PropTech Talks

Melanie Leech is the Chief Executive Officer at the British Property Federation, a leading representative body for the UK real estate sector, advocating for a diverse, sustainable, and successful industry that contributes £110 billion annually to the UK economy and supports 2.5 million jobs through policy engagement, industry collaboration, and support for innovation and growth.

Melanie has been the Chief Executive Officer of the British Property Federation (BPF) since January 2015, following nine years as Director General of the Food & Drink Federation. She began her career as a Metropolitan Police officer before holding senior roles in the civil service across areas such as customs, arts policy, broadcasting, and rail regulation. Awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to the food and drink industry. During her tenure at the British Property Federation, Melanie has overseen the BPF’s “Building Our Future” manifesto, the merger with the UK PropTech Association, and the creation of BPF Futures, a network for young professionals, and much more! Melanie also serves as a trustee of the property industry charity LandAid and is a member of the Council of the University of Essex.

Tune in to this session to gain insights into:

• The BPF’s work;
• Next steps for achieving net-zero targets in real estate;
• Opportunities for collaboration between governments and real estate players;
• What it takes to revitalise UK town centres;
• Productive sustainability initiatives in property development;
• How tech firms can play a role in government-led real estate initiatives;
• The UK’s position in global property investment;
• The role of young professionals;
• Melanie’s takeaways from her time as a police constable in the Metropolitan Police Service;

And so much more!

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Emily Hamilton is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Savills Investment Management, a leading real estate and real-estate debt specialist with over 30 years of experience, managing €26.1bn across 15 global locations, offering flexible strategies across office, logistics & industrial, retail, living, and debt sectors to meet diverse investor needs.

Emily is a leader in sustainable investment, driving Savills IM’s ESG strategy across debt, equity, and natural capital, with the goal becoming a restorative business, putting more back into society and the planet than they take out. As Chief Sustainability Officer and a member of the Global Executive Committee, she ensures sustainability is embedded in investment decisions. With over 16 years of experience, she champions environmental and socio-economic impact through a systems-thinking approach. She has built Savills IM’s global ESG team, chaired industry-wide sustainability initiatives at INREV, and led major sustainability integration projects at Grosvenor Property UK. Committed to authenticity, integrity, and transformational change, she works closely with investment teams to align financial performance with positive real-world outcomes.

Tune in to this session to gain insights into:

• Building a high-impact ESG team;
• Navigating key real estate regulations like SFDR and EU Taxonomy;
• Leveraging technology for sustainable asset management;
• Scaling net-zero strategies;
• Integrating natural capital into investment decisions;
• Optimizing stakeholder engagement for impact;
• Driving industry-wide change through collaboration, policy advocacy, and strategic prioritization, and so much more!

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Alain Waha is the Chief Technology Officer at Buro Happold, a global engineering and consultancy firm with a portfolio of 15,000 projects across 190 countries, including iconic landmarks such as the Museum of the Future in Dubai, Battersea Powerstation renewal, and the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.

In his role as CTO and co-Chair of the Global Technology board, Alain drives strategic technology investments that enhance client relationships, project performance, and the scalability and resilience of their business platforms. Externally, Alain is a driving force behind the digital transformation of the built environment as an advocate of systemic change and improvement. Previously, he co-founded technology ventures and led outsourcing and BIM services firms, advising multinationals on growth, risk management, and digital strategy. With extensive experience across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he also advised VC-backed ventures and multinationals on growth, risk management, and digital strategy.

Tune in to this session to gain insights into the topics of:

• The digital transformation of the built environment;
• BIM adoption beyond compliance;
• The role of AI in construction efficiency;
• How data and digital twins improve asset management;
• The impact of sustainability targets and strategies on real estate business models;
• How technology can enhance project delivery, risk management, and asset value.

And so much more!

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Duncan Garrood, Chief Executive Officer at Empiric Student Property plc. 

Empiric Student Property, a £1 Billion+ FTSE 250 portfolio and owner of Hello Student, manages over 80 purpose-built student accommodation buildings in 28 UK cities, housing 8,000+ students and providing a community-focused living experience.

Duncan Garrood is an experienced executive with over 40 years of leadership across industries including consumer goods, real estate, and hospitality. He began his career at Unilever, where he managed international business expansions, including establishing operations in China. At BAA, he oversaw global airport assets and delivered major projects like Heathrow’s Terminal 5. In the Middle East, he scaled a food and beverage business from $150M to $1.7B. In the UK, he led transformations at Punch Taverns, Bill’s Restaurants, and Ten Entertainment Group, focusing on operational efficiency and strategic growth. Currently CEO of Empiric Student Property, he focuses on optimizing assets, customer experience, and sustainability.

