Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, chairman and CEO of Cabot Properties, was elected as the new global chair of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) for a two-year term that began July 1.
“ULI is the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world,” said Colloredo-Mansfeld. “As a ULI member for nearly 25 years—most of my career in real estate—I am honored to serve as global chair. I am proud to be part of an organization that so effectively combines professional development, practical knowledge, and problem solving. I am committed to keeping our members at the center of all we do, and to supporting our work to positively shape the future of the built environment.”
“ULI’s greatest strength is our members, and volunteer leadership across our global network is a key driving force behind our collective impact in the communities we serve,” said ULI Global CEO Angela Cain. “I’m pleased to welcome Franz Colloredo-Mansfeld, a longtime ULI member and tireless champion of our mission, as our new global chair. With his deep experience and impressive achievements in real estate, Franz is the ideal person to take on this role. I’m grateful to Diane Hoskins for her thoughtful leadership and clarity of purpose over the past two years, and I look forward to working closely with Franz, Diane, and all our member leaders to ensure ULI continues to make a meaningful difference long into the future.”
As chair of the ULI Global Board of Directors, Colloredo-Mansfeld will provide strategic guidance and work to advance the Institute’s mission to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. He succeeds Diane Hoskins, global co-chair of Gensler, who served as ULI global chair from 2023 to 2025.
Colloredo-Mansfeld is a longtime ULI member who has served in numerous leadership roles for the organization, including as global governing trustee, ULI Foundation governor, and treasurer of the Global Board of Directors. He has been the CEO of Cabot Properties, a private partnership focused on the logistics property sector, since founding the firm in 2002. Cabot invests and operates on a global basis and is headquartered in Boston.
Franz joined his father in the industrial property business in 1996. He was Chief Financial Officer when the business went public as Cabot Industrial Trust in 1998, and during these years the New York Stock Exchange-listed Real Estate Investment Trust was the top performing industrial REIT before it was sold in 2001.
Franz previously worked as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Co, living and working in New York City, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Budapest. Throughout his career in real estate and investing, Franz has served as a trustee or board member for numerous business and nonprofits.
Franz graduated from Harvard College in 1985 with a degree in history and earned an MBA in 1991 from Harvard Business School. He won a Robert Bosch Fellowship after business school and worked at the German Central Bank in Frankfurt. Franz and his college classmate married and have four grown children.
