Nils Kok (N.)
As a professor at Maastricht University, I conduct cutting-edge research on real estate & infrastructure investment. With over 20 years of academic and industry experience, I have published papers in leading journals, co-authored books, and received grants and awards for my work.
I also leverage my expertise and insights as an external member of the investment advisory committee at bpfBOUW, the largest pension fund for the construction industry in the Netherlands, and previously as a founder and executive director at GRESB, GeoPhy, and Avignon Capital. In these roles, I help shape and optimize the investment strategies, portfolios, and performance of these organizations, while also contributing to the advancement of sustainability and social impact in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.
Expertises
Nils Kok is Professor of Real Estate Finance at Maastricht University, where he also serves as Director of the Maastricht Center for Real Estate. His research spans urban economics and institutional real estate investment, with a particular focus on the economics of energy efficiency, sustainability, and climate risk in the built environment.
His work has been published in leading academic journals, including the American Economic Review, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The RAND Journal of Economics, The Journal of Public Economics, and Real Estate Economics. His research is regularly featured in international media outlets and industry publications, including The Guardian, Australian Financial Review, Handelsblatt, Het Financieele Dagblad, Bloomberg, and Europe Real Estate.
In addition to his academic work, Nils serves on the investment advisory committee of bpfBOUW, the largest pension fund for the Dutch construction industry. Previously, he was a non executive board member and Chief Economist at GeoPhy, a leading provider of real estate analytics and automated valuations, which was acquired by Walker & Dunlop in 2022. He also founded and led GRESB, the global ESG benchmark and analytics provider for real estate and infrastructure investments, which was acquired by General Atlantic in 2024.
Nils received his PhD from Maastricht University and lives in Maastricht with his wife, Lian, and their three children.
More information is available at www.nilskok.com.