The Commercial Real Estate Finance Council Europe has announced that Chris Bennett, head of DekaBank’s London branch (pictured), will be its next chair.
Jessica Tomlinson, Barclays Bank’s London head of real estate, today took over the role of current chair at CREFC Europe, the trade association for commercial property finance.
She replaces Emma Huepfl of CBRE Global Investors, who remains on the organisation’s board, while another former chair, Barry Fowler of Aviva Investors, has retired from the board after four years.
Also leaving the board are Jean-Maurice Elkouby of ING, Kumaresh Thiru of Morgan Stanley (each after completing a three-year term) and Madeleine McDougall of Lloyds.
Tomlinson said: “The challenges presented by the pandemic have underscored the importance of effective representative bodies for market participants, and I am very proud of the work CREFC Europe has done during this period.
“Many themes on the industry’s agenda require great representation and collaboration, not least the ESG agenda, and I am pleased to be stepping into the chair to help steer the invaluable contribution of CREFC Europe on these.”
Chair elect Chris Bennett said: “The pandemic has underscored the value of an effective representative body that is part of relevant conversations and able to disseminate new information to its members.
“As our industry continues to adapt to the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic and the increased focus on achieving ESG objectives, I am very proud to be appointed as chair elect and hope to provide leadership and support to the board and its executives.”
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