About Us

OUR STORY

FuturePlace was created to provide a dedicated resource for business leaders, technologists, investors and innovators from across the built world to share ideas, build partnerships and solve important challenges.

We are a full-service b2b media, events and advisory business that provides the following services:

EVENTS

We curate premium events that bring the right people together in the right environment to solve big challenges and unlock opportunities through innovative approaches and technologies.

cONSULTING & ADVISORY

We help guide proptech startups in the right direction and connect them with funding and customer opportunities on a global scale.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

We provide a year-round source of intelligence for the Asia-Pacific proptech community through our editorial, newsletter, blog posts and reports.

PR

We help both corporates and start-ups make the right noise at the right moments, be seen where they should be, and drive coverage that brings results.

SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTENT

We amplify what commercial real estate leaders have to say and create an echo chamber effect to extend their reach.

GLOBAL LEADERS

The most respected global experts driving the growth and development of digital real estate support us.

Aaron Block

Co-Founder & Managing Partner, MetaProp

Aaron is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of MetaProp, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology (“PropTech”) industry. Founded in 2015, MetaProp’s investment team has invested in 100+ technology companies across the real estate value chain. The firm manages multiple investment funds for both financial and strategic real estate investors representing a pilot- and test-ready sandbox of 15+ billion square feet across every real estate asset type and global market.

Aaron previously served as Chairman of Chicago-based BayRu, LLC, the US-Russia ecommerce shopping and shipping specialist and eBay.com’s exclusive dropshipping partner for Russia/CIS consumers. After Aaron joined the company in 2010 as an investor and CEO, BayRu grew to become the 8th largest international online retailer in Russia. In 2013, BayRu was #11 on the Inc5000 “Top 100 Retail Companies” list and was named “Exporter of the Year” by the official export promotion magazine of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Prior to BayRu, Aaron was a commercial real estate executive with Cushman & Wakefield and oversaw more than 270 professionals as leader of the Chicago region. Aaron received numerous honors and awards during his real estate career including Top Producer, Most Creative Deal, Agency of the Year, and Most Promising Brokerage Professional.

Aaron is widely recognized as a leader in real estate innovation. He is a guest lecturer at Columbia University, is a co-author of Amazon bestseller PropTech 101, and was named 2019 Executive of the Year by Commercial Property Executive Magazine. Aaron’s work has also been featured in dozens of international books and media including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, TechCrunch, The Chicago Tribune, Crain’s, CBS Radio, Vedomosti, and Kommersant.

Aaron earned a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from DePaul University. Outside of work, Aaron served as a board member of numerous organizations including Young Presidents Organization (“YPO”), New York City Community Board Five, and Friends of the Chicago River. A native English speaker, Aaron enjoys regularly practicing foreign languages including Spanish, Russian, and Japanese.

Susanne Eickermann-Riepe

Chair at RICS European Work Regional Board & Germany

Susanne Eickermann-Riepe FRICS was appointed as chairwoman of RICS Germany in May 2020. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is a professional organization that is active worldwide and represents over 130,000 real estate experts around the globe. The RICS stands for the professional practice of the profession in all areas of the real estate industry, across all types of use. It regulates and promotes the profession on the basis of high professional standards and strict professional ethics (www.rics.org).

She is also deputy chairwoman of the Institute for Corporate Governance in the Real Estate Industry (ICG). The institute aims to contribute to the transparency and quality of companies in the real estate industry (www.icg-institut.de).

She has been active in the real estate industry for many years, including 18 years as a partner at PwC WP GmbH. She managed PwC Real Estate Germany with 33 partners and directors and around 450 employees (www.pwc.de/real-estate) and was a member of the EMEA and Global Real Estate Leadership Board until June 2020.

Her experience is based on strategic and operational consulting for financial service providers, real estate and alternative funds and real estate companies. Her work has focused on business model development, restructuring and performance optimization, process management and control design, and risk and compliance management. She has also been involved in the development of topics related to sustainability (ESG) and new technologies (PropTechs, AI) and is committed to overarching standards in the real estate industry.

