The Consulting Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 Real Estate Consultants and Leaders of 2024. Real estate consultants play a crucial role in the industry, offering specialized advisory services that help clients in property valuation, market analysis, investment feasibility, and portfolio management, among other areas. These professionals guide developers, investors, and corporate real estate departments through critical decisions and challenges.
The demand for real estate consulting services has surged, driven by global urbanization trends and the increasing sophistication of property transactions. The industry reached a significant milestone in 2023, with the real estate asset management and consulting market valued at $85.2 billion. This growth is supported by the need for risk mitigation and strategic decision-making across residential, commercial, and industrial properties. As market complexities grow, these consultants have exemplified excellence in their field, leveraging their diverse expertise to deliver comprehensive advisory services for clients that address both current challenges and future opportunities in the real estate landscape.
Among this year’s awardees, Tim Bodner, Partner at PwC, stands out for his leadership in the US and global real estate deals business, having advised on over $300 billion in transactions, including initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. Nicole Nasca, Real Estate Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton, is recognized for her expertise in managing complex transactions, leading transformation efforts, and executing strategic initiatives within corporate real estate. Arjan Endhoven, Tax Partner at BDO USA, excels in leading the firm’s real estate and construction industry group, offering strategic tax compliance and consulting services.
This year’s awardees were selected through a methodical evaluation process that included nomination submissions and further research into their professional achievements. Please join us in recognizing The Top 25 Real Estate Consultants and Leaders of 2024.
1. Vaibhav Gujral
Firm: McKinsey & Company
Title: Senior Partner
Vaibhav Gujral is a Senior Partner at McKinsey and Company, where he leads the firm’s work in digital and analytics in real estate globally. In this capacity, he works with leading real estate investors, owners and operators, proptech firms, services companies, and occupiers on topics related to innovation and digital strategy, new business building, advanced analytics, digital transformation, and operating model redesign. McKinsey and Company is a global management consulting firm, advising the world's leading businesses, governments, and institutions.
Prior to McKinsey, Gujral worked in venture investing. He is currently involved with not-for-profit organizations focused on improving education and healthcare. Gujral holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard College.
2. Lennert Middelkoop
Firm: Deloitte
Title: Partner, Real Estate
Lennert Middelkoop is a Partner at Deloitte Real Estate, a strategic and financial advisor for complex real estate and infrastructure projects. His focus is on urban development and strategy and transformations. Middelkoop is segment leader of infrastructure, transport and regional growth, public sector leader for financial advisory, and leads the Dutch multidisciplinary Future of Mobility team. He advises on green, smart and healthy cities and regions, emphasizing resilient urban and city developments that consider political and societal contexts.
3. Tim Bodner
Firm: PwC
Title: Partner, Global & US Real Estate Deals Leader
Tim Bodner is a Partner in PwC's real estate practice and presently leads PwC's US and global real estate deals businesses. PwC is a network of firms in 152 countries with over 327,000 professionals providing assurance, advisory, and tax services.
As part of the US and global real estate leadership teams, Bodner covers private capital firms, sovereign wealth funds, pensions, real estate investment trusts, real estate services providers, corporate occupiers, and other retail and institutional owners of real assets. Throughout his career, he has personally advised clients on initial public offerings, sales of high yield debt, complex corporate transactions, divestitures and mergers and acquisitions totaling more than $300 billion in deal value.
Bodner also oversees PwC's US and global real estate deals outlook publications and represents PwC with the Real Estate Roundtable as a Roundtable Member, along with other industry related organizations such as the Urban Land Institute. In 2023, he was named a Top 25 Real Estate Consultant and Leader by The Consulting Report. Bodner holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Creighton University.
4. Edward Houghton
Firm: KPMG
Title: Partner
Edward Houghton is a Partner in the audit and advisory departments of KPMG, a provider of professional audit, tax, and advisory services. Houghton’s audit clients include real estate sectors such as investment property and property development, as well as various financial services areas including banks, private equity funds, fund administration, investment management, and several LSE and AIM listed international groups.
5. Alex Ramanathan
Firm: Bain & Company
Title: Partner
Alex Ramanathan is a Partner at Bain and Company, a global consultancy operating in 65 cities across 40 countries. The firm collaborates with clients to achieve significant results and improve competitive performance. Ramanathan is a member of the firm’s mergers and acquisitions and real estate practices. Her expertise lies in merger integration, advising companies on large and mid-sized post-merger integrations and separations.
6. Paul Kolevsohn
Firm: Mercer
Title: Partner
Paul Kolevsohn is a Partner and Head of North American Real Estate for Mercer Alternatives. In his role, Kolevsohn delivers real estate investment consulting on both an advisory and discretionary basis, leading a team of investment researchers who work with institutional investors as well as industry leading real estate investment managers.
