BNP Paribas Real Estate researcher, Vanessa Hale is set to join Urban Land Institute (ULI) UK as the company's youngest ever chair.

As a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members, ULI has been providing leadership in the responsible use of land for more than 80 years.

Hale boasts nearly 20 years of strategic research experience working across all real estate sectors in the UK and US. In her role as BNP Paribas Real Estate's research director, Hale uses a variety of foresight and research methodologies to advise clients on investment and development strategies across all sectors.

The appointment will be announced at ULI's UK annual conference on 23 May, where Hale will set out her plans for her tenure including major publications such as ULI's 'Housing with Care' guide and 'Harnessing Culture through Development', a guide to improve cultural interventions in buildings and places, to deliver both financial and social returns.

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ULI plans to expand its Advisory Services programme, where ULI members and other urban experts provide objective advice to public, private and non-profit organisations on complex land use, urban development and policy challenges. It is also expanding UrbanPlan, its educational programme to help young people understand the role real estate plays in reviving and regenerating urban areas and to promote careers in the built environment.

Vanessa Hale, incoming ULI UK chair, said: "Amid huge societal and technological change, cities have become focal points for innovation but also for disillusionment with global economic and political systems. As a global not-for-profit, ULI is needed more than ever. And if we are to tackle the challenges of climate change, housing, infrastructure and regeneration, it will require a broader, more inclusive conversations. As the global real estate industry, it is our responsibility to engage more closely with the public sector, sharing knowledge and expertise."

She will succeed AECOM vice president Chris Choa, with previous ULI UK chairs including PATRIZIA's CIO Anne Kavanagh and Benson Elliot chairman Marc Mogull.

Vanessa Hale will officially become chair of ULI UK from 01 July on a two-year term.

(CM/JG)