Darren Bechtel

Founder & Managing Director, Brick & Mortar Ventures

Darren Bechtel is a pioneer in the engineering and construction technology industry and is leading the charge to modernize one of the last industries to step squarely into the digital age.

As the founder of Brick & Mortar Ventures — the first and largest venture capital firm focused solely on supporting the commercialization of emerging technology to improve the design, construction, and ongoing maintenance and operation of the modern built environment — Darren is forging a new path in an industry his family and its eponymous global engineering construction firm, Bechtel, have helped shape for over one hundred and twenty years.

Darren’s Brick and Mortar Ventures announced in 2019 its $100 million fund backed by global heavyweights from across the construction value chain including Ardex, Autodesk, Cemex, United Rentals, Hilti, Obayashi, and Google sister company Sidewalk Labs. Darren and his team continue to invest those funds exclusively into early-stage AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) and O&M (operations & maintenance) technology startups. Among Darren’s portfolio of over thirty-five past and present investments are notable startups PlanGrid, BuildingConnected, Fieldwire, Rhumbix, and BuildZoom.

Darren’s ethos is not that of a “disruptor”; rather, he is interested in how technology and early-stage risk capital can be paired with the skilled talent and industry expertise of established construction industry leaders to reduce the cost and risk of capital projects and make one of the world’s largest industries cleaner, safer, and more productive.
In January 2020 Venture Capital Journal named Darren to its “40 Rising Stars Under 40” list. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Cornell University Program in Infrastructure Policy; a recipient of Builtworld’s inaugural “Mavericks Award”; and in 2019 was named to CRETech’s Leadership Board.

Othmane Zrikem

Chief Data Officer & Founding Member, A/O PropTech

Othmane Zrikem is a Moroccan-French Data Science & Digital technologist. He is the Chief Data Officer and a founding member of A/O PropTech, where he designs and executes innovative investment strategies combining data-driven methodologies and financial engineering.

Previously, Othmane was Lead Strategist at the largest Data & AI consulting firm in Europe employing over 220 Data Scientists worldwide. During his tenure at Ekimetrics, he advised several Fortune 500 companies about digital transformation as well as Data Science & Analytics implementation roadmap. He has also been advising Paris for its Data City program as well as Taipei for its Smart City innovation program.

Othmane is a board member of several PropTech companies such as Qarnot Computing, VizCab, and Plentific, he is also personally invested in several European AI and FinTech Startups. He is a guest lecturer for Masters degree at Centrale Paris, ESSEC Business School and the Science Po School of Journalism.

He also regularly speaks at technology events. Othmane has written over 50 business publication covering AI, SmartCity, FinTech and Data Science.

Othmane holds a Master of Science in Management from EM Lyon and an Econometrics Bachelor from Sorbonne University. Othmane Currently lives between London, Paris and Berlin.

Duke Long

EIR, Second Century Ventures & NAR REACH

Duke Long has over twenty-plus years of experience in both real estate and technology. He is the broker and owner of The Duke Long Agency. In addition, he has experience across all asset classes of commercial real estate including brokerage, acquisition, management, disposition and development, which includes finance, risk management, capital raising and debt. Mr Long also advises and sits on several start up boards and holds leadership positions in numerous real estate and technology-focused organizations, including Entrepreneur in Residence at Second Century Ventures/Reach.

Second Century Venture is the most active global real estate technology fund. Backed by the National Association of REALTORS®, SCV leverages the association’s more than 1.4 million members and an unparalleled network of executives within residential and commercial real estate, and adjacent industries including financial services, banking, home services and insurance. SCV operates the award-winning REACH accelerator program which helps the most promising new technology companies scale globally. As EIR for SCV/REACH, Mr. Long focuses on and advises the SCV/Reach Global Commercial portfolio of companies. This includes all aspects of startup management, innovation, digital transformation, venture investment, ecosystem development, startup operations, corporate innovation, entrepreneurship, marketing, due diligence, social media, online communities, technology transfer, advanced analytics, competitive strategies and business intelligence, with an emphasis focused on driving revenue growth through predictive analytics and technological initiatives all leading to global scale.

