 12-member committee comprises some of the most senior professionals across the Portugal region, including top CEO’s and Managing Directors. The new committee members are:

• Susana Bettencourt, Housing, Urbanism and Public Space City Councillor Deputy at Camara Municipal do Porto, Portugal.
• Margarida Caldeira, Chair of the EMEA Board at Broadway Malyan – Arquitectos E Designers Lda, Portugal.
• Paula Fernandes, CEO at RAR Imobiliária, Portugal.
• Rita Júdice, Partner at PLMJ, Portugal.
• Miguel Kreiseler, Managing Director at MVGM, Portugal.
• Armando Filipe Queiroz, Board member at Finangeste, SA, Portugal.
• Francisco Sottomayor, CEO at Norfin, Sgoic, Portugal.
• Eric van Leuven, Head of Portugal at Cushman & Wakefield, Portugal.
• Fernando Vasco Costa, Managing Director at Nexity Portugal.

New Chair for the NEXT group (for members aged 35–45):

• Ziyou Tian, Founder and CEO at Qualive Real Estate, Portugal.

New Chair for the Young Leaders group (for members aged under 35):

• André Casaca, Real Estate Developer at Re-Factory Investimentos e Consultoria, Lda, Portugal.

Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, said: “Our leadership teams are instrumental to the execution of our mission and strategy, including ensuring the delivery of successful activities and developing our membership. It’s encouraging to see such an impressive commitment to the ongoing success story of ULI Portugal by local industry leaders. I’d like to warmly welcome ULI Portugal’s new Executive Committee Members and the incoming chairs of the Next and Young Leaders groups and thank them for their commitment to ULI as they look to deliver exciting plans and valuable content for our members in Portugal.”

Francisco Rocha Antunes, ULI Portugal Executive Committee Chair, said “We are delighted to have such a distinguish group of Members as part of the new Executive Committee, representing the different positions of all the professionals working in this industry and reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of ULI. All of us, together with Ziyou and André, we are confident that we can help to transform the property market towards a more sustainable, diverse and vibrant future of our cities.”

Ziyou Tian, ULI Portugal NEXT Chair, said “As a foreign developer working in Portugal, I have benefited greatly from being a part of the ULI network. With the nomination to lead ULI NEXT in Portugal, I am honoured and committed to building a stronger network of young professionals working in the multidisciplinary fields of real estate.

I am excited to work closely with the national council and Young Leaders to grow a supportive network by generating inspirational content and putting forward social and professional networking opportunities for young professionals. “

André Casaca, ULI Portugal Young Leaders Chair, said “It is an honour to be part of ULI Executive Committee in Portugal.

Bearing in mind the moment of transformation that the property market is going through, it is essential to create a “closer communication” between the different stakeholders with the focus on knowledge sharing and consequent value creation.

For all that ULI represents, we are extremely delighted with the opportunity to actively participate in the evolutionary process of our industry.”

The new Executive Committee members join the existing team, including ULI Portugal Chair Francisco Rocha Antunes, Chief Developer at +urbano, Frederico Arruda Moreira, CEO at Refundos – Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Investimento Imobiliario, S.A and Eduardo Abreu, Partner at Neoturis – Consultoria Em Turismo.

ULI Portugal involves over 50 leading real estate stakeholders from the private and public sectors representing all disciplines within the Portuguese commercial and residential property market. In 2020, the National Council launched its Residential Product Council which functions to share insights and best practice in ‘housing well’. ULI Portugal played a pivotal role in supporting both the regional Leadership Retreat and Young Leaders Autumn Study Tour, which took place in Lisbon in 2019.