CBRE IM appoints Ingka director to lead EMEA urban destinations

CBRE Investment Management (IM) has appointed Karoline Nader-Gräff as head of EMEA urban destinations operator division.

She joins from Ingka Centres, part of the Ingka Group, where she most recently served as acting global expansion and development director and a member of the executive management team. She brings over 15 years of international experience across retail and mixed-use real estate.

At Ingka Centres, Nader-Gräff built and led a global transaction management platform, executing approximately €5bn (£4.3bn) of acquisitions and disposals across 13 markets and the development activities in the Nordics. She also previously held investment, fundraising, asset and fund management roles at ECE Real Estate Partners and Credit Suisse.

In her new position, Nader-Gräff will will lead all operator activities across the office and retail sectors within CBRE IM’s direct investment strategies in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The Urban Destinations platform represents over €16bn (£13.8bn) in assets under management across more than 400 assets and looks to deliver high-quality mixed-use and urban environments.

She will succeed Eric Decouvelaere, who will step down from his role at the end of 2026 following a 40-year career, including more than two decades in the real estate industry.

Rik Eertink, president and CIO of EMEA direct real estate at CBRE Investment Management, said: “We are delighted to welcome Karoline to CBRE IM. She is a highly respected and inspiring leader with a strong investor-operator mindset and a proven track record across large-scale, mixed-use platforms. Her deep understanding of evolving occupier needs, combined with her experience in driving performance, repositioning assets and executing complex transactions, will be instrumental as we continue to grow and evolve our Urban Destinations platform and deliver long-term value for our investor and operator clients.

At the same time, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Eric for his outstanding contribution to the firm. He has played a pivotal role in building our Urban Destinations business into the leading platform it is today. We wish him all the best as he steps down.”