He was allowed to study at Indiana University and is also a veteran of The United States Air Force. His lifelong pursuit of a single digit golf handicap and his inability to achieve it is testimony to his complete lack of talent and skill for the game.

William O'Donnell

Managing Partner, Prologis Ventures

William O’Donnell leads Prologis Ventures, the innovation platform and venture capital arm of Prologis. With over 22 years of experience in both real estate and technology he heads this new group’s efforts to invest in cutting-edge technology for supply-chain logistics and real estate. Mr. O’Donnell joined legacy AMB in 2003 and established a successful track record of building and acquiring investment platforms and companies globally. In addition, he has private equity fund management expertise including capital raising, joint venture negotiation, asset management, work-outs, debt structuring and disposition. Mr. O’Donnell also has acquisition and development experience throughout Asia, Europe and North America.

Prior to joining AMB, Mr. O’Donnell was Director of Acquisition Solutions at Acxiom Impact a leading digital marketing company and a management consultant at Cambridge Technology Partners. Mr. O’Donnell received his Bachelors of Arts in English and Spanish from Duke University.

Hongqi Guo

Founding Partner & Design Director, Yitong Design

Hongqi Guo is founding partner and design director of UA Yitong Design in Shanghai, which has 1600 architects and urban planners who are working on the most iconic buildings and region developments in more than 260 cities in China in the past 20 years.

The team designs more than 30 million sqm buildings every year and realized hundreds of CBD, New Town, High Speed Train TOD, etc.

Honors, such as Annual Architect, Annual Best Urban Renovation, Pro+ Awards, International Property Awards, have been awarded to him and his firm.

With the professional ability as Class 1 Registered Architect (PRC) and PhD, also the knowledge about real estate development management from his education in Harvard University, Hongqi Guo works as consultant of municipalities and top-level developers for important urban developments.

Hongqi Guo is a frequent speaker who introduces China urbanization process in many international events, and he proposes IDC plan (International Design Cluster in China) to help international enterprises to bring thinking and ability about Sustainability, Smart and Quality of Life into the next stage urbanization of China.

INDUSTRY ADVISORS

We’re collaborating closely with leaders and innovators driving transformation in the built world

MICAH SCHULZ

HEAD OF OFFICE, INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LENDLEASE

Micah is Head of Office for Lendlease’s Investment Management business. In this role, Micah is responsible for driving strategy, innovation and best-in-class execution and performance for investors. This includes leading the team of office fund managers, investment managers, valuation managers, leasing managers and analysts collectively managing 27 Australian office assets totalling over $18bn in value.

Prior to this, Micah was the Fund Manager of Lendlease’s $6bn wholesale office fund Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial, where he was responsible for setting and executing a future-focused strategy centred on the fund owning an unrivalled portfolio of highly connected, vibrant, sustainable office precincts. Across this portfolio, the team’s focus is on delivering an exceptional Worklife® experience for customers, leveraging the breadth Lendlease’s integrated business model to support this.

LETITIA HOPE

PARTNERSHIPS SPECIALIST, ISPT

Letitia Hope is a Strategy and Experience Specialist, passionate about innovating workplace experiences across assets, she strives to create workplaces that connect people and encourages them to thrive, consistently driving ISPT as the workplace partner of choice. With a Masters in Positive Psychology from Melbourne University, post graduate qualifications in Change Management and qualifications in Marketing and Sociology, Letitia believes in driving successful partnerships to build connected communities that inspire. Letitia is highly experienced in launching dynamic campaigns that endeavour to increase beneficial partnership ecosystems. With strong industry networks, engaging advocacy approaches and natural skills for managing stakeholder relationships, to achieve positive impacts for people, places and planet. She is an accomplished thought leader and experienced spokesperson, having been invited to speak at industry events and participate in expert panels. An advocate for diversity, Letitia is dedicated to implementing workplace strategies that add value to all people’s lives, their progression and their wellbeing through analysing new research and understanding future trends.

TONY MASSARO

PARTNER, KORDAMENTHA REAL ESTATE

Tony brings over twenty years of experience leading and advising both public and private sector organisations on property projects across diverse industry sectors including retirement, aged care, residential, commercial office, student housing and industrial. Through his varied roles as both principal (Stockland, ING Real Estate, Ingenia) as well as advisor (KordaMentha Real Estate, PwC, Rothschild, BCG), Tony has significant experience in both running property businesses and advising clients on property matters.

