Delphine Gebelin, Sonia da Silva, and the women principals steering European real estate capital

European real estate investment volumes reached €241 billion in 2025, a 13% increase compared to 2024, according to CBRE. Behind this recovery, a cohort of women principals is assuming command of some of the continent's most consequential capital platforms, from pan-European value-add funds to France's largest commercial development pipelines. Their appointments reflect structural shifts in how institutional capital is allocated, managed, and regulated across the region.

This article profiles four principals whose names are increasingly associated with strategic decision-making in European real estate: Delphine Gebelin, Sonia da Silva, Tatiana Tezel, and Divya Dattani. Each occupies a distinct node in the investment chain, from origination and development to fund management and cross-border regulatory architecture.

Delphine Gebelin: from asset management to investment direction at Icade

Delphine Gebelin was appointed Directrice des Investissements et du Développement at Foncière d'Icade in March 2026, according to Icade and CoStar. Prior to this role, she served as Head of Investment & Asset Management at Colliers Global Investors France, where she built a track record across institutional-grade portfolios in one of Europe's deepest real estate markets.

Her move to Icade places her at the helm of investment strategy for one of France's most prominent listed real estate companies. Foncière d'Icade operates across office, healthcare, and mixed-use segments, positioning Gebelin at the intersection of capital deployment and asset repositioning during a critical phase of the European cycle.

The timing is significant. Savills forecasts European real estate investment volumes to rise by approximately 16% in 2026, followed by a further 17% growth in 2027. For a platform of Icade's scale, the ability to source, underwrite, and execute transactions in a competitive pricing environment requires precisely the kind of cross-functional expertise that Gebelin brings from her asset management background.

Gebelin's appointment signals that French institutional platforms are prioritising leaders who combine investment origination with operational asset knowledge, a profile that becomes especially valuable as the European market transitions from recovery into sustained expansion.

Sonia da Silva: leading commercial development at Bouygues Immobilier

Sonia da Silva serves as Directrice Générale Adjointe en charge du développement tertiaire et des utilisateurs at Bouygues Immobilier, overseeing the company's commercial real estate development activities, according to GRI Institute and Bouygues Immobilier.

Bouygues Immobilier is one of France's largest integrated property developers, with a significant footprint in office, retail, and mixed-use segments. Da Silva's mandate encompasses the tertiary development pipeline and the interface with corporate occupiers, a role that places her at the nexus of supply creation and demand management in the French commercial market.

Her position carries particular weight given the regulatory environment shaping European development. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which requires nearly zero-energy buildings for all new constructions, is actively being transposed across EU member states. Development leaders like da Silva must integrate these requirements into project economics from inception, balancing compliance costs against tenant expectations and investor return thresholds.

The commercial real estate development function in Europe is undergoing a fundamental recalibration as occupier demand shifts toward energy-efficient, flexible spaces. Leaders who can navigate both the regulatory framework and the evolving occupier landscape will define which platforms capture the next wave of institutional capital.

Who is Tatiana Tezel, and what fund does she manage at Hines?

Tatiana Tezel was appointed Fund Manager for Hines European Property Partners (HEPP) in March 2026, managing a fund with over €1.5 billion in equity commitments, according to Hines and GRI Hub. HEPP is one of the most recognised pan-European value-add vehicles, with a mandate that spans multiple geographies and sectors across the continent.

Tezel's appointment to lead a fund of this magnitude places her among a small group of women managing billion-euro-plus institutional vehicles in European real estate. The HEPP platform's scale and diversification require a fund manager capable of coordinating investment committees, managing LP relationships, and overseeing asset-level execution across jurisdictions with distinct regulatory, tax, and market dynamics.

The context for her role is shaped by the proposed overhaul of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The European Commission proposed replacing Article 8 and 9 labels with three new product categories, namely "sustainable", "transition", and "ESG basics", while removing entity-level PAI disclosure requirements. This proposal, published in November 2025 with a feedback period extending until March 2026, will reshape how funds like HEPP classify and communicate their sustainability credentials to institutional investors.

For a fund manager overseeing €1.5 billion in equity commitments, the SFDR overhaul introduces both complexity and opportunity. Vehicles that can credibly position assets within the new classification framework will be better placed to attract capital from ESG-mandated allocators. Tezel's ability to navigate this transition will be a defining factor in HEPP's competitive positioning over the coming vintage.

Tatiana Tezel's appointment to manage a €1.5 billion equity fund at Hines underscores that women are now leading some of the largest and most strategically significant institutional vehicles in European real estate.

How does Divya Dattani connect Abu Dhabi's regulatory architecture to European capital flows?

Divya Dattani serves as Senior Vice President at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), focusing on financial regulation and strategic partnerships, according to GRI Institute. While based in the UAE, her role intersects directly with European real estate markets through the cross-border capital flows that connect Gulf sovereign and institutional investors with European assets.

ADGM has established itself as a key regulatory hub for international capital deployment, and Dattani's focus on strategic partnerships positions her at the interface between Middle Eastern capital pools and global investment destinations. European real estate, with its recovering transaction volumes and deepening regulatory framework, remains a primary target for Gulf-based allocators seeking diversification and yield.

The Living sector accounted for the greatest share of European investment activity in 2025, with volumes reaching €53 billion, according to CBRE. Cross-border capital, particularly from the Gulf and Asia-Pacific, has been a significant driver of activity in this sector, attracted by the demographic fundamentals underpinning residential, student housing, and senior living assets across Western Europe.

Dattani's role at ADGM bridges the regulatory and strategic dimensions of this capital flow. As European regulators reshape disclosure requirements through the SFDR overhaul and as the EPBD raises the bar for building performance, the alignment between source-market regulatory expectations and destination-market compliance frameworks becomes a critical enabler of cross-border transactions. Professionals who can navigate both sides of this equation hold outsized influence over capital allocation decisions.

A structural pattern, not an anomaly

The appointments of Gebelin, da Silva, Tezel, and Dattani are not isolated events. They represent a structural pattern in which women are assuming principal-level roles across the full spectrum of European real estate capital formation, from development and investment origination to fund management and regulatory architecture.

Savills projects European real estate investment volumes to reach €52 billion in Q1 2026, a 6% year-on-year increase. As the market enters a sustained recovery phase, the principals directing capital deployment, portfolio construction, and regulatory strategy will shape the industry's trajectory for years to come.

The European real estate industry is witnessing a measurable shift in who controls capital allocation at the institutional level, and the principals profiled here are at the centre of that transformation.

GRI Institute tracks these leadership transitions as part of its ongoing engagement with senior decision-makers across European real estate and infrastructure. Members of the GRI Club regularly convene to exchange intelligence on investment strategy, regulatory developments, and market positioning, creating a network where principals like Gebelin, da Silva, Tezel, and Dattani operate and build cross-border relationships.

For institutional investors seeking to understand where capital is being deployed and by whom, the composition of leadership teams has become as important as the macro data. The women profiled in this article are not emerging leaders. They are established principals, managing billions, shaping regulation, and directing the platforms that will define the next cycle of European real estate investment.