Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the SNF Agora Institute.

She was a Washington Post columnist for more than fifteen years and a member of the editorial board. She has also worked as the Foreign and Deputy Editor of the Spectator magazine in London, and as a columnist at Slate as well as the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs. 

Over the years, her writing has also appeared in The New York Review of Books,  The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, Foreign Affairs, The New Criterion, The Weekly Standard, the New Republic, The National Review, The New Statesman, The Independent, The Guardian, Prospect, Commentaire, Die Welt, Cicero, Gazeta Wyborcza and The Times Literary Supplement, as well as in several anthologies.

She has lectured at Yale, Harvard, Stanford and Columbia Universities, as well as Oxford, Cambridge, London, Heidelberg, Maastricht, Zurich, Humboldt, Texas A&M, Houston and many others. In 2012-13 she held the Phillipe Roman Chair of History and International Relations at the London School of Economics. She received honorary doctorates from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and Kyiv-Mohyla University.

Gerard Lyons has been described by The Times as ‘one of the most influential analysts of the global economy.’ He has over thirty years of experience in senior roles in the City and public policy and in 2019 was a candidate for Governor of the Bank of England.

From 2012-16 he was Chief Economic Advisor to Boris Johnson, when he was Mayor of London. Previously he was also the Lead Advisor to Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s 2008 Business Council, an inaugural member of the EU Commission’s Network of China Experts and sat on several Councils of the World Economic Forum.

From 1999-2012 he was Head of Global Research and Chief Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, where he was credited as one of the few economists to predict the 2008 global financial crisis. In 2010 & 2011, Bloomberg ranked his team as the most accurate forecasters globally.

Gerard’s analysis of the global economy – particularly emerging economies across Asia, Africa and the Gulf and Middle East – has regularly been sought by policymakers, including politicians and central bankers both at home and abroad. He has spoken in 82 countries, testified to committees of the US Congress and Senate, and to committees in both the UK’s House of Commons and Lords. His paper ‘Banking the Unbanked’ was presented at the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Conference in 2005; his report ‘Qatar 2020’ was commissioned by and presented to the Emir; and at Davos in 2010 he was asked to represent the financial sector in the BBC’s annual globalised world debate.

In 2014, Gerard’s first book, The Consolations of Economics: How will we all benefit from the New World Order, was published by Faber & Faber. In it, Gerard explained the global economic outlook based on four global trends: demographics and the environment; hard power; soft power; and institutional power. It was serialised in both The Times and The Sunday Telegraph and translated into Korean, Portuguese, German, and Chinese. It was also one of The Telegraph’s books of the year.

Gerard has a portfolio of roles. He sits on the Board of Bank of China (UK) and on the board of BGC Partners, the global brokerage firm, where he is Chair of the Risk Committee, and he is Chief Economic Strategist at Netwealth Investments, the discretionary wealth manager he helped establish in 2016. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, a fellow of the Society of Professional Economists and a senior fellow of the Policy Exchange think tank.

Gerard has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment since its inception in 2008 and since 2022 has been a member of The Bretton Woods Committee Climate and Energy Transition Finance (CEFT) project team.

In 2022, Gerard launched the Elfonomiics podcast with his daughter, the comedian Elf Lyons, in which the pair take a light-hearted but insightful look at the economics of everyday topics.

Gerard is a popular speaker and an active contributor to the economic policy debate.

Suggested Talks:

The global economic and financial outlook

The Gulf and Middle East: demographics, diversification and future growth

The economics, finance and geopolitics of the G3 world: the US, China and the new non-aligned bloc

The new globalisation with a grassroots agenda and the green economy

The UK and the need for a three arrows pro-growth agenda

Trendspotter Extraordinaire 

Magnus Lindkvist is the futurologist, author and trendspotting phenomenon who delivers profound keynote performances shot through with subversive humour. 

