creators of the summit - Global Real Estate Institute

CREATORS OF THE SUMMIT
DR MARIO GARNERO
chairman
BRASILINVEST
LAURENCE S GELLER
president & ceo
STRATEGIC HOTELS & RESORTS
Mario Garnero is the Chairman of Brasilinvest Group, a holding
company located in São Paulo with interests in the financial,
telecommunications, infrastructure, real estate and agricultural
sectors in Brazil and abroad. He is also the Chairman of
Fórum das Américas and president of the United Nations
Association-Brazil, both non profitable organizations active
in Brazil. Mario has served as the Chairman of the National
Association of Automotive Manufacturers, the National Union
of the Automotive Industry, and the National Manufacturers
Confederation.
Laurence Geller is President, Chief Executive Officer and
Director and Founder of Strategic Hotels & Resorts. Prior to
founding Strategic Hotels & Resorts in 1997, Mr. Geller was
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Geller & Co., a gaming,
tourism and lodging advisory company he founded in 1989.
One of the hotel industry’s creative leaders, he is recognized
as a savvy dealmaker, and seasoned hotelier. A student of
Winston Churchill, Geller lives and works in Chicago.
OLIVIER GERARD-COESTER
vice president
APSYS INTERNATIONAL
PIERRE GERVASI
head of equity europe
BANK OF SCOTLAND
Olivier Gérard-Coester has been active in the real estate
sector for 15 years. He made his debut in a French mortgage
Bank, then moved in 1992 to an investor developing shopping
centers in France, Italy and Spain. He followed in 1998 his
former boss Maurice Bansay in the newly incorporated Apsys.
Within 8 years, Apsys has become the leading developer and
manager of shopping centers in Poland (e.g. Manufaktura in
Lodz), and is developing quickly in France since 2001. Olivier
is vice-president of Apsys, in charge of the management of
operating shopping centers, the finance and legal matters and
the letting in Poland.
Pierre Gervasi, MRICS, has been Head of Equity- Corporate
Europe at Bank of Scotland since January 2006, having joined
BoS in 2003 as Head of Real Estate Group-France. Prior to
joining BoS, Pierre spent 6 years with GE Capital Real Estate,
as Head of Financing and Joint Ventures and as Risk Director.
He previously worked for Credit Foncier for 20 years, holding
various positions in audit, property finance, municipal finance
and business development. Pierre is a graduate of Sciences
Po Paris and he also holds a Master’s degree in Business Law
and a degree as a Chartered Accountant.
CARLA GIANNINI
managing director
CREDIT SUISSE
RODERICK GIBBS
group managing director
VALUE RETAIL PLC
Carla Giannini is a Managing Director of Credit Suisse with
responsibility for the firm’s opportunistic Real Estate Private
Equity business in Europe. Ms Giannini has more than 20
years experience in the real estate investment business, and
has been an active investor in the US, Europe and Asia through
her previous roles at Invesco, Parkes and Company, Lend
Lease Real Estate and the Yarmouth Group. Ms Giannini holds
a BA with Honors in Economics from Harvard University.
Roderick was one of the founding Directors of Value Retail PLC,
and serves as its Group Managing Director. He is primarily
responsible for the development, operation and administration
of Value Retail’s new projects. Value Retail specialises
exclusively in the development and operation of high quality
outlet villages, presently serving nine major EU cities in seven
countries. Mr Gibbs was previously a Director of London &
Metropolitan PLC, with responsibility for group corporate and
property investments and for its European and US activities.
He holds an Honours Degree in Urban Estate Management and
is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
He lives in Paris.
IAN GLEESON
head of property
NATIONAL PENSIONS RESERVE FUND (IRELAND)
SAUL GOLDSTEIN
managing director
CERBERUS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
Ian is Head of Property of the National Pensions Reserve Fund.
He is responsible for the formulation and implementation of
the Fund’s property strategy. Previously, Ian worked for F&C
Management Ltd in London (1996 - 2004) where he managed
indirect property investment mandates on behalf of two
separate pension funds, University of Cambridge and British
Energy Generation Group. Ian is an active member of INREV
serving on its management board and the management
committee of the INREV Investor Platform.
Saul Goldstein, Managing Director, is responsible for advising
the Cerberus family of funds for their European real estate
investment business. He joined the Cerberus Companies
in 1998. Previously, he had worked for Cargill Financial
Services Corporation, pricing and structuring equity and
debt investments in distressed corporate and real estate
opportunities in Asia. He is an honors graduate of Cornell
University and holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and
an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.