ECE founder Werner Otto to receive Lifetime Achievement Award
Prior to the announcement later this week of the award short list the 6th annual CEE Real Estate Quality Awards, the organisers are pleased to announce that Pofessor Dr Werner Otto, founder and honourary Chairman of the Management Board of ECE Projektmanagement, will receive this year’s CEE Real Estate Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award, sponsored by the Financial Times, is the only one of 18 awards to be announced in advance of the the sector's flagship awards gala on 25th February at the Warsaw Hilton Hotel. It is bestowed for significant and durable achievement in Central & Eastern European real estate and beyond.
Previous winners of the award are Eugene Golub (founder and President of Golub & Co and Quinlan Private Golub), David Mitzner (founder and President of Apollo Rida), Cor van Zadelhoff (founder of DTZ Zadelhoff), Sandor Demjan (founder and Chairman of TriGranit Development Corporation) and John Cutts (founder and Chairman of Parkridge Holdings).
A man of vision
Already a successful businessman, having built the internationally renowned Otto mail order business, Werner Otto founded ECE in 1965, primarily to service the growing real estate needs of his existing business in response to a series of disappointing construction contracts.
One of the pioneers in North American style shopping centres in Europe, the company has had extensive involvement in commercial real estate development of all kinds across Europe for more than 40 years, including numerous landmark buildings such as the Otto Versand administration building in Hamburg (1982), the headquarters of the Mannheimer Versicherungen insurance company in Mannheim (in cooperation with star architect Helmut Jahn, 1991), the German-Japanese Centre in Hamburg (1995), the Atrium Friedrichstraße in Berlin (1997) and the headquarters of Philips Germany in Hamburg (2006).
However the company’s reputation has been built largely on its success in developing high quality urban shopping centres, and in November 2008 the company delivered its 100th shopping centre Arkády Pankrác in Prague, which is itself nominated for the CEE Real Estate Retail Development of the Year award for 2008.
A lasting contribution
In 2000, Werner Otto's son Alexander took over ECE and transformed the company from a Germany centered firm to a multinational corporation. Today ECE is active in Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, and Qatar. The company is today one of the largest development and construction companies in Europe.
Werner Otto has also had extensive interests beyond his business empire. He founded the Werner Otto Foundation in 1969 which assists in numerous medical causes, and the Werner Otto Institute founded in 1974, the first and, to date, the only special facility in Germany dedicated exclusively to the early diagnosis and treatment of developmentally challenged or disabled children and teenagers. He has also donated a new museum building, the Werner Otto Hall, to Harvard University, so the university could showcase the expressionist art of German-speaking artists.
He has received several awards and decorations for his entrepreneurial and social commitment, amongst others the Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Ehrendenkmünze [honorary commemorative medal] in Gold and the “Bürgermeister-Stolten-Medaille” of the Hamburg Senate, the honorary title "Professor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg," the Ernst-Reuter-Medal of the Berlin Senate as well as the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's "Social Market Economy Prize" for his entrepreneurship. He is an honorary doctor and honorary senator of the University of Hamburg as well as Laureate of the Hall of Fame in the German House of History in Bonn.
A Century of Achievement
At the age of 99, Werner Otto reaches his century this year. He has been described as a commercial pioneer and visionary who has had significant influence on the economic, socio-political and social development of Germany and beyond in the last 50 years.
His real estate company, ECE Projektmanagement, has also made a large and positive contribution to the growth of the private real estate investment sector in Central & Eastern Europe, and the opening up of retail choice following the collapse of Communism in 1989.
To recognise and honour these achievements Werner Otto's son Alexander Otto, the current Chairman and Chief Executive of ECE, will attend this year's CEE Quality Awards Gala to receive the Lifetime Achievement award on his behalf. We are proud that Mr Otto has agreed to accept this award.
Links:
7TH CEEQA GALA DINNER & AWARDS CEREMONY: Nearly 600 business leaders from 38 countries attended the 7th annual CEEQA Gala at the Warsaw Royal Castle Kubicki Arcades on 3rd March. The success of the event underlined the underlying momentum of the CEE property sector and raising hopes of a return to business in 2010.
AWARD WINNERS: The 7th CEEQA awards ceremony saw 19 awards presented to the best real estate projects, companies and industry professionals in CEE real estate, including a CEEQA Lifetime Achievement award for GTC Chairman Eli Alroy.
7TH CEEQA GALA IN PICTURES
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: GTC Chairman Eli Alroy received the CEEQA Lifetime Achievement award, flanked by previous winner of the award David Mitzner, Vice President of Warsaw Jaroslaw Kochaniak, Financial Times representative Sean Woods, CEEQA director Richard Hallward and Presenter Monika Richardson.
JURY DINNER: The 7th CEEQA Jury dinner on the eve of the CEEQA Gala brought together senior industry executives from leading real estate developers, investors, financiers, consultants and service providers active across the CEE region for the final judging of more than 400 short listed nominee projects, companies and industry professionals.
THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT: International club music star Tara McDonald and 13 year old Polish singer Klaudia Kulawik led the entertainment highlights at the 7th CEEQA Gala, supported by the Showbar dance group, Krakow orchestra Floripari and DJ Maciej Wyro.
THE MEDIA WALL: Guests arriving at the 7th CEEQA Gala
The 7th CEEQA programme commenced with a CEE Insight Forum event on 21st October ‘Through the Looking Glass’ discussing the new shapes and patterns in the post-crisis CEE market place and launch of the 2009 awards, presented by Polish TV presenter Monika Richardson and CEE Insight Forum director Richard Hallward.
The 6th annual CEE Quality Awards Gala in February 2009, presenting awards for performance and achievement in in Central & Eastern European real estate in 2008, provided some benchmark victories and a few surprises in the award categories. Television presenter Monika Richardson hosted the awards ceremony among a stellar line up of entertainment through the evening including exceptional performances by 80s legends Bananarama, young Polish stars Aufiofeels and contact juggler Kamil Dzilinski "Dzielny"
The CEE Insight Forum event preceding the awards gala (TROPICAL STORM2: Global economic crisis and the CEE property markets) attracted more than 150 guests, regional investors, developers, financiers and consultants were joined by Anatoli Annenkov (EBRD) and Jan Cienski (Financial Times) in a powerful debate on challenges and opportunities for the market chaired by George Leslie (KPMG).
CEE Insight Forum V: Tropical Storm2 IN PICTURES
Bananarama had the shoes tapping as and kilts twirling as they reeled out all the old classics
CEE Insight Forum IV Tropical Storm IN PICTURES