SIMON CARTER

DIRECTOR, MORPHOSIS & FOUNDING CHAIR, SUSTAINABLE DIGITALISATION PROJECT (SDP)

Simon sees digital technology as instrumental to our ability to achieve sustainability and improved quality of life and work, but it is also a significant sustainability risk factor in itself. This demands a critical perspective and new approaches to governance.

As the Founding Chair of the Sustainable Digitalisation Project (SDP), Simon is helping to lead a movement to the responsible, ethical and sustainable use of digital technology and data in the built environment. As a long-term corporate sustainability strategist, he examines digitalisation in environmental, social and governance (ESG) terms, and examines how we can improve practices and performance in our organisations and technology projects.

LUKE DIXON

HEAD OF REAL ESTATE RESEARCH, AMP CAPITAL

Luke joined AMP Capital in 2017 as Head of Real Estate Research, leading & global real estate investment strategy, advising some of Australia’s largest multi-asset managers on trends and the future outlook for the sector.

With a research background covering all sectors, Luke is experienced in delivering strategic advice to institutional, listed, private, and public sector clients.

Emily Checinski

HEAD OF CUSTOMER AND CLIENT SOLUTIONS, EQUIEM

Emily is a workplace experience and technology strategist with years of experience in her field. She is currently the leader of Customer and Client Solutions at Equiem, the world’s foremost tenant engagement platform.

Emily’s interest in driving business cultures that are proactive and encourage creative thinking for maximizing workplace productivity began during her time in marketing and leasing with London’s ‘The Shard’ in the early 2010s. Her 20-year history in consumer marketing and business development, combined with her passion for research, data, and innovation, has enabled her to provide tailored solutions to workplace experience by integrating technology, people, and physical space.

Emily is not only a businesswoman, but also an outdoor enthusiast and driver of sustainable practices. She is passionate about the significance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies for both businesses and individuals.

Georgina North

HEAD OF TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION, LAING O’ROURKE

Georgina is a global technology and innovation executive with over 12 years of experience across construction, resources, manufacturing, and translational research. As the Head of Technology & Innovation at Laing O’Rourke, Georgina works to deliver high-value solutions to complex challenges in the construction sector. She oversees a multidisciplinary team of industry experts providing solutions to the company across three work streams: robotics and automation, predictive analytics and AI, and low-carbon materials.

Georgina is a chemical engineer by training, holding advanced qualifications in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge and the University of Sydney. She is a passionate driver of change towards sustainable and technology-driven futures; and is on a mission to increase diversity across engineering and construction.

Benjamin Martin-Henry

HEAD OF REAL ASSETS RESEARCH – PACIFC, MSCI

Ben is an experienced Research Director with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. Ben is a strong research professional, skilled in Analyticals, Asset Management Analysis, Market Research, Management, and Business Process Improvement.

In his role for MSCI he is responsible for heading up the analytics side of the RCA business in the Pacific region which includes, but is not limited to, performing market analysis, writing topical thought leadership reports and presenting to investors and at industry events on the commercial property market.

We stand for ideas and innovations that help us re-imagine the way places are conceived, designed, constructed and managed for the needs of tomorrow.

OUR TEAM

JOHN POZOGLOU

Founder & CEO

John’s career in the media & events industry spans 20+ years and multiple continents. He has conceived and built highly regarded business technology events across Europe, the Middle East and Australia by bringing together Fortune 500 companies, groundbreaking startups and world-class speakers to celebrate the latest advancements in technology and to catalyse economic, social and environmental improvements.

As the CEO of FuturePlace, John’s mission is to help accelerate Australasian real estate towards technology-driven innovation, cross-sector collaboration and global integration.

Contact John @ [email protected]

JOHN POZOGLOU

Founder & CEO

As the CEO of the FuturePlace, John’s mission is to help accelerate Australasian real estate towards technology-driven innovation, cross-sector collaboration and global integration.

