AEW Europe, one of the world’s largest real estate investment and asset managers[1] and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, announces the appointment of Vanessa Roux-Collet as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Europe and Head of France, based in Paris. Christina Ofschonka has been promoted to Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Europe, in addition to her existing role as AEW Europe’s Head of Germany & CEE, based in Frankfurt. Both appointments are effective immediately.
Both Vanessa and Christina are already members of AEW Europe’s Executive, Investment and Risk Committees, where they have been active contributors to the definition and implementation of AEW Europe's strategy in recent years.
They replace Rob Wilkinson and Raphaël Brault, who are leaving independently to pursue new professional opportunities after 16 years and 12 years with AEW Europe respectively.
Vanessa Roux-Collet has been with AEW Europe for 15 years, having joined the legal department in 2010. She was subsequently promoted to Head of Legal in Paris in 2015 and General Secretary Europe in 2018 notably overseeing compliance, legal, risk, insurance, and IT & Data Management teams. Since 2022, she has co-managed the French entity. Prior to joining AEW Europe, Vanessa was a senior lawyer at Clifford Chance within the real estate department, having started her career at Jones Day. She has over 22 years of experience, she was admitted to the Paris bar and holds a master’s degree in Banking and Financial Law from Paris I University, as well as a master’s degree in Common Law from Paris II University.
With almost 20 years of industry experience, Christina joined AEW Europe in 2016. Before her promotion to Head of Germany & CEE, she served as Head of Fund Management for the German platform and as Fund Manager of AEW Europe’s flagship open-ended pan-European core strategy. Prior to joining AEW Europe, Christina worked as a Portfolio Manager at ALTE LEIPZIGER AG for seven years and began her career at IVG. She is a graduate of TH Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences, where she’s also a lecturer in real estate portfolio management since 2019.
Philippe Setbon, Chief Executive Officer of Natixis Investment Managers, commented: “AEW Europe is a leader in the global real estate markets and a cornerstone of Natixis Investment Managers’ private asset offering, so I am pleased to have Vanessa and Christina, two industry veterans and long-time leaders at AEW Europe with a strong international background and network, in these leadership positions. I also want to thank Rob and Raphaël for their contributions to AEW Europe’s growth over the years.”
About AEW
AEW is one of the world's largest real estate asset managers, with €73.8bn of assets under management as at 30 June 2025. AEW has over 860 employees, with its main offices located in Boston, London, Paris and Singapore and offers a wide range of real estate investment products including comingled funds, separate accounts and securities mandates across the full spectrum of investment strategies. AEW represents the real estate asset management platform of Natixis Investment Managers, one of the largest asset managers in the world.
As at 30 June 2025, AEW managed €35.8bn of real estate assets in Europe on behalf of a number of funds and separate accounts. AEW has over 520 employees based in 11 offices across Europe and has a long track record of successfully implementing Core, Value-Add and Opportunistic investment strategies on behalf of its clients. In the last five years, AEW has invested and divested a total volume of almost €15bn of real estate across European markets.
[1] Source: “2024 IREI.Q Real Estate Managers Guide”. The Guide, published annually by Institutional Real Estate, Inc., ranks real estate managers based on the gross value of real estate AUM ($m) as of December 31, 2023.