He has been described as brilliant, insanely funny, engaging and utterly professional. With a great sense of comic timing, he energises audiences as he presents the latest trends. He calls his approach ‘intellectual acupuncture’ – but however you label them, Magnus Lindkvist’s lectures are unforgettable. 

For almost three decades he has been performing all over the world, enchanting audiences with his research into the trends of the future. 

The ideas driving humanity onwards 

It is not easy to communicate curiosity and the intellectual challenges we face. It is even harder to do so in a way that is hilariously funny. But Magnus manages it effortlessly. 

He is the Swedish futurologist who knows the world like the back of his hand. Having delivered over a thousand keynotes in the last three decades he has impressed and enlightened everyone from CEOs of global companies to civil servants in the Middle East. He has received numerous awards and his performances and books are widely praised.

Ideas are central to Magnus’ lectures. How they clash. How they change the way we work, create and live. The ideas that drive humanity onwards, creating future possibilities and possible futures. These are serious subjects – but with his wry humour Magnus masters the art of letting opposites collide, creating a magical lecture that changes the way you think and create. 

Magnus always engages with the client and tailors his shows to your needs. 

Qualitative insights, imaginative storytelling 

Magnus Lindkvist has published a number of books on the theme of the future, creativity and trends. In the upcoming book The Reset Book: How to Bounce Back from a Crisis (2023) Magnus provides insights, tools and solace for any person or organization seeking to reset and bounce back. In Minifesto (2016), he celebrates small ideas and explains why they are so important in a world obsessed with major narratives. In 2021 he and Swedish music journalist Jan Gradvall released Creative Friction (available in Swedish) in which they draw on the history of popular culture to explore what unites creative people. 

With a Master of Science in Business and Economics from the Stockholm School of Economics and a degree in film production from UCLA, Magnus Lindkvist weaves his qualitative insights with the imaginative storytelling style of Hollywood. He does not just learn and teach about how creative clashes happen – he is the living embodiment of the method. 

Future possibilities, possible futures 

Magnus Lindkvist ranks as one of Sweden’s leading international speakers and has been awarded multiple prizes and awards for his achievements. In 2020, together with the music journalist Jan Gradvall, Magnus started the podcast Gradvall+Magnus, in which they discuss music, creativity and the creative process. He has founded and run several companies to help organizations find their way into the future. With his passion for helping businesses to develop, he has also organised training courses to promote a future-focused way of thinking. In 2008, Magnus created the world’s first academically accredited course in trendspotting and future thinking at Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship.

David Rowan, founding UK Editor-in-Chief of WIRED and author of the bestselling book Non-Bullshit Innovation (Penguin), is today’s leading speaker on how emerging technologies will impact business — and how leaders should prepare now. David has given 700 keynotes around the world, and has moderated events for governments, the World Economic Forum and the biggest global companies. An investor in more than 180 early-stage tech companies, he runs venture funds that invest in health-tech and climate-tech. David has been a technology columnist for The Times, GQ, Condé Nast Traveller and The Sunday Times, and at WIRED he got to know the founders of tech giants such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Spotify. And he is still searching for the future.

Matthew is responsible for the oversight of the VT Gravis UK Listed Property Fund and the VT Gravis Digital Infrastructure Income Fund.

Matthew has more than two decades investment management experience and has a specialist focus on real estate securities and digital infrastructure investments. He served as an Executive Director of Grosvenor Europe where he was responsible for global real estate securities strategies. He joined Grosvenor following roles managing equity funds at Fulcrum Asset Management and Buttonwood Capital Partners.

Matthew is a part of the EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association) Research Committee. The purpose of the Committee is to invest in high quality, independent academic research related to European listed real estate sector on topics relevant to EPRA members, and to help provide a focused research resource to members.

Matthew graduated with a degree in Economics & Politics from the University of York. He is a CFA charterholder and holds the Investment Management Certificate.

