AEW Europe hires RE research stalwart Vrensen

AEW Europe, the Paris-based real estate investment manager, has appointed research stalwart Hans Vrensen as European head of research and strategy.

Vrensen, formerly global head of research at Chicago-based property firm DTZ, will be based in London and will oversee teams in the London and Paris offices.

AEW Europe said he will also be responsible for advising the investment and asset management teams on macroeconomic and property market dynamics. He will report to chief executive officer Rob Wilkinson and will also be a member of the firm’s European investment committee.

Vrensen has worked in the real estate industry for more than 25 years, comprising 15 years in commercial real estate investment management, valuation, consulting and research, and a further 10 years in managing real estate and asset-backed securities research publishing teams.

“Hans brings with him a wide range of real estate and capital markets experience. He joins a team whose commitment is to provide seamless applied research for the benefit of clients and the AEW platform. We are very pleased to bring someone of Hans’s caliber on board,” said Wilkinson.

Before joining AEW, Vrensen acted as an external consultant to CREFC Europe for two years, and was global head of research at DTZ from 2009 to 2015, providing research for occupiers and investors while also assisting the group with strategic business planning. He has also worked for Barclays Capital as head of European securitization research and at Moody’s Investor Services as a senior credit officer.

“AEW is a global platform with an impressive track record. I am looking forward to working with the teams in Europe and beyond and helping them deliver research-based investment strategies, as well as supporting the company’s growth ambitions,” said Vrensen.

The hire of Vrensen is AEW Europe’s first reported recruitment since last year. In July 2015, the firm brought in Jean-Philippe Gaudin as head of asset management in its Paris team, and Thomas Leinberger as a director for asset management, based in Frankfurt. Gaudin joined from GE Capital Real Estate France, where he was head of asset management since 2011. Leinberger joined from Allianz Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of German insurer Allianz, where he was an investment manager for its indirect investments team.

Meanwhile, in March 2015, it appointed Nikolas Koulouras and Alexander Strassburger as executive directors in its London office. They report to Russell Jewell, head of private equity funds. Strassburger joined from Washington, DC-based private equity firm The Carlyle Group, where he was country head of Germany, while Koulouras joined from Salamanca Group, where he was director and co-head of real estate.