Jonathan H. Brinsden
ULI Americas Chairman

Jonathan H. Brinsden is Chairman of the ULI Americas Executive Committee, as well as a member of ULI’s Global Board of Trustees.

Jonathan H. Brinsden, President of the Irvine Company’s Office Properties, brings extensive ULI leadership experience to his new role having previously served as a Global Board Director, Governing Trustee, ULI Foundation Governor and as chair of ULI Houston. Brinsden is active in a number of civic leadership and charitable organizations including serving as chairman of Central Houston, on the Executive Committee, and board, of Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the board of SEARCH Homeless Services and the board of Coalition for the Homeless. Brinsden is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Bauer Graduate Real Estate Program and a frequent guest lecturer at Texas A&M University and Rice University.

Gwyneth Jones Cote
ULI Americas President

Multifamily industry leader Gwyneth Jones Cote, who most recently served as chief operating officer for Bell Partners, is the president of the Americas region at ULI. She works closely with Brinsden and the Americas Executive Committee, as well as ULI’s global leadership and staff to ensure that the Institute maximizes member engagement in the Americas region through the implementation of the Strategic Plan. She ensures ULI’s work in the Americas aligns with the Institute’s work in the Europe and Asia Pacific regions, and that it reinforces a culture of philanthropy that results in more resources to support ULI’s mission-driven activities. Cote serves on the board of Project REAP, an organization that serves as a bridge between talented minority professionals and commerical real estate companies looking for talent.

Cote, who served as Bell Partners chief operating officer from 2013 until the end of 2017, was responsible for a team of more than 1,400 employees and approximately 60,000 multifamily units. Prior to her service at Bell Partners, she consulted for several years to private real estate companies. Cote began her real estate career in 1989, joining the mid-Atlantic division of Trammell Crow Residential as a development associate after receiving her Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. She remained with Trammell Crow as it evolved into Avalon Properties and AvalonBay Communities. She served 15 years with AvalonBay Communities (and its predecessor companies), concluding her career as a senior vice president, responsible for property operations of 19,000 apartment units located east of the Mississippi River. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College, where she played two varsity sports and was selected as an All-American in lacrosse

ULI Americas Executive Committee