Nicholas Garattini, head of business development and investor relations at Generali Real Estate, has been appointed as chair of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) NEXT group in Europe, which represents and supports real estate professionals aged 35–45.
He succeeds Galyna Permyakova, who chaired the European NEXT Group for the last two years.
Garattini began his voluntary two-year term on 1 July 2021 and will join the ULI Europe Executive Committee as part of his role. He has been a member of ULI since 2014 and previously served as chair of ULI Italy’s Young Leaders group (for members aged under 35). He is also a member of INREV and an AFIRE board member.
As chair of the ULI NEXT group in Europe, Garattini plans to actively engage with national ULI NEXT groups to help them grow and reinforce their attractiveness for members by focusing on innovation, collaboration and personal development.
'We have witnessed unprecedented events and changes over the past year, he said. 'ULI can contribute to improving our communities thanks to the role of real estate becoming more and more central to how we live our lives. ULI NEXT offers a privileged point of view to learn and generate ideas with a diverse group of engaged mid-career leaders who are looking at how to innovate the industry whilst highlighting social and environmental value as a core principle.'
ULI NEXT has a dedicated and varied events programme in place at the European and local levels, including an annual conference, digital/in-person events, and other networking opportunities.
'The ULI NEXT programme in Europe has been valuable in supporting real estate professionals as they develop towards the next step in their careers,' said Marnix Galle, chair of ULI Europe and executive chairman of Belgian developer Immobel. 'We look forward to working with Nicholas as he joins the ULI Europe Executive Committee to represent the interests of our members aged 35–45.'