7. Laura Dietzel
Firm: RSM US
Title: Partner
Laura Dietzel is an assurance Partner in RSM US LLP’s real estate practice. RSM is a provider of professional services to the middle market, focusing on developing professionals and services to meet clients’ evolving needs in the business landscape. Dietzel is a senior analyst for the firm’s industry eminence program, covering real estate markets and working alongside the firm’s chief economist and other program participants to analyze trends and themes affecting real estate and shaping middle market businesses.
8. Arjan Endhoven
Firm: BDO USA
Title: Partner
Arjan Endhoven is a Tax Partner at BDO USA with almost 30 years of experience in tax law, tax compliance, and consulting. His expertise lies in adjacent accounting and legal and economic matters. Endhoven works predominantly in the real estate and construction industry, heading the BDO global real estate and construction industry group and co-leading the BDO Netherlands real estate and construction industry group. With a general business background, Endhoven has experience in other sectors including professional services, financial services, automotive and aviation.
9. Caroline Fleet
Firm: Crowe
Title: Partner
Caroline Fleet is a Partner at Crowe, a leading audit, tax, advisory and risk firm. Fleet is the Head of Real Estate Sector and also serves as a Corporate Tax Partner. Her clients span various industries, including property developers, international real estate investors and significant property occupiers. She has particular expertise in advising on the most appropriate structures, considering the business model, stakeholders, and all applicable taxes. With the increasing complexity of property taxation, including the introduction of more taxes and higher rates, Fleet has extensive experience in assessing the interaction of these various taxes.
10. Emily Butler
Firm: CohnReznick
Title: Partner
Emily Butler is a Partner and a member of the CohnReznick Assurance Practice based in the Miami office. She has approximately 17 years of public accounting experience, providing client services in audit, reviews and compilations, and other relevant accounting services. Her experience includes working with real estate funds, real estate developers, and owners and operators of assets such as hotels, office spaces, flex spaces, industrial properties, multifamily and single family homes, land, and condo developments. She is well-versed with the requirements of investment funds and with fair value, GAAP cost basis, IFRS, and income tax basis reporting. Butler earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from West Virginia University.
11. Ingrid Noone
Firm: FTI Consulting
Title: Senior Managing Director, Co-Leader of Real Estate Solutions
Ingrid Noone is the Senior Managing Director and Co-Leader of Real Estate Solutions of FTI Consulting, a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve financial, legal, operational, political and regulatory, and reputational and transactional disputes. Noone has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry. She advises the firm's real estate clients in key areas, including debt and equity transactions, transaction structuring, property portfolio and corporate due diligence, real estate development, and strategic business planning.
12. Gregory Christophe
Firm: Accenture
Title: Managing Director
Gregory Christophe is the Managing Director of Accenture, a leading global professional services firm that helps leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize operations, accelerate revenue growth, and enhance citizen services. Christophe leads Accenture’s global practice for engineering, construction, real estate and business services. For over 20 years, he has provided advisory services to international corporations, helping to design and execute large transformations. He has supervised a wide range of client engagements, helping clients optimize their performance and seize opportunities.
13. Anna Whitfield
Firm: Marsh
Title: Managing Director
Anna Whitfield is the Managing Director of Marsh and is a member of the real estate team. Marsh is an insurance broker and risk advisor with more than 45,000 colleagues advising clients in over 130 countries. The firm serves commercial and individual clients with data-driven risk solutions and advisory services. In the real estate space, Marsh provides critical risk analysis, insurance placement, and claims advocacy to help manage the unique risks associated with property development, investment, and management.
14. Paul Turnbull
Firm: Willis Towers Watson
Title: Managing Director, Real Estate Practice
Paul Turnbull is the Managing Director and Real Estate Practice of Willis Towers Watson. He first joined the company in 2005 as Head of Client Services in real estate practice. Willis Towers Watson provides data-driven, insight-led solutions in the areas of people, risk and capital. Leveraging the global view and local expertise of its colleagues serving 140 countries and markets, the company helps organizations sharpen their strategy, enhance organizational resilience, motivate their workforce and maximize performance. Before joining Willis Towers Watson, Turnbull was an Account Director at Aon Risk Solutions.
