Business is people

It has become clear at Eurobuild CEE, which has been reporting extensively on the market for almost 20 years, that there is the need to recognise not only the companies, teams and projects who have built up the market from scratch, but also the extraordinary people involved. And thus the ‘Real Estate Personality of the Year, CEE’ category has been created. From the list of nominees below, the jury will short-list three candidates. “The final vote will take place on December 3rd 2015 at the Double Tree by Hilton Warsaw hotel,” explains Katarzyna Matejuk, the director of the Eurobuild Awards and the organiser of the gala. Those attending vote directly via remote control.

Meet the nominees

Monika Rajska-Wolińska. It was her success that initially prompted the discussion about the need for a new award category for the Eurobuild Awards. “The fact that Monika Rajska-Wolińska joined the management of Colliers International, CMEA, deserves particular attention and recognition. We appreciate her more than 16-year experience in the real estate sector as well as the fact that she was appointed managing partner at Colliers only four years ago. Since then she has been able to celebrate more successes. Congratulations!” comments Katarzyna Matejuk. The next candidate is Agata Sekuła, who has been promoted from regional to international director of JLL, being only the second person and the first woman in Central and Eastern Europe to hold the position of international director. We appreciate her 17-year experience on the investment market in the CEE retail segment and the fact that the investment team under her management has finalised transactions in excess of EUR 7 bln,” explains Ewa Andrzejewska, the editor-in-chief of Eurobuild CEE. The next nominee, Katarzyna Zawodna, is the managing director of Skanska Property Poland, and responsible for strategic decisions regarding all the company’s office projects in Poland. Since she was appointed to this position in 2014, Skanska Property Poland has finalised five building sales, started the construction of five new projects, developed over 126,000 sqm of modern, green office space and signed lease agreements for over 100,000 sqm. Katarzyna is also partly responsible for introducing the LEED certification system to Poland and the CEE region. The group of nominees also includes eight men. The first of these, alphabetically, is Daniel Bienias. As Tomasz Szpyt, a journalist at Eurobuild CEE, explains, over a short period of time Daniel has built a strong and efficient office department at CBRE, which has grown to become a leader in its field in Poland. “We also congratulate him on his promotion to the head of a leading consulting company,” says Tomasz Szpyt. Robert Dobrzycki of Panattoni Europe has also been nominated. Being the chief executive officer of the company for Europe, he has responsibility for the operations in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. In the ten years under Robert’s management, Panattoni Europe is now one of the market leaders in Poland, has achieved high brand recognition across Central Europe and has developed over 3.2 mln sqm of warehouse and industrial space. Meanwhile, Stanisław Frnka of HB Reavis has been nominated for his bold entry onto the Warsaw office property market and the establishment of the company’s position in the forefront of office developers in Poland. In the case of Zbigniew Juroszek, his success that is worth honouring is the introduction of Atal to the Warsaw Stock Exchange and positioning it as one of the leading residential developers. The next nominee is Przemysław Krych, the president of the board of Griffin Real Estate. “What deserves particular attention and recognition is the fact that he has carried out one of the largest corporate acquisitions in the history of the Polish real estate market. He has taken the property market by storm by making such bold purchases,” comments Tomasz Szpyt. The next nominee, Radosław Świątkowski, has been added to the nominations because he has created from scratch, together with the Reino Partners team, the first financial vehicle on the Polish market unaffiliated with any large financial institution. "The fund has successfully finalised the first few serious acquisitions of prestigious properties in deals worth millions of euros snd is now competing for office buildings against Western European or American institutions as an equal, earning both our admiration and respect,” says Ewa Andrzejewska. Charles Taylor, the head of Cushman & Wakefield in Poland also deserves such a nomination. He has recently been appointed to this position after the merger of two of the most recognised global brands in the real estate advisory sector: DTZ and Cushman & Wakefield. He now manages the merged company’s operational activities in Poland. Next is Szymon Wojciechowski, the head and founder of APA Wojciechowski. “His brilliant use of architectural techniques and ability to secure contracts for the projects now shaping the character of European cities and towns provides a compelling reason for the nomination of Szymon Wojciechowski,” is how Tomasz Szpyt, who covers architecture and projects in Polish towns and cities for Eurobuild CEE, justifies his nomination. The final nominee (alphabetically, of course) is Ian Worboys, the CEO of P3 Logistic Parks since 2009. As CEO, he is responsible for the formulation and implementation of every aspect of P3’s business strategy. Since being appointed to this position, P3’s GAV has increased from EUR 350 mln to over EUR 2 bln, while its portfolio has grown from 600,000 sqm to a pan-European platform with over 3 mln sqm in nine countries and a landbank with zoning for 1.3 mln sqm of further development.