David joined British Land in 2017 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in November 2024. He was previously Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Head of Investor Relations. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC, before spending over seven years at Deutsche Bank in the Corporate Finance division. Since then, he has worked for over 10 years in Investor Relations, Strategy, Finance and Corporate Development roles within UK listed businesses.

David is on the Board of Equiem, a leading property technology business and Chance to Shine, a cricket youth charity. He was previously the Chair of the Investor Relations Society, serving on the Board from 2012-22 and between 2014 and 2021 was a Board Director and member of the Audit & Risk Committee of Glebe Housing Association.

Mr Garing has been the CEO and Executive Director of the Manager since September 2018.

Mr Garing has over 25 years of experience in the global real estate industry and has held senior roles with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bell Potter, Babcock & Brown and UBS.

Mr Garing holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) degree from the University of New South Wales and is a Fellow of CPA Australia as well as a member of The Hong Kong Institute of Directors.

Philip Grosse has held the position of CFO on the Management Board of Vonovia SE since January 2022. After completing his studies, he worked in investment banking in Frankfurt and London from 1997 to 2012, his last position being that of Managing Director and Head of Equity Capitals Markets in Germany and Austria at Credit Suisse. Philip Grosse has held leading positions with a focus on corporate finance and investor relations for the Deutsche Wohnen Group since 2013. In 2016, he was appointed to the Management Board of Deutsche Wohnen as CFO. Philip Grosse graduated from his studies in Business Administration with a focus in Banking and Finance at the University of Wurzburg in 1996. During the course of his studies he completed a scholarship between 1993 and 1994 at the European Business Management School in Swansea, Wales. 

Further Appointments and Mandates: 
• QUARTERBACK Immobilien AG (member of the Supervisory Board) 
• Commerzbank AG (member of Regional Advisory Council East)  

Since 2018, Ulrika Hallengren has been CEO of Wihlborgs Fastigheter AB, an Öresund-based real estate company listed on the Large Cap List of Nasdaq Stockholm. The years before, she was Director of Projects & Development at the company and before that CEO of Wihlborgs and Peab jointly own Fastighets AB ML4, which built and owns the synchrotron-light facility MAX IV in Lund. She sits on the board of several regional organisations, i.a. The South Swedish Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Öresund Bridge Consortium and the Öresund Metro Executive. Ulrika Hallengren has a BSc in Civil Engineering from Lund University’s Faculty of Engineering.

Senior positions at Jones Lang LaSalle, Swedbank, Öhman Fondkommission, HSH Nordbank, Alfred Berg Fondkommission and Enskilda Securities. Lawyer at Mannheimer Swartling Advokatbyrå. Chairman of the Board of Beijerinvest AB, Räckesbutiken Sweden AB, Centro Kakel & Klinker AB, JLL Transaction Services AB and Tendium Holding AB. Board member of JLL Capital Markets AB, G&L Beijer Import och export and Wästbygg.

Board member of Valhalla Corporate Advisor AB, KlaraBo Sverige AB and Entra ASA.

Jean-Marie Tritant joined Unibail in 1997 in the Offices Division, initially as Project Manager, then as Asset Manager and Head of Asset Management. He later became General Manager of the Offices Division and then Managing Director Retail France in 2007. In 2012, he was appointed Managing Director Retail and Offices France. He became Chief Operating Officer in April 2013. He is the Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Board since January 2021. He holds a degree from ESC Dijon (France) and a master’s degree from Paris-Sorbonne University (France) in commercial real estate, a qualification recognised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.  

Greg Clark moderates, hosts, speaks and debates at conferences that cover: cities and regions, sustainability and net-zero technology and innovation, mobility and transport infrastructure, real estate, investment and leadership. He is the author or 10 books and 100+ reports about cities, investment, innovation and leadership.

Harm worked at Amsterdam Exchanges and ABN Amro, before he joined JP Morgan in London in 2005 becoming Managing Director in 2010. Harm was ranked 5 times best performing sell-side research analyst in the “Extel” Survey and 6 times in “Institutional Investor”.

