Prior to joining the group in 2008, Niels served as Head of Hotel Investments and Asset Management at Union Investment Real Estate, where he was responsible for the global hotel strategy, acquisition and management of the fund’s hotel portfolio, valued at circa €1.5 billion. Niels has transacted in excess of €1.6 billion of real estate. He also worked in Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions at Credit Suisse in London, and in the REIT equity research division of Smith Barney in New York. Niels holds an MBA from Yale School of Management and a BA in Economics from Brown University and also studied Hotel Real Estate Investment and Asset Management at Cornell University.