Tune in to this session to gain insights into the topics of:

• Scaling businesses in global markets through customer-focused growth;
• Building effective leadership teams;
• Navigating cultural challenges in international business;
• Managing stakeholder relationships in high-stakes negotiations;
• Leveraging dynamic pricing models for revenue growth;

And so much more!

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Peter Mikulic is the Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Stena Fastigheter, one of Sweden's largest privately owned real estate companies, owning and managing a total of ~2.1 million square meters.

Peter Mikulic is an experienced C-level executive specializing in digital transformation and aligning technology with business goals. With a background as a CIO, CDO, CEO, and COO, he has a proven track record of leading organizations through complex change by combining strategic vision with practical execution. Known for his calm demeanor and collaborative leadership, Peter builds strong teams and delivers tailored solutions that drive innovation and long-term value in rapidly evolving industries.

Tune into this session to gain insights into the topics of:

• Future-proofing buildings;
• Scaling digital initiatives;
• Optimizing property management systems;
• Leveraging AI for data-driven decisions;
• Fostering cross-functional collaboration in real estate;

And so much more!

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Matus Liptak is COO at HB Reavis, an international commercial real estate developer and asset manager currently managing 640.000 square meters of workspaces valued at 3 billion EUR.

Matus Liptak transitioned from a global role at IBM to shaping the future of commercial real estate at HB Reavis, where he harnesses technology to drive digital transformation and ESG innovation in the industry. Matus sees data as a core strategic priority, and is focussed on delivering client-centric strategies that position HB Reavis as a true partner for its clients., Sustainability is also a key priority, with the firm's achievements including the development of Worship Square, which sets benchmarks in sustainability and operational excellence. This GRI award winning building was not only constructed using net zero embodied carbon, but also operates with net zero carbon emissions.

Tune into this session to gain insights into the topics of data-driven office design, the hospitalisation of CRE, a new partnership model between landlords and tenants, how to achieve best-in-class buildings with net zero benchmarks, and adopting ESG principles across the entire value chain, and much more!


Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Dan Drogman is the Founder & CEO at Smart Spaces.

Smart Spaces is a pioneering smart building operating system deployed across 85 million square feet in 26 countries. With a background in technology and graphic design, Dan Drogman initially honed his skills through various tech ventures. In 2009, Dan joined forces with his brother Tom to build a business that would eventually evolve into Smart Spaces. The business was built without the support of an external investor, and has now grown to become the leader in the space that, powered by a 70-person team, is setting a new standard for tenant experience, landlord-occupant communication, actionable data, and sustainability in the built world.

Tune into this session to gain insights into Dan's journey building and growing a profitable tech company, identifying a high-potential market, building a product that responds to customer needs, effective strategies to drive actual change in consumer behaviour, and much more!

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Anja Rath is the Managing Partner & Co-Founder at PT1.

Anja has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years. Thoughout her years of cross-industry experience, Anja was always focussed on digitalisation. The opportunity to start PT1 came about when Anja was looking for the next industry to digitalise. Together with her long-term business partner Nikolas Samios, Anja founded PT1 in 2018, a fund focussed on pre-seed and seed investments into transformative real assets technology.

Tune into this session to gain insights into Anja’s journey launching a fund in an untapped industry, the key ingredients for a winning founding team, how to build investor-entrepreneur relationships that are conducive of value creation, how VCs look at company growth, where the PropTech industry is going, and much more!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Natasha Terinova is a Partner at REACH UK.

Natasha has been on both sides of the table. From selling and promoting Lloyd’s tech platform back when InsurTech wasn’t a word, to founding an emobility company and now investing and mentoring PropTech firms, Natasha has a strong track record of being at the forefront of digital transformation.

REACH UK is a global technology scale-up program backed by the US-based VC Second Century Ventures. SCV is a strategic technology investment fund backed by the National Association of REALTORS®, America’s largest trade association representing more than 1.4 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Applications for the 2024 REACH UK cohort are now open. Listen to this podcast to learn more about how REACH UK may support you, as well as Natasha’s personal advise for founders in the early stages of their journey and her view on what makes a successful business in the PropTech industry today.

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/

Wouter Merkestein is Co-Founder & CEO at laiout.

Wouter met his co-founder in a covid quarantine hotel. After two years of intensive R&D and product development, Laiout is now tackling the long-standing bottleneck in the early-stage design phase: delivering high quality floor plans within mere seconds. Having successfully completed projects in 28 countries, laiout is now bringing its technology to the masses across the globe. It was a pleasure to interview Wouter during this accelerated growth phase.

Tune into this session to hear about the benefits of speed, how to maximise returns of existing assets in a period of economic turmoil, future office trends, and how laiout will be scaling its product vertically across real estate asset classes.

Interviews with inspiring Founders, Investors, and Real Estate Executives will be shared weekly on this podcast series - follow the PropTech Talks interview series and stay tuned!

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-maltzoff/