APREA Melbourne Conference

Peter Verwer is the former CEO of both the Asia Pacific Real Assets Association and the Property Council of Australia.

More recently he was Prime Minister’s Special Envoy and Deputy Secretary in the Morrison Government.

His current focus is critical and emerging technologies, particularly AI applications in the capital markets.

Ms. Safdar is an Associate Director in AEW Research (Asia Pacific) where she supports both the Direct and Indirect Investment teams in the region. She is a member of the firm’s Global Securities Allocation Committee. She has over ten years of real estate experience which she relies on to provide top-down research and strategy support for all new and existing property investments. Ms. Safdar joined AEW in 2018 from Cambridge Associates, where she conducted fund manager research and due diligence projects across Asia Pacific’s real estate and infrastructure managers. Prior to that, she also held a research position at DTZ in Singapore. Ms. Safdar is a graduate of the National University of Singapore (B.Sc).

Hamish MacDonald, Managing Director, is Head and Chief Investment Officer of Asia Pacific Real Estate, leading BlackRock's real estate activities across the region. Hamish is responsible for the strategy and management of the business operations as well as the real estate funds and assets managed in the region. He is a member of the Global Value Add Real Estate Investment Committee.

Hamish's service with the firm dates back to 2007, including his years with MGPA, which was acquired by BlackRock in 2013. He originally joined the London office where he was Head of Acquisitions - UK and in 2012 he established the office in Sydney. Hamish began his career in real estate in 1999 and has been focusing on the sourcing and management of value add investment opportunities since 2007. Hamish began his career in Sydney where he was a Development Manager at the Mirvac Group and a Commercial Advisor at Colliers International.

Hamish has a BComm. with majors in Economics and Finance from the University of Sydney and is a Committee Member of the Property Council of Australia.

Tom Lee is co-head of acquisitions for KKR Real Estate in Asia, leads the Real Estate business in Australia/New Zealand, leads the Asia Core Plus Real Estate strategy and serves on the KKR Asia Real Estate Investment committee.

Prior to joining KKR, he was CEO of LOGOS, a pan-Asia logistics real estate platform. He served as CIO and COO at MGPA, based in Singapore, prior to the acquisition by BlackRock, where he led the European Real Estate Equity business from the UK.

Prior to this, Mr. Lee spent eleven years at Lendlease in Australia, the US and UK.

Hannah has been involved in M&A, capital markets, and real estate private equity investing throughout her career. She currently manages Wentworth’s capital strategy across Wentworth’s real estate private equity portfolio, with capital based both in Australia and offshore. Prior to her role at Wentworth, Hannah gained experience working in the M&A and deal teams at Cromwell Property Group, KPMG, and McGrathNicol, with varied transaction experience specialising in real estate. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales.

Chris Tynan is the Head of Real Estate Australia, based in Sydney. Since joining Blackstone in 2016, Mr. Tynan has been involved in Blackstone’s investments across Australia and New Zealand.

Before joining Blackstone, Mr. Tynan was a Managing Director with Morgan Stanley where he led real estate investing activities in Australasia for Morgan Stanley's real estate funds.

Mr. Tynan received a Bachelor of Commerce (Merit) and a Bachelor of Laws from University of New South Wales. He currently serves on the Boards of 151 Property Group, La Trobe Financial Group and Crown Resorts.

Nadeem Hussain is Senior Portfolio Manager - Mid Risk Portfolio Strategy and Research, within the AustralianSuper Investment team, a role he commenced in 2023. Prior to this, he was Senior Portfolio Manager for AustralianSuper’s global property portfolio, responsible for designing the property strategy and its ongoing portfolio management. His role in the team spanned the strategic development and implementation of both the direct and unlisted strategies of the fund’s property investments, and continuing portfolio management initiatives to cater for the changing nature and size of the property portfolio. Prior to joining AustralianSuper in 2013, Nadeem spent nine years at BlackRock Investment Management within their property team. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master in Accounting, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia.

With over 15 years of experience as a chartered Quantity Surveyor, Rebecca is a seasoned professional in the cost and commercial sector, currently as a director at Arcadis. Having worked extensively in both the UK and Australia, Rebecca has developed a comprehensive understanding of diverse sectors, with most recently a particular focus on providing cost advice to clients in the Date Centre space.

Throughout their career, Rebecca has demonstrated a commitment to excellence and a passion for delivering innovative solutions that enhance project value and efficiency. Their extensive experience equips them to navigate complex projects and foster strong client relationships, making them a trusted advisor in the ever-evolving landscape of construction and infrastructure.

Alex is the Australia lead for the Asia Pacific Data Centre Advisory Team (DCAT). During his 20-year career he has gained experience across the private and government sectors advising C-suite and senior management. He has personally advised transactions with project end value in excess of $5Bn.

He manages relationships with cloud majors and colocation firms, helping them to execute their DC expansion plans.

George Tharenou is Head of Macro Research for Australia & NZ, & Chief Economist for Australia at UBS.

He has been part of the top-ranked Australian economist team since 2006, including #1 ranking in Peter Lee & Asia II client surveys since 2017.

Previously, George worked for 2 years as an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia, and 2 years at Queensland Goverment Treasury.

George holds a Bachelor of Business degree double, majoring Economics & FInance, as well as a 1st Class Honours degree in Economics from the Queensland University of Technology.

Adrian Pozzo is the Chief Executive Officer of Cbus Property Pty Ltd, having been appointed to this role in 2007.  Adrian has over 30 years’ experience as an executive in the property and construction industries, working in both private and public companies, including 15 years in direct property.

Adrian has responsibility for the strategic performance & management of all aspects of the Cbus direct property investment business which includes major investments and developments in the commercial and residential sectors.

Adrian is a Certified Practicing Accountant and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Caroline is the Property Portfolio Manager at TelstraSuper. She joined TelstraSuper in the Real Assets team in 2020, previously covering the Infrastructure Portfolio in addition to Property. In 2022, Caroline received the Rising Star award from the Australian Institution of Superannuation Trustees. The award recognises the demonstration of leadership and innovation through the investment process in support of member outcomes. 

Prior to joining TelstraSuper, Caroline was at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Real Estate Advisory team. In addition to PwC, Caroline has held various roles in consulting, development and real estate debt. Caroline holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Property. 

Thomas joined Citco in August 2021 and has over 17 years of experience in accounting and finance roles, leading best practice finance functions for a broad range of real asset funds management operations in Australia and the US.

Prior to joining Citco, Thomas worked at Brookfield Asset Management where he was a Director in the Australian Real Estate funds management business. Prior to Brookfield, Thomas held various senior finance positions including Financial Controller at Crestone Wealth Management Australia, and as Associate Director at New Forests' US timberland investment management organisation.

Thomas received a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and a Certified Public Accountant (State of Illinois).

Matthew Kandelaars is Group Executive, Policy and Advocacy with the Property Council of Australia. He is the chief advocate for the Australian residential development sector and the architect and steward of the Property Council’s pipeline of advocacy and thought leadership.

Matthew is an accomplished advocate, business executive and strategic adviser. He is a champion for the property industry, having served in separate roles with the Property Council and as the CEO of another industry association, and brings a pedigree of strong member engagement and advocacy that delivers positive policy change, in the traditions of the Property Council.

Having held senior political roles, Matthew enjoys strong and trusted relationships and an excellent knowledge of the political process.