Contact John @ [email protected]

Leon Kantor

Co-Founder & COO

Leon brings over 20 years of international experience to this role across content management and event production. He has a proven track record of successfully managing and growing events and content businesses from conception to building regional and international rollouts.

Across his career, he has held senior management roles across three continents, including the CIO Network, Beacon, the Middle East Economic Digest and Investor Relations Magazine, amongst others Leon holds a Bachelor of Communications, University of Canberra, Australia.

Contact Leon @ [email protected]

Julia Arlt

Co-Founder & Head of Global Partnerships

Julia is the Global Digital Real Estate Leader at PwC where she works on deals strategy, digital real estate consulting, new product development, fundraising, M&A and startup collaboration. She is a serial entrepreneur, who co-founded the pan-European FUTURE:PropTech event that was acquired by CRE:Tech.

She has worked with organizations of every size from giving hands-on support to PropTech start-ups, such as helping Seedcamp with its deal sourcing, to raising funds for a Wall Street hedge fund to helping a venture capital firm in CEE to closing an anchor investor and setting-up the advisory board and venture partners.

Julia has also established the Austrian PropTech Initiative to support the industry around her hometown of Vienna. As a startup mentor at MetaProp NYC, an early stage venture capital firm focused on the real estate technology industry that invested in 100+ technology companies, she connects startups and investors from all over the world. She is a member of the global awards committee at the NYC Real Estate Tech Week, a jury member of MIPIM PropTech, as well as part of the BUILTWORLD advisory board and the CRE:Tech leadership board.

Julia engages in research and has collaborated in projects such as the PropTech map, the ConTech map, the PropTech Resources Directory, the bestseller book PropTech 101: Turning Chaos Into Cash Through Real Estate Innovation and the Year-End Global PropTech Confidence Index.

She regularly lectures at universities such as the PropTech Accelerator Program at Columbia University and is a frequent speaker at international conferences.

Contact Julia @ [email protected]

Julia Arlt

Co-Founder & Head of Global Partnerships

She regularly lectures at universities such as the PropTech Accelerator Program at Columbia University and is a frequent speaker at international conferences.

Contact Julia @ [email protected]

Vanessa Carvalho

Marketing Director

Vanessa brings over 10 years of international experience on marketing roles focused on b2b and digital campaigns. With an analytical and creative approach, she has a proven track record of successfully managing marketing campaigns to increase events’ awareness and attendance, from niche industry summits to geo-cloned large exhibitions.

Contact Vanessa @ [email protected]

Michael Fletcher

Director Advisory Services

Michael is driven and hardworking sales professional, bringing 7 years of B2B sales experience within the events and tourism industry. Michael has a demonstrated record of achievement across multiple organizations in Australia, the UK and Germany. As Advisory Sales Manager, his role is to communicate with the leaders in the built world to develop and deliver market-leading events.

Contact Fletch @ [email protected]

Michael Fletcher

Director Advisory Services

Contact Fletch @ [email protected]

Tiffany Steel

Director of Operations

With three decades of event management experience under her belt, Tiffany is a valuable addition to the FuturePlace team. Her most recent role was Director of the Parkes Elvis Festival, an event she has been involved with since its inception in 1993. Tiffany has been the Director of Operations at Terrapinn, managing a portfolio of B2B conferences and trade exhibitions across Australia and worldwide. She has worked in events and marketing roles for Local Government in Parkes, Port Macquarie, and Gold Coast, as well as for well-known not-for-profits such as Variety – The Children’s Charity and Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

Contact Tiffany @ [email protected]

Lachlan Macdonald

Partnerships Director

Lachlan started his career with Worldwide Business Research in London in 2004 and found his feet quickly as a trusted advisor to startups and fortune 500 companies looking to advance their business objectives. Consistent high achievement saw steady career progression resulting in a move to Berlin in 2016 to run the IQPC DACH Partnerships Team. During this time, Lachlan’s team routinely helped companies of all sizes win their next big piece of business via the implementation of bespoke intermediary services. Lachlan can bring a vision and a strategy, allowing companies to unearth additional opportunities at the right time with an increase in positive outcomes.

Contact Lachlan @ [email protected]