Awards honour a young talent, a DEI pioneer and a leading European figure in the industry
The outstanding achievements of three exceptional leaders in the industry have now been recognized with the prestigious ULI European Leadership Awards 2026. Ruslan Hajduk, Transactions Manager at ATP Properties, received the ULI European Talent Award. In addition, Honoré Achille Simo, Executive Director, Strategic Value Advisory at JLL and Co-Chair of the ULI Product Council in Germany, was selected by a jury of experts as the recipient of the ULI European Trish Barrigan Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Finally, Mikkel Bülow-Lehnsby, co-founder and Executive Chair of Urban Partners, was awarded the ULI European Leader Award.
The annual awards recognize outstanding contributions to the industry and to community and civic engagement that exemplify the spirit and mission of ULI through leaders of the built environment. The award winners were announced at a ceremony during the ULI Europe Conference in Berlin.
The ULI European Talent Award recognizes the professional, personal and social commitment of a young talent up to the age of 35 to the real estate industry and was awarded to Ruslan Hajduk . Beverley Kilbride, Chair of the Jury and Global Head of Asset and Portfolio Management Transformation at LaSalle Investment Management, commented: "The judges agreed that Ruslan not only met but exceeded all the criteria in this category. Particular emphasis was placed on his approachable leadership style, his commitment to innovation in the PropTech space, as well as his efforts to build a global platform to support Ukraine's future reconstruction. All of this impressively underlines his leadership strength and his forward-thinking thinking."
The ULI European Trish Barrigan Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion recognizes an individual who has distinguished himself or herself both for his or her leadership and contribution to the advancement and advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the real estate industry and beyond. The award went to Honoré Achille Simo. Kilbride comments: "What is particularly impressive about Achille is his approach to driving inclusion in a truly impactful way in the European real estate landscape. The judges noted that he is one of the strongest advocates of diversity and inclusion in the industry, a role model who has made a clear and lasting impact."
The ULI European Leader Award, which honors an experienced leader whose achievements reflect both personal and professional contributions to the real estate industry and society, was presented to Mikkel Bülow-Lehnsby . Kilbride comments: "Mikkel's management style is extremely characteristic, as he clearly sees real estate as more than just assets and transactions. For him, the industry is an overall system that is able to solve central social challenges such as sustainability, affordable housing and the green transformation. He is a visionary who is passionate about the industry and is a natural leader."
Simon Durkin, jury member and CEO of ULI Europe, added: "It is important that ULI recognizes excellence in the real estate industry and recognizes the outstanding personal and professional achievements of those who are making a tremendous impact, whether in our junior leaders, diversity, equity and inclusion, or at the level of experienced leaders who are driving change in the real estate industry. I would like to congratulate our three winners of this year's ULI European Leadership Awards and at the same time thank all jury members for their dedicated work."
The jury of the ULI European Leadership Awards was chaired by Beverley Kilbride (LaSalle Investment Management). Other jury members were Emily Bohill (Bohill Partners), Andrea Carpenter (Diversity Talks Real Estate), Anna Duchnowska (Invesco Real Estate), Rik Eertink (CBRE Investment Management), Anne Kavanagh (ULI Europe Chair), Ariana Maass (Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen), Haris Piplas (Drees & Sommer), Olaf Schmidt (DLA Piper) and Simon Durkin (ULI Europe).