15. Don Davidson
Firm: Grant Thornton
Title: Managing Director
Don Davidson is a Managing Director in the CFO advisory practice of Grant Thornton’s Houston office. With over 20 years of real estate valuation, advisory and consulting experience, Davidson has a wide range of expertise in the valuation and analysis of commercial real estate, serving a variety of lenders, pension funds, and private and public owners and investors. Davidson has specialized valuation skills in the context of financial reporting requirements and has completed engagements throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
16. Savino Natalicchio
Firm: Kroll
Title: Managing Director, Real Estate Advisory Group
Savino Natalicchio is the Managing Director of the real estate advisory group at Kroll. As an independent provider of risk and financial advisory solutions, Kroll leverages insights, data and technology to help clients stay ahead of complex demands. Natalicchio is responsible for the special divisions department including the shopping center, hospitality, renewable energy and feasibility practices within valuation advisory services.
17. Hunt Holsomback
Firm: Alvarez & Marsal
Title: Managing Director
Hunt Holsomback is a Managing Director with Alvarez and Marsal Private Equity Performance Improvement service and leads the practice’s corporate real estate and performance improvement services. Holsomback has 25 years of experience providing value-enhancing advisory services to real estate investors, lenders, developers, operators, and occupants. Privately held since its founding in 1983, Alvarez and Marsal is a global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement, and turnaround management services to companies, investors, and government entities globally.
18. Hugo Clark
Firm: Teneo
Title: Managing Director
Hugo Clark is a Managing Director with Teneo in London, having joined Teneo as part of its purchase of Deloitte’s UK Restructuring business. Teneo is a global CEO advisory firm that partners with clients globally to provide advisory services across five business segments on a stand-alone or fully integrated basis to help solve complex business challenges.
19. James Raley
Firm: Heidrick & Struggles Middle East Ltd.
Title: Principal
James Raley is a Principal in Heidrick and Struggles' Dubai office and a member of the global financial services practice, focusing on the real estate industry across the Middle East. Raley provides executive search and leadership consulting services across the region. Heidrick and Struggles is a leading provider of executive search, corporate culture and leadership consulting services, serving over 70% of Fortune 1000 companies across various sectors worldwide.
With over 20 years of talent management experience, including 14 years with top consulting firms in the Middle East, Raley has helped organizations select, identify and nurture top talent. Before joining Heidrick and Struggles, Raley was the regional General Manager of a leadership advisory firm. Raley holds a bachelor's degree in international business studies and Spanish from the University of Northumbria in the United Kingdom.
20. Mark Grinis
Firm: EY
Title: Global Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction Leader
Mark Grinis is the Global Real Estate, Hospitality, and Construction Leader of EY. Utilizing data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide assurance services and assist clients in growing, transforming, and operating effectively. As the EY Americas Real Estate, Hospitality, and Construction Leader, Grinis is involved in managing the firm’s $2 billion real estate business, encompassing more than 17,000 professionals worldwide.
21. Dinesh Wadehra
Firm: Wipro
Title: Global Operations Head
Dinesh Wadehra is the Global Operations Head of Wipro, a technology services and consulting company focused on building innovative solutions that address clients’ digital transformation needs. Wadehra is a result-oriented senior executive with extensive experience providing strategic, tactical, and operational leadership, and has a strong track record of performance in dynamic situations.
22. Nicole Nasca
Firm: Booz Allen Hamilton
Title: Real Estate Lead
Nicole Nasca is the Real Estate Lead of Booz Allen Hamilton, a firm providing consulting services that support the nation’s civil, defense, and national security priorities. Nasca brings nine years of experience to her role. She is an experienced corporate real estate professional with a demonstrated history of managing complex transactions, leading transformation efforts, and executing on strategic initiatives.
23. Rich Field
Firm: Raytheon Technologies
Title: Senior Director, Real Estate & Portfolio Strategy
Rich Field is the Senior Director of Real Estate and Portfolio Strategy at Raytheon Technologies. With more than 185,000 global employees, RTX aims to advance technology and science to improve connectivity and protection worldwide. Through its businesses Collins Aerospace, Pratt and Whitney, and Raytheon, the company focuses on enhancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems, and developing technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address critical challenges.
24. Tracey Lange
Firm: Cognizant
Title: Vice President, Global Head of Real Estate
Tracey Lange is the Vice President and Global Head of Real Estate at Cognizant, a multinational information technology services and consulting company. With extensive experience in global real estate, Lange is skilled in navigating facility activities across organizations and developing strategic real estate plans.
25. Michael Brendes
Firm: SAIC
Title: Vice President, Corporate Real Estate and Facilities
Michael Brendes is a Vice President of Corporate Real Estate and Facilities at SAIC, a Fortune 500 company that provides government services and information technology support. The company's portfolio spans defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets, offering secure solutions in engineering, digital, artificial intelligence, and mission solutions.
