Ms. Laura Craft

With over 19 years of experience in investment management of real estate private equity, private debt, and listed securities, Laura leads the global sustainable investment strategy and climate risk team. She started as a financial analyst performing DCF analysis and grew to build climate risk management and sustainable operational performance programs at two large investment managers with a combined AUM of over $100 billion. Her expertise lies in identifying innovative solutions to address forward-looking investment risks and opportunities, and in establishing and integrating systematic approaches to incorporate these factors into investment decision-making. Since 2018, Laura has partnered with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to produce and publish five public reports focused on Climate Risk Investment Decision-Making. From 2017 to 2023, she served as the co-chair of the Innovation Affinity Group for the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA). Awarded 2021 Globe St Woman of Influence and 2021 CPE Star to Watch. Speaks regularly at conferences including The Economist, Jefferies, PEI, MSCI, RICS, GARP, ULI, PREA, INREV, NAREIM, NAREIT, CREFC, CCIM, NMHC, BOMA, NAA, USGBC Greenbuild, 100 Women in Finance and others. Laura's early career experience includes market data coverage at the real estate brokerage company Grubb & Ellis | Barkley Fraser, as well as research and development in Building Information Modelling (BIM) at SmartBIM. Laura received a double BA in Real Estate and Business Management from the University of Georgia, where she was one of 30 students to earn a Leonard Leadership Scholar Certification.