Cedrik is Green Street’s Director of Research, leading a global roster of 75 expert analysts in commercial real estate, and is a member of the executive leadership team. Under Cedrik’s guidance, Green Street provides actionable capital allocation intelligence on public and private real estate. The team is recognized for thought-leading work on strategic topics, niche and core property sectors, more than 160 public real estate companies and detailed analytics on 90 markets in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

During his 20-year Green Street career, Cedrik has led the global REIT research team, been sector head of the U.S. retail, office, industrial and net lease sectors, was the first publishing analyst in Europe and managed the global Quantitative Analytics team. His breadth of experience across the commercial real estate investment spectrum is integral to Green Street’s success in providing ground-breaking research and analytics on all aspects of the public and private property markets.

Frequently quoted in major financial media and a sought-after speaker at leading industry events, Cedrik is a past winner of the Wall Street Journal’s “Best on the Street” award in real estate, and an active member of the Institutional Advisory Panel to the Board of Governors for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), the European Public Real Estate (EPRA) Reporting & Accounting Committee, the Innovating Commerce Serving Communities (ICSC), the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA), and the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

Cedrik earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Toronto, and a B.A. in History from Université Laval in Quebec.

Member of Management Board and Executive Committee of AXA IM - Real Assets. Member of AXA IM Management Board. Isabelle Scemama is Chief Executive Officer of AXA IM - Real Assets and chairs the Management Board and the Executive Committee. Her responsibilities include the definition of AXA IM - Real Assets’ strategy and its day-to-day management. Prior to that, Isabelle was responsible for the Funds Group which includes CRE Finance, Infrastructure, Alternatives, Core & Value-Add funds and European Sales. Isabelle joined AXA IM - Real Assets in 2001 to head real estate fund structuring and financing. In 2005, she launched the CRE Loans platform which currently manages mandates of over €10 billion on behalf of AXA insurance companies and more than 40 institutions from 10 different jurisdictions. In 2013, she was appointed to launch the Infrastructure lending platform, an initiative managed on behalf of the AXA Group that aims to invest up to €10 billion in infrastructure loans. In 1995, she joined the real estate financing department where she was responsible for the financing of investors. Isabelle started her career in 1989 at Paribas in the large cap corporate financing department. She has 25 years of experience in financing including 19 years in real estate finance. Isabelle graduated from IEP Paris (Sciences Po) with a degree in Political Science in 1989.  

Andrew (Andy) Power is the Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Digital Realty. Andy also has served as Digital Realty’s President since 2021 and as Chief Financial Officer since 2015 with responsibility for global portfolio operations, technology development and innovation, service provider and enterprise customer solutions, asset management and information technology, as well as the company’s financial functions across its global platform.

Prior to joining Digital Realty, Andy held positions of increasing responsibility at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he most recently served as Managing Director of Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Investment Banking and was responsible for relationships with over 40 public and private companies, including Digital Realty.

Prior to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Andy was employed by Citigroup, where he held similar positions. During his career, he has managed the execution of over $30 billion of public and private capital raises, including the largest REIT IPO to date, and more than $19 billion of merger and acquisition transactions. Andy was part of the lead underwriting team that advised Digital Realty on its initial public offering in 2004 and served as a lead manager on nearly every subsequent public capital raise.

Andy serves on the Board of Directors of Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD), where he is a member of the audit committee and investment committee. He has also joined The Real Estate Roundtable’s Board of Directors for a three-year term on July 1, 2024.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Analytical Finance from Wake Forest University.

Mr. Ericsson was formerly head of JLL's Debt and Financial Advisory team in Sweden and has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate and finance industry. He spent 10 years as CEO of AGL before its acquisition by JLL in 2015.

