Management

Dr. Michael Bütter has been CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH since 1 October 2020. As head of the Real Estate segment, he is responsible for coordinating Union Investment’s entire global real estate business, excluding residential in the DACH region.

His remit covers amongst other segment management, real estate law, communications and marketing. He is also responsible for HR and internal auditing and for industry associations and coordination of the company’s Management Board and corporate bodies. Since January 2022, he is responsible for the management of the open-ended real estate funds UniImmo: Deutschland, UniImmo: Europa and UniImmo: Global such as the Fund Support.

Dr. Bütter is a fully qualified lawyer and business economist, having studied in Hamburg and Oxford. He has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate and private equity sector. During his career to date, Dr. Bütter has successfully held a number of management and supervisory board positions at various listed real estate companies including Vonovia SE, Scout24 AG, Immobilien Scout GmbH, TLG Immobilien AG, Adler Group S.A. and ADO Properties S.A. He began his career as a lawyer and was a partner at Hogan Lovells LLP.

Dr. Bütter is a member of the supervisory and advisory boards of multiple real estate and digital companies. He also sits on the german board of RICS and is a member of the executive committee of the German Property Federation (ZIA).

Dr. Christoph Holzmann has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH since July 2020. As COO, he is responsible in particular for process optimisation, digital transformation and business management of the Real Estate segment.

He was previously Chief Financial Officer at Beos AG from 2016 to 2020, where his responsibilities included digitisation of processes and reporting on databases and business intelligence solutions. Prior to that, Christoph Holzmann held positions in finance, fund management, product development and real estate investment banking at a real estate asset manager, an investment management company and two banks.

Christoph Holzmann holds a business studies degree, an MSc in Real Estate and a doctorate. He is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

In his role as Chief Investment Officer, Martin J. Brühl oversees all real estate transactions of Union Investment Real Estate worldwide. With assets under management totaling more than EUR 45 billion, Union Investment is a leading real estate investment manager providing a variety of investment solutions including non-listed retail and institutional open-ended funds, special funds and separate accounts.

Martin Brühl has close to 28 years of industry experience and has worked for groups like DTZ, Arthur Andersen and Cushman & Wakefield. Trained in banking and equipped with a degree in real estate appraisal and finance of City University Business School in London, Martin is Past President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and current Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) whose 215 member firms manage USD 3 trillion of real estate assets globally.

Volker Noack has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate GmbH since 2010. 
Volker Noack has a degree in business administration and joined Union Investment Real Estate in 1996, working initially in the research section. In 2002, he joined the real estate financial control and expert appraisals team, subsequently serving as head of this department. Volker Noack was then head of the fund management department for three years, where his remit included managing the company's largest retail fund.

In February 2012, he took over responsibility for Investment and Asset Management International (Europe, France, America and Asia / Pacific) as Managing Director. Since January 2013, he has been responsible for the asset management and real estate project management Division. In addition Volker Noack took over the responsibility for sustainability in the real estate sector in January 2022. 

Wolfgang Kessler has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH since 2002 and is responsible for fund management for institutional real estate Investors.

Prior to joining the senior management team, Kessler, who has a degree in business administration, was head of real estate controlling, portfolio management and research at the company. Wolfgang Kessler studied property economics at EBS and is a chartered surveyor (RICS – Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). He previously held various positions in the real estate industry, focusing on property development, management and investment in the residential and commercial sectors.

Karim Esch has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH since 1 March 2021. He is responsible for the Institutional Fund Management for open-ended and closed-ended real estate funds in the deposit business. In addition Karim Esch is in charge of the securities transactions as a part of real estate bundling solutions. Before being appointed to the board, Karim Esch was a senior manager (Prokurist) at Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH for 10 years.

Prior to that, he worked at the Commerzbank Group from 1999 onwards, becoming Director of Institutional Sales at Commerz Real AG in 2004.

Karim Esch studied at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany and at Nottingham Trent University in the UK and holds a German diploma in banking administration, a bachelor’s degree in finance and management and an MSc in real estate.

Dr. Christoph Holzmann has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH since July 2020. As COO, he is responsible in particular for process optimisation, digital transformation and business management of the Real Estate segment.

He was previously Chief Financial Officer at Beos AG from 2016 to 2020, where his responsibilities included digitisation of processes and reporting on databases and business intelligence solutions. Prior to that, Christoph Holzmann held positions in finance, fund management, product development and real estate investment banking at a real estate asset manager, an investment management company and two banks.

Christoph Holzmann holds a business studies degree, an MSc in Real Estate and a doctorate. He is also a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Dr. Maximilian Brauers has been a Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Union Investment Institutional Property GmbH since July 2021. In this role he is in charge of real estate sales for German and international key accounts. In January 2022 he took over the responsibility for Outsourcing Controling and Insourcing Advisory Mandates for Union Investment Real Estate.

Previously, Maximilian worked at DWS from 2012, most recently as Head of Client Relations Real Estate Germany.

From 2009 until 2012, he was a lecturer and research assistant at the EBS Real Estate Management Institute and received several academic awards during this period.

Maximilian has a doctorate in economics, and built up his real estate expertise at Jones Lang Lasalle and UBS Real Estate KAG, among others.

Petia Zeiringer has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate Austria AG (formerly Immo Kapitalanlage AG) since 1 January 2021, with responsibility for fund management and asset management.

Petia Zeiringer has worked in the financial sector since 2001 and has been with the Union Investment Group since 2007, holding a number of positions. She served as a portfolio manager and head of multi-asset at Union Investment Austria GmbH until 2016 and was most recently head of risk management at Union Investment Real Estate Austria AG. Thanks to her long involvement in portfolio and risk management, Petia Zeiringer has broad knowledge and experience of the company’s business model, structure and products.

Alongside her work duties, Petia Zeiringer successfully qualified as a Certified Portfolio Manager (CPM) and a Certified Real Estate Investment Analyst (CREA®).

Jenni Wenkel has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate Austria AG (formerly Immo Kapitalanlage AG) since 1 September 2021, with responsibility for investment management.

Jenni Wenkel joined Union Investment from Erste Group Bank AG, where she has held various positions over 13 years. Most recently, as Head of Corporate Real Estate Asset Management she was responsible for strategic portfolio management, asset management and investment management in Austria and in Central and Eastern Europe for nearly nine years. From 2016 onwards, she was also project manager and client representative for the Rosewood Vienna hotel development.

Jenni Wenkel is a Certified Real Estate Investment Analyst (CREA®), qualified architect and real estate economist. She is also Chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in Austria.

Stefan Süschetz has been a member of the Management Board of Union Investment Real Estate Austria AG since 1 November 2021. As Chief Risk Officer and Chief Operating Officer, he is responsible for strategic and operational management of the business. His remit also includes risk management, middle office, legal, compliance and money laundering prevention as well as commercial fund management/accounting.

Stefan Süschetz has worked in the financial services sector since 2003. From 2013, he held various positions in asset management at ERSTE Group, most recently as Head of Risk Management Real Estate at Erste Asset Management and Head of Risk Management & Compliance at Erste Immobilien Kapitalanlagegesellschaft. Prior to that, Süschetz was employed at consultancy Ernst & Young, the Ergo Group and the Allianz Group.

Stefan Süschetz is a Certified Real Estate Investment Analyst (CREA®) and also holds a degree in business management.