One of the best known academics in the real estate industry has become a senior impact adviser.
Nils Kok has taken the position with Avignon Capital, assuming responsibility for leading the sustainability team. He will be part of Avignon’s investment committee, and work closely with senior management to further integrate ESG considerations into investment processes as well as develop new products and solutions.
Kok is a professor in Real Estate Finance at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, who went on to found and become CEO of GRESB, the global ESG rating company for real estate and infrastructure investments featured in PropertyEU's March edition.
He previously served as chief economist and non-executive board member at GeoPhy, a provider of automated valuations for the real estate sector.
Patrick Flaton, MD and CEO of Avignon Capital said: 'We are delighted to welcome Nils onto the team. Gaining someone with such experience and expertise in the market is a real coup for us and Nils’ input will be invaluable as we forge ahead with ensuring ESG criteria features at the centre of how we work and the investments we make and advice on. With Nils on board, we are able to strengthen our Brown-2-Green strategy, integrating sustainability into everything we do at Avignon.'
Kok said Avignon had a strong track record in asset and investment-management: 'Avignon is well-positioned to take on the challenge of converting the existing commercial real estate stock in Europe from inefficient and potentially stranded into net-zero carbon, sustainable and healthy assets.'
'I’m excited to being part of the solution of reducing the carbon emitted by the global real estate sector, while creating better space for occupiers, and enhancing value for investors and their trustees.'
