Louise Chief Investment Officer & Head of Funds Management APAC for Nuveen Real Estate based in Hong Kong and works across the Asia Pacific region. She is responsible for fund investment strategy and overall performance of assets, including day-to-day operations, acquisition analysis, asset management, client and reporting-related matters. Louise joined the firm in 2017 from Invesco Real Estate having been the fund manager for the Invesco Real Estate Asia Fund since its inception. 

Prior to joining Invesco Real Estate, she was a director at Deutsche Bank, RREEF Real Estate Asia Pacific. In her role as head of acquisitions and asset management for Asia Pacific, Louise was responsible for origination, due diligence and monitoring investments across the identified regional markets. Prior to this, she held a number of roles at Investa Property Group, Colonial First State Property and Royal Sun Alliance in Australia and Hong Kong.

Louise graduated with a Bachelor’s of Commerce in Land Economy from University of Western Sydney and a Graduate diploma of Applied Finance and Investment from the Securities Institute of Australia. She serves as a Global Governing Trustee for the Urban Land Institute (ULI), responsible for representing and serving as the voice of the broad and diverse membership in substantive matters facing ULI in the execution of its mission. Louise is also a committee member of LEAD (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development) a Nuveen industry affinity organization leading the dialogue on gender diversity. 

Claire is the Head of LaSalle’s Greater China business and was appointed Co-CIO of APAC in 2020.  As Head of Greater China, she oversees a team of more than 20 investment professionals, responsible for origination and execution of the firm’s investments.  As the Co-CIO for APAC, she works alongside Nick Okumura to develop and implement regional investment strategies across LaSalle’s managed funds and separate accounts.  

Claire joined LaSalle in 2007 as a founding member of LaSalle’s Asia Pacific investment team.  Since then, she has led and executed over US$4.3 billion of transactions across multiple asset classes.  She has over 16 years of experience in real estate and investment management both in the US and Asia.  She was responsible for the formation of the firm’s China logistics strategy, which led to the launch of LaSalle’s dedicated China logistics fund in 2020.  Prior to joining LaSalle, Claire held investment roles with Jones Lang LaSalle in Shanghai and GE Asset Management in the US.  

Claire holds a BBA in Entrepreneurship from Babson College, and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Sarah Cooper is Managing Director & Global Head of Real Estate Equity Sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, based in Hong Kong. She is a member of BofA Hong Kong Leadership Team, and Chairman of the Hong Kong Philanthropy committee.

Sarah works closely with both research & banking side of BofA. She has worked on transactions from markets as diverse as Russia, China, India & Indonesia, as well as being active in traditional developed markets (notably Australia, UK, Germany, Singapore, USA, HK & Japan). Sarah was a top ranked property analyst in Australia, before moving to London and then Hong Kong where she has lived for more than 10 years.

Sarah is ranked the #1 property specialist sales person in II & is trusted advisor of both global & local real estate investors. Sarah is a Global Trustee for the Urban Land Institute, and on the Board of the HK chapter of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association. She is the Chairman of BofA's HK Philanthropy committee, & previously co-Chair of the Asian GBAN Women's Leadership Council. She completed the Taupo Ironman in 2001, coaches mini rugby & Auskicks, & is passionate about family, travel, & cutting the volume of emails at BofA. She has been at firm for more than 20 years. 

BofA Securities Real Estate Expertise 

BofA is a premier financial institution with world-class capabilities, bringing considerable execution experience, a full-service investment banking platform and balance sheet capabilities.

Globally, the group has a large team Real Estate , Gaming and Lodging professionals with main offices in New York, Charlotte, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai and London, offering fully integrated product capabilities for clients.

Claire Thielke, Managing Director - Hines Asia Pacific, is responsible for acquisitions, development, and new business generation in Hong Kong, Greater China, and the Asia Pacific Region.

Prior to her current role, Claire served as Chief Operating Officer of Investment Management for Hines, overseeing new product development and global fund operations for the firm’s 39 investment vehicles active across 24 geographies, exceeding $25B AUM.

She is a member of Stanford University’s adjunct faculty, teaching on the intersection of technology, urban planning, and institutional real estate investment.

Claire currently serves on the Board of Directors of Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z), the world’s largest online real estate marketplace.

Prior board directorships include Memorial City Bank, where Claire served as one of the youngest bank board directors in the US and as Board Chair of Legacy Community Health– one of the US’ largest Federally Qualified Health Clinic systems.

Claire is a member of the Fortune Magazines Most Powerful Women – Next Gen. the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Aspen Institute Society of Fellows.

Claire earned her undergraduate degree in Urban Planning and Design from Stanford University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 2.5 years as captain of the track and field team and Stanford BCSC Valedictorian.

After completing her Masters in Construction Management from Stanford’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as the program’s youngest graduate, Claire continued on to earn her Degree of Engineer from Stanford’s Civil Engineering Ph.D Department in 2009, conducting dissertation research on green retrofitting and seismic upgrading for historic buildings. She has written numerous scholarly contributions on green building, city planning, adaptive reuse, and urban revitalization.

Claire is a former USA Track & Field athlete and avid outdoorsman - most recently completing a marathon on Mount Everest.