Real Estate

Anna Jastrzebska is the global lead for Accenture’s commercial real estate practice. With more than 20 years’ experience in the industry, she is committed to helping real estate and financial services companies transform their finance and accounting operations. Her priority is to bring together data & analytics, technology such as AI, and deep industry expertise to help real estate firms operate more intelligently, efficiently, and accurately – and to generate greater value. Her passion for the property business and her drive to innovate has made Jastrzebska a prominent leader in the sector. She played a pivotal role in the development of Accenture’s real estate services platform, and today oversees a group of more than 1,500 professionals who provide a range of services – including lease administration, property accounting, and asset management – to many of the world’s largest industry players. Jastrzebska has a Master of Business Administration from the Wroclaw University of Technology. She participates frequently in industry forums, and has delivered many presentations on women in leadership to share her story and motivate future leaders of diversity.

Ben Dimson leads the European Real Estate practice at McKinsey & Company, where he advises organizations on a wide range of real estate topics, including strategy, organization, transformation, digital & analytics, and sustainability. He enjoys serving institutions from across the value chain, from proptechs through to governments, helping them navigate unprecedented change. His role covers both real estate as an industry and real estate as a function. He additionally acts as a diversity & inclusion ally for minority groups within the firm. Prior to McKinsey, Dimson spent almost a decade at British Land, one of Europe’s leading Real Estate Investment Trusts. As head of business development, he led a diverse range of teams and ran major change initiatives spanning advanced analytics, technology, commercialization, and operations. As a strategy executive, he set and implemented a broad array of initiatives, from strategic planning to corporate finance. Dimson holds a Master of Business Administration with distinction from London Business School and a Master of Arts in economics & management from the University of Oxford.

A standout in his field when it comes to investment and technology solutions, Dan Bassett has been Senior Director of Slalom’s Real Estate and Investment Management department for 11 years. In his tenure with this global consulting firm, Bassett has helped steer Slalom’s data strategy and business operations and transformation services in more than 40 worldwide markets. Bassett’s experience extends to a wide variety of industries, offering connections and solutions for executives working in life sciences, real estate, and banking, among others. Bassett began his career in investment leadership working as a financial planning analyst for Teradata, a position he left to join the Chicago team at Accenture as a consultant. With Accenture, Bassett leveraged his considerable expertise in the fields of pharmaceuticals and medical products to direct the firm’s business ventures in these areas. Bassett holds a Bachelor of Science in economics, leadership & finance from the University of Dayton and earned a Foundational Leadership Program certificate from Stagen Leadership Academy.

Emmet Gaffney leads Bain & Company’s North American Real Estate Practice. He is also active within the Sustainability and Responsibility practice area for Bain. Founded in 1973, Bain is one of the “Big Three” American management consulting firms, advising Fortune 500 companies on issues such as private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy, finance, operations, and market analysis. With nearly 18,000 employees in 63 offices in 38 countries around the world, Bain is regularly recognized as a top workplace by Glassdoor and Consulting Magazine. Based in the firm’s Chicago office, Gaffney has worked extensively across real estate sectors on a range of issues including strategy, operations, operating model transformation, revenue management, sustainability, and M&A diligence. With over 18 years at Bain, he has supported real estate executives from REITs, developers, real estate service providers, and funds to tackle challenges within real estate and to drive large scale transformations. He is passionate about helping clients deliver on their growth aspirations and introducing innovative ideas into real estate from other industries. Gaffney holds degrees in economics and computer science from Vassar College and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.