Research & Strategy

Jacques leads LaSalle’s Research & Strategy team and is responsible for analyzing capital markets, economies and property around the world. He serves on the firm’s Global Management Committee and the Investment Committees for Asia Pacific and North America. Jacques also chairs the Global Research Board of JLL and teaches International Real Estate at Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University.

Jacques was previously a research economist at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. In 2000, he received the Graaskamp Award from the Pension Real Estate Association for his contribution to institutional investment research and strategy.

Jacques has a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Elysia Tse is the Head of Asia Pacific Research & Strategy. She returned to LaSalle in May 2016 having been a member of our Americas Research & Strategy group from 2002 to 2005.

Elysia was previously the Head of Investment Governance, Strategy & Research Asia Pacific for Aviva Investors and subsequently the Head of Research and Strategy for J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Real Estate Asia Pacific (as part of the M&A). Prior to returning to Asia, she had over a decade of experience in real estate investment research and strategy in the U.S. and held positions in the real estate research and strategy teams at BlackRock based in New York. Elysia started her career in Hong Kong in 1998.

Elysia holds a B.S. from Xiamen University and a Master’s degree in Real Estate from Cornell University. In 2011, Elysia was named a Rising Leader by Commercial Property Executive in the U.S. She sits on the Advisory Board of Cornell University Baker Program in Real Estate.

Mahdi joined LaSalle in 2013 as Head of Research and Strategy for Europe. He is based in London and oversees European investment strategy and manages the regional Research and Strategy team. He works closely with the Global Strategy team and serves on LaSalle’s UK, Debt & Special Situations and Pan-European investment committees, as well as the European Management Board.

Prior to joining LaSalle, Mahdi worked at AEW Europe, where he was Head of Research and Strategy. He has extensive experience in real estate transactions and portfolio and fund management in both UK and Continental European markets. Prior to joining AEW in 2004, he worked at MSCI IPD as Director for Research and Training for France and Southern Europe.

Mahdi taught at the ESSEC Business School and University of Cergy and worked as a bond quant at CDC in Paris. He holds a PhD in Economics and Finance from EHESS and a MSc from Dauphine University. He is an active member of industry organizations including MSCI IPD, ICSC, INREV, and EPRA, and is a regular speaker at industry events and university seminars. Mahdi is a Member of the RICS.

Bill is the Head of Americas Research & Strategy and is based in Baltimore. He develops real estate investment strategies for pension funds and other institutional clients and provides research and strategic advice to LaSalle’s Baltimore-based Real Estate Securities group.

Bill serves on LaSalle’s North American Investment Committee, which oversees investments in Canada, Mexico and the US. He received a Masters degree in Urban Planning from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a BA in Economics from Williams College. Bill is active in numerous industry organizations including the Real Estate Roundtable, ULI, ICSC, and RERI and serves on the Williams College Real Estate Investment Committee.

Rich is a Managing Director with LaSalle’s Research & Strategy team. He assists in developing investment strategies for clients, assesses market conditions associated with specific investment decisions, develops office market forecasting tools and monitors capital market conditions.

Prior to joining LaSalle in 2005, he worked at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and as a Strategy Consultant at the Monitor Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Melbourne, Australia.

Rich has spoken at conferences held by the Real Estate Research Institute, ULI, and National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries, has published articles in the PREA Quarterly and contributed to the PWC/Urban Land Institute Emerging Trends Publication. He is currently co-chair of the NCREIF Research Committee. Rich received a master’s degree in Urban Studies from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics and American Studies from Williams College.

Chris is the Head of Research & Strategy for Canada. He is responsible for developing real estate investment strategy for the Canadian business and provides market analysis for existing and potential new investments. Chris has 22 years of commercial real estate experience in real estate research, consulting, portfolio management and brokerage, and is the author of a number of white papers and reports.

Prior to joining LaSalle, Chris was Manager of Portfolio Analysis & Research at GWL Realty Advisors. Prior to that, he led the industrial market research team at Royal LePage Commercial in Toronto. He  also conducted real estate analysis and consulting work at Clayton Research and was a licensed real estate broker with CB Commercial.

Chris earned a Master of Applied Environmental Studies in Economic Development from University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from Ryerson University.

Simon is a Regional Director within LaSalle Investment Management’s European Research & Strategy team. His primary function is to monitor the UK and Continental European property markets. This includes defining fund strategies, identifying acquisition opportunities and bringing new sources of global capital to Europe. To this end, Simon works closely with several teams across London, Munich, Paris and elsewhere around the world.

Prior to joining LaSalle Investment Management in early 2011, Simon was Head of UK Analytics at the listed property information company CoStar, where he developed an independent analysis and forecasting service based on building-level data in the UK. Prior to this he was Head of Research at Close Investments. He also initiated European property forecasting at consultant Experian Business Strategies and spent his formative years in European research at CBRE.                                                

Simon completed a BSc (Hons) in French and German at the University of Salford, followed by an MSc in Real Estate Investment and Finance at the University of Reading. He is Chair of the Investment Property Forum’s Research Steering Group and also a former committee member of the Society of Property Researchers. Simon is fluent in four languages.