2008 Jury
Alan first arrived in the CEE region 30 years ago, joining DTZ Prague in May 1993. After heading the Czech business between 1996 and 1999 he went on to lead the DTZ Polish business from 1999-2009, taking overall responsibility for CEE from 2006. After transferring to Canada and the UK in 2010 and 2011, he returned to his former Poland / CEE role at DTZ from 2013 to 2016 during which time the firm merged with Cushman & Wakefield. Though resident in his native Scotland since the end of 2016 he has remained active in the region as an independent management board advisor to proptech firm Velis since July 2021 and as an advisor with a London based boutique capital markets advisory firm DC Partners, currently working on a portfolio project across Poland. Alan has been a member of the RICS since 2006. Ben leads the team and company operations across Central & Eastern Europe for Prologis, the leading global owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate throughout Europe, Americas and Asia is responsible for all activities of Prologis in the CEE region (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia). He joined Prologis in 2008 from Jones Lang LaSalle where he was the Managing Director for Central Europe. In this role, he was responsible for Poland, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic, including the daily management of the Warsaw office and operations in Prague and Budapest. Ben has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, of which 15 years have been spent in Central Europe with Jones Lang LaSalle and Prologis. He graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a degree in Land Economy. He is also a UK-trained chartered surveyor. Colin Waddell has been working for CBRE in CEE for over 12 years. Over the last six years Colin has been integral in setting-up and expanding CBRE’s platform in the region which has meant that CBRE now operate as a full-service entity in CEE. Colin’s geographical experience covers all of the principal regional markets and his professional career involves a range of investment consultancy, brokerage and valuation work (including development consultancy) over all sectors of the property industry, up and above his management duties. Before entering the Central & Eastern European market, prior to CBRE, Colin worked for King Sturge in Edinburgh and London for four years. Colin graduated from Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh with an honours degree in Estate Management and is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Dieter Knittel is Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Finance International Clients CEE at pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank. Dieter is responsible for the bank’s lending portfolio in the region. The regional focus is on Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Dieter has been active in the CEE market for more than twenty years, including five years based in Warsaw as Head of Credit and Senior Risk Management. Phone: +49/89/288028-270 Mobile: +49/172/8618807 Email: Dieter.Knittel@pfandbriefbank.com Hadley has been successfully operating in Poland for over 20 years where he is recognised for growing businesses and consistently outperforming the market place. Before establishing MDC² he used to hold the role of the founding CEO of EPP – the largest owner of shopping centres in Poland (EUR 2.6bn of GAV). Prior to EPP he was a Managing Partner for Eastern Europe for Colliers International where he built the best logistics and industrial space agency business in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2021 Hadley was the recipient of the prestigious CEEQA Lifetime Achievement in Real Estate award. Sentient is one of the largest Project & Cost Management Consultants operating throughout Central & Eastern Europe and beyond. Following 22 years with Gardiner & Theobald, rising to Equity Partner, in 2013 Mark led the successful buyout of the G&T CEE operation together with the other regional partners. With the rebranding completed in October 2013, Sentient is now firmly established throughout the region with offices in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Montenegro and Croatia, together with extensive experience in many of the neighbouring countries – all based on the provision of high quality, client-focused services, including project and cost management, technical due diligence, lender’s supervision, ESG and expert witness services. Mark has been based in CEE for almost 30 years and has experience throughout the region. He is a Member of the Institute of Royal Chartered Surveyors. Peter has developed and acquired over 200 million Euros worth of real estate in Estonia, Lithuania, Czechia and Portugal. Through its subsidiary Golden Visa Property Investment, Gage Partners is investing in and developing Portuguese properties to be sold to foreigners seeking to benefit from Portugal’s unique visa and personal tax incentive programs, as well as Portugal’s surge in popularity as a tourism destination. The most recent investments are the five star Lumiares Hotel and Spa in Bairro Alto neighbourhood of Lisbon, and the five star Vintage Lisboa Hotel, as well as a handful of 18th and 19th century residential properties in Lisbon under redevelopment as apartment buildings. Gage Partners owns retail real estate in the Baltic States, including Sikupilli Shopping Center in Tallinn. Gage Partners sold NØRDIKA Shopping Valley in Vilnius in 2016. Peter managed Ober-Haus Real Estate Advisors in four countries from the company start-up in 1994 through its sale in June 2007. At the time of its sale, Ober-Haus Real Estate Advisors was the largest property brokerage and advisory firm in Central and Eastern Europe with more than 35 offices and 350 real estate professionals in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, offering asset acquisition and disposal, property valuations, property asset Robert founded Panattoni Europe in 2005. After 19 years of rapid growth, the company is the largest industrial developer in Poland, Germany and Europe overall. Additionally Robert is the Co-Owner and Founder of such businesses as Blue Assets, Harden Construction, Newport Logistics Fund, Panattoni Income Fund, Panattoni Investment Management and D&D Devco. To date, Panattoni has completed over 23 million sqm of space in Europe, including over 15 million in Poland. In 2023, the company sold 12 industrial parks for €500 million. In the first half of 2024, Panattoni also began constructing its first industrial park in India and a major investment in Swindon, UK, worth £900 million. The developer has also recently entered Saudi Arabia and the Baltic countries. In 2024, he launched the Robert Dobrzycki foundation, whose mission is social development and the promotion of Poland and Polish entrepreneurship in the international arena. Robert Dobrzycki graduated from the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw. His passions include golf and football, as well as literature.Quality Awards
Alan Colquhoun MRICS, Management Board Advisor, Velis
Ben Bannatyne, Managing Director Central & Eastern Europe, Prologis
Colin Waddell, Managing Director Poland, CBRE
David Sharkey, Chief Executive Officer, Caelum Development
Dieter V. Knittel, Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Finance International Clients CEE, Pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank
Hadley Dean, Founder, MDC²
Mark Rea MRICS, Managing Partner, Sentient
Peter Morris, Owner & Managing Director, Gage Partners
Robert Dobrzycki FRICS, CEO & Co-Owner, Panattoni Europe, UK, Middle East & India