Dominique joined EPRA as CEO in 2017, moving from BNP Paribas Real Estate Investment Management where he held the CEO position for Luxembourg and Belgium. After working in a private bank followed by five years as a management consultant on large financial sector projects for KPMG Consulting, he joined Fortis Private Real Estate in 2004, where he was COO for international investment and fund management activities in Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands and Spain until 2011, before moving with the company to the UK. He is a native French and Dutch speaker and fluent in English. He holds a Master in Business Administration from ICHEC Brussels and a European Master in Financial Analysis (CFA) from the Belgian Association of Financial Analysts.

Jean-Pierre Hanin has a licentiate degree in Law from the KUL (Catholic University of Leuven). He also holds a Master in Tax Management from the Solvay Business School and a LL.M from Georgetown University. He started his career as a business lawyer. He then joined various international groups where he took up financial and management positions, among which Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Lhoist Group, global leader in lime and dolime. More recently, he was Chief Financial Officer then manager of the Building Performance division of the construction materials group Etex. His functions led him to operate in various regions all over the world for over 20 years, and to carry out both consolidation and development activities.  

Toby joined the Group in April 2002 as Chief Executive and has more than three decades of extensive experience in real estate. He was previously with the property company MEPC for 11 years where he gained broad experience ranging from portfolio management through to corporate transactions and general management as a member of the Group Executive Committee. He has previously been a Member of the Council of Imperial College London and Chair of their Property Committee, as well as President and member of the British Property Federation Board and Policy Committee. Toby’s significant knowledge of the Company and the sector enables him to provide broad leadership of the business internally and externally, through the successful design and implementation of the Company’s strategy, values and business plans and their exemplary communication to a wide range of stakeholders.

Annika Winsth has been the Chief Economist for Nordea, Sweden since December 2008 and has been with Nordea since 1995. She is also a member of the board at the Institute for Futures Studies. In 2012 she was awarded Swedish banking personality of the year by the Swedish business magazine Privata affärer.

Before Nordea Annika worked at the Swedish Ministry of Finance, after completing her studies in economics at Lund University.

President & Chief Executive Officer 

As the President & Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Roy’s primary responsibility is to perform as a fiduciary for our shareholders in fulfilling our mission to provide monthly dividends that increase over time. This responsibility involves overseeing all of our operations, as well as creating and executing on the company’s strategy. The implementation of our strategy involves constant monitoring of the economic environment, analyzing factors that can impact our operations, and doing what is required to generate investor returns, while mitigating the risks that are taken to achieve those returns. 

Mr. Roy has served as Realty Income’s Chief Executive Officer since October 2018 and President since 2015. Mr. Roy previously served as Realty Income’s Chief Operating Officer from 2014 to 2018. As COO, Mr. Roy oversaw the Company’s investments and business operations, including Acquisitions, Dispositions, Asset Management, Portfolio Management, Information Technology, Internal Audit and Human Resources. He also served as the Chairman of the Investment Committee and a member of the Executive Management Team. 

He joined Realty Income in 2011 and was promoted to Chief Investment Officer in 2013. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Roy was an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank where he worked between 2004 to 2011. During his tenure at UBS, he was responsible for more than $57 billion in real estate capital markets and advisory transactions. Prior to joining UBS, he worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch between 2001 to 2003, and as a Principal in technology consulting at Cap Gemini between 1994 to 1999. 

Mr. Roy has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Computer Science. He also holds a Masters in Business Administration in Finance and Economics from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. Mr. Roy serves as an independent member of Ventas, Inc.’s Board of Directors. He also currently serves on the Executive Board and the Governance Committee for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

With over 25 years of experience in the real estate and construction industry – including 11 years internationally – Johanna Hult-Rentsch now leads Platzer, one of Gothenburg’s leading and largest players in commercial real estate. She is a driven and committed leader with a strong focus on business, urban development, and unlocking people’s potential. Johanna believes that sustainability creates business value and long-term impact, and her attentive and goal-oriented leadership has made her a respected force for change in the industry.

