Laura Rapaport (Episode 2/2): Rethinking C-PACE and Smarter Capital Stacks

Gareth Mee’s Insight into Legal & General’s Strategic Vision for Global Expansion Part 1

How is one of the world's largest insurance and asset management firms positioning itself for growth across private markets, retirement solutions, and global partnerships? Welcome back to Scaling Capital: Commercial Real Estate Intelligence, presented by Accrete Advisors. This week, host Jennifer Robertson sits down with Gareth Mee, Chief Executive Officer of Legal & General's Institutional Retirement Business, to discuss the company's strategic evolution, global expansion efforts, and long-term vision for growth. With nearly 200 years of history, Legal & General has grown into a leading insurance, retirement, and asset management platform with over £1.2 trillion in assets under management. Gareth shares his journey from EY Partner to CEO, provides insight into Legal & General's transformation under CEO Antonio Simões, and discusses how the firm is leveraging private markets, pension risk transfer, and strategic partnerships to drive future growth. In this episode, we cover: * Legal & General's history, scale, and business structure across asset management, retirement, and insurance * Gareth's career journey from EY Partner to CEO of Institutional Retirement * Antonio Simões' strategic vision and focus on capital allocation discipline * Legal & General's growth plans across private markets and asset management * Expansion in the U.S. through strategic partnerships and pension risk transfer * The Meiji Yasuda partnership and plans to grow U.S. retirement solutions * Why scale, collaboration, and long-term partnerships are central to L&G's strategy If you're interested in how global insurance companies, retirement platforms, and institutional investors are positioning themselves for long-term growth, this is a conversation you won't want to miss. Guest Bio: Gareth Mee is the Chief Executive Officer of Legal & General's Institutional Retirement Business, which insures pension schemes and pensioners across the UK, U.S., and Canada. Prior to becoming CEO, Gareth served as CFO of Legal & General Capital, CIO of Private Markets and Asset Management, and CIO of Institutional Retirement, overseeing a portfolio of approximately £94 billion. Before joining Legal & General, Gareth spent nearly 20 years at EY, where he was a Partner leading global investment advisory, UK actuarial, and sustainable finance consulting practices. He holds a First-Class Honors degree in Mathematics from University College London and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Connect with Gareth on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsmee/] Follow Jennifer [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferjrobertson/] and Accrete Advisors on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/accrete-advisors-llc/], visit our website [https://accreteadvisors.com/], and subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the trends shaping the future of CRE. Join us next week for Part Two with Gareth, where we dive deeper into Legal & General's pension risk transfer platform, investment strategy, and global retirement market opportunities.

Katarina Hapsari (Episode 2/2): PIK (Pantai Indah Kapuk), Engineering and Capitalizing a multi-billion-dollar, Future-Ready Urban Project near Jakarta, Indonesia

In Part 2 of this two-part episode of Scaling Capital, Jennifer continues her conversation with Katarina Hapsari, Founder & Managing Partner of Aurem International Assets. Katerina shares what it takes to deliver a city-scale development on coastal land, integrating urban planning, climate resilience, and smart infrastructure to sustain growth through 2100. The conversation breaks down the disciplines required to execute a project of this magnitude, from flood protection and utilities to engineering and environmental safeguards. They also unpack the $20B+ capital structure behind PIK, including self-funding, public-private partnerships, and private equity. PIK serves as a powerful case study for building resilient, future-ready cities in emerging markets. Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.

Katarina Hapsari (Episode 1/2): PIK (Pantai Indah Kapuk), Developing a Multi-Billion-Dollar National Strategic Project in Indonesia

In Part 1 of this two-part episode of Scaling Capital, Jennifer Robertson speaks with Katarina Hapsari, Founder and Managing Partner of Aureum International Assets. She discusses leading the development of one of Southeast Asia’s most ambitious mixed-use projects, PIK, a massive, world-class, multi-billion-dollar, waterfront city development near Jakarta, designated as a National Strategic Project. Katarina shares insights about managing and coordinating the development of a 6,000-hectare (14,000-acre), multi-billion-dollar community, designed as a true live-work-play environment. Together, they explore public-private partnerships, large-scale urban planning, integrated infrastructure, and the resulting social and economic benefits. A compelling conversation on leadership, placemaking, and executing real estate at the city scale. *Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.

Laura Rapaport (Episode 2/2): Rethinking C-PACE and Smarter Capital Stacks

In this episode of Scaling Capital, host Jennifer Robertson sits down with Laura Rapaport, CEO & Founder of North Bridge, to unpack how C-PACE is being used today to lower the cost of capital and bring greater flexibility to complex real estate deals. They explore how early integration, thoughtful structuring, and a deep understanding of how buildings are built can improve outcomes for developers, owner-operators, and lenders. From value-add projects to ground-up development, this conversation offers practical insight into how C-PACE can help projects move forward in a challenging market. Learn more about North Bridge: https://www.northbridgeops.com/ [https://www.northbridgeops.com/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/northbridgeesg/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/northbridgeesg/] *Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.

Laura Rapaport (Episode 1/2) on CPACE: A Smarter Way to Build the Capital Stack

In this episode, Jennifer Robertson sits down with Laura Rapaport, Founder & CEO of North Bridge, to demystify CPACE and its evolving role in today’s real estate capital stack. Laura explains what CPACE is, how it works, and why it should be viewed as an integral part of a commercial property capitalization — not just green financing. They explore how CPACE can be used across asset classes for new construction, value-add renovations, acquisitions, refinancings, and bridge capital. The conversation covers lookback financing, delayed draws, and how CPACE can lower the cost of capital, reduce recourse, and improve project viability. Learn more about North Bridge: https://www.northbridgeops.com/ [https://www.northbridgeops.com/] https://www.linkedin.com/company/northbridgeesg/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/northbridgeesg/] *Music is Happy G by Mr Smith from the Free Music Archive, CC BY.