Laura leads Heitman’s global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) platform ($51 Billion AUM) and establishes systematic approaches to incorporate ESG into investment decision-making and management of investments. Embedding ESG provides opportunities to create value, reduce risk and enhance investment returns. Investments are measured on ESG through proprietary private equity and debt acquisition, due diligence, and asset management tools, and through internal listed equity ESG composite scoring system.
An industry ESG expert for over 14 years and in investment management over 16 years. Laura regularly speaks at conferences on ESG investing including at The Economist, GARP, RICS, PREA, INREV, ULI, NAREIT, NAREIM, NMHC, USGBC, BOMA, NAA and others.
Laura leads a partnership with Urban Land Institute (ULI) to publish Climate Risk Investment Decision-Making Reports, which explores methods for assessing and mitigating climate risk at the investment- and market-level. Heitman’s approach to climate risk is included in the 2019 and 2020 reports. In 2020, Heitman announced its commitment to reduce its global private equity portfolio’s operational carbon emissions under its control to net zero by the year 2030.
Currently, Laura is the co-chair of Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) Innovation Affinity Group and is a member of ULI Greenprint’s Performance Committee. She is a graduate of Urban Land Institute’s selective Center for Leadership program. Laura has advised United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) on their reporting frameworks. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and has overseen over 150 LEED, IREM, WELL Health-Safety Ratings, Energy Star and Green Globes designations.
Prior to Heitman, she spent 10 years at LaSalle Investment Management, where she began in LaSalle’s valuation and asset management groups and transitioned to develop the firm’s Global Sustainability Platform. Laura’s early career experience includes market data coverage at real estate brokerage company, Grubb & Ellis | Barkley Fraser, as well as Building Information Modeling (BIM) research and development at SmartBIM. Laura received a double BA in Real Estate and Business Management from University of Georgia, where she was one of 30 UGA students to earn a Leonard Leadership Scholar Certification.