Damian Wisniewski has been CFO at Derwent London plc for 15 years.  It is the largest central London office REIT with a portfolio of 61 buildings totalling about 500,000 sq m and a gross value of £5bn.  His specific responsibilities include financial strategy, treasury, property management, taxation and financial reporting.  

After qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1986, he spent several years working for Stanhope Properties PLC, a developer of major London projects including Broadgate, Stockley Park and Ludgate Circus.  In 1992, he joined Chelsfield plc as Financial Controller before being appointed to the board as Finance Director.  Chelsfield developed and owned a large portfolio of UK retail and offices with other interests in Europe and the USA and was also an early developer of data centres through its Global Switch subsidiary.  After the take-private of Chelsfield, he worked as COO for the Wood Wharf Limited Partnership, helping to secure a 7m sq ft planning consent for this site to the east of Canary Wharf, followed by some time helping manage a large retail portfolio in Germany.  

A keen amateur musician, he is a Governor and Audit Committee Chair at the Royal Academy of Music.  He is also Deputy Chairman and Chair of the Finance and Business Development Committee at the ABRSM, a major music education charity.

Mr. Clemente is Vice Chairman and CEO of MERLIN Properties and has over 20 years’ experience as a real estate professional. He has worked at Garrigues, Bankers Trust REIB, DB Real Estate and RREEF, as Managing Director, involving transactions of approximately €5.0 billion across all property sectors. Mr. Clemente holds superior degrees in Law and in Economics & Business Administration, with a specialisation in Finance, from ICADE (E-3), is a lecturer of the MRE programme at IE Business School and a member of the Spanish Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).  

Chief Investment Officer and Deputy CEO

Employed since: 2023

Previous assignments: Handelsbanken, Sweden’s

Central Bank (Riksbanken)

Education: Economics, Stockholm University,

Diploma Program for Financial Analysts (CEFA),

Stockholm School of Economics

Richard Wilkinson is Group CFO of CTP, the largest listed owner, developer, and manager of logistics and industrial real estate in continental Europe by gross lettable area. Since joining the company in 2018, he has been instrumental in shaping CTP’s financial strategy and supporting its growth from a regional developer into a pan-European platform with a portfolio exceeding 10 million m².

Richard leads the Group’s financing activities, including corporate and project-level debt, capital markets access, and the implementation of robust financial and reporting systems across CTP’s operations in ten countries. Under his leadership, CTP has strengthened its balance sheet and broadened its investor base to support continued expansion.

Prior to CTP, Richard spent 14 years heading the commercial real estate division at Erste Group, where he was responsible for building one of the leading real estate finance franchises in Central and Eastern Europe. He holds a law degree from the London School of Economics and has lived in Central Europe for over two decades.

Mr Fredrixon has more than 20 years' experience from real estate and financial markets in general and the daily-goods real estate segment in particular. Most recently, he served as the CIO for Vasakronan AB and as Board Member representing AMF Pension in a real estate grocery JV with ICA. Prior to this he was CIO for ICA Real Estate, partner at Catella Corporate Finance within real estate corporate finance and Property Financing and Treasury Manager at UK listed real estate company CLS Holdings plc. He started his career in the UK at HSBC Investment Bank.

Peter Yu is a Managing Director and fixed income credit analyst at Wellington Management, based in London. As a credit analyst, Peter is responsible for providing coverage of real estate companies in Europe and the US. Prior to joining Wellington Management in 2022, Peter worked as a real estate focused credit and equities investor at Amundi, AMP Capital and Abrdn.

Andrew is one of the founding members of Resolution Capital. Andrew has over 30 years experience in global financial and property markets.

Prior to founding Resolution Capital Andrew worked for the Australian Stock Exchange, CS First Boston and Lend Lease, and is a past Chairman of the Property Council of Australia’s Capital Markets Committee.

Andrew is also a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Tolu Alamutu, a senior credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, specializes in European real estate issuers and emerging market banks. With experience at Gramercy Ltd, Tellimer, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, she holds dual B.Sc. degrees and is a CFA Charterholder.