FEDESSA Conference & Trade Show 2026

Mark Durden-Smith

Event Host

Mark Durden-Smith is a seasoned British television presenter with a diverse career spanning sports, entertainment, and lifestyle programming. Educated at Radley College and Durham University, he began his career as a researcher for "Clive Anderson Talks Back" before transitioning to presenting roles. Mark has hosted various shows, including Sky Sports' rugby coverage, ITV's "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! NOW!", and Channel 5's rugby union coverage.

As the host of the FEDESSA Conference in Dublin, Mark's engaging and lively style adds a layer of excitement to the event, making it both informative and entertaining. Attendees can look forward to his ability to connect with the audience, bringing humour and energy to the sessions. His extensive experience ensures the conference proceedings will be smooth and lots of fun.

---

Janine Krakow

CEO Storemore

Janine Krakow is a seasoned professional with a passion for technology and a varied career path. Starting in marketing, she gained invaluable experience in event marketing in the US before excelling in experiential marketing at makai Europe. Moving into the PV industry, Janine thrived in online marketing. In 2012, she embraced the dynamic self-storage sector at Selbstlagerbox. While steering the company’s growth, she pursued an MBA to hone her strategic acumen. Leading the dedicated team at storemore, Janine continues to pioneer the evolution of the industry, reshaping standards with unparalleled innovation and service.

Involved in the self-storage industry since 2012

---

Ollie Saunders

Head of Self Storage, Savills

A real estate professional with a leading profile in the self storage sector having worked across the UK and EMEA since the 1990s from a valuation, agency and corporate finance perspective.  He is head of self storage at Savills which is Europe’s largest and leading team of advisors to the sector.
 
Ollie has a deep sector knowledge, bringing together his first-hand transactional experience and creativity, together with an analytical professionalism

---

Oliver Close

CBRE Ltd

Oliver Close is a Senior Director at CBRE Ltd and leads the firm’s activities in the self storage sector.  Oliver has over 22 years’ experience in self storage and has provided real estate advice to many of the major operators in the industry, across both Europe and the Asian self storage markets.  
Oliver worked on the stock market flotations of both Shurgard and Safestore, has executed a number of sale transactions in several jurisdictions and collaborates closely with the SSA UK, including with the production of the UK Self Storage Survey for a period of years.  CBRE’s activities include, in addition to valuations and transactions, general advisory, debt advisory, equity raising, capital allowance advice, corporate finance and site acquisition services.

Neil Newman-Shepherd

NNS Consulting

With almost 25 years’ experience in the UK and European self-storage markets, Neil Newman-Shepherd has a wealth of knowledge in developing and operating self-storage assets and platforms - delivering significant investor return. As Managing Director of Lok’nStore in the UK, he was the driving force behind the growth of the business, creating a market leading portfolio and platform in the UK which was purchased by Shurgard in 2024 for £385m. As a Self-Storage Investment Consultant Neil works with Institutional Investors, Owners and Platform Operators across Europe, Neil brings a unique perspective on the transaction market and how institutional capital thinks about self-storage opportunities and returns.

---

Isabel Neumann

COO Shurgard

Isabel Neumann joined Shurgard in August 2021 as Chief Investment Officer. In this capacity, she is responsible for all aspects of Shurgard’s capital allocation as it relates to real estate, including all development and mergers and acquisitions.

In 2026, Isabel took up the additional role of Chief Operating Officer. She is leading the field and commercial operations, translating strategy into scalable execution across a multi-site network – driving growth, operational excellence, customer experience, and profitability.

Previously, Isabel was a Managing Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London for 16 years, where she held a range of senior positions across EMEA Investment Banking.

Before Bank of America, she worked as Business Development Manager at Starlab and started her career in Consulting with Arthur Andersen. Isabel is a member of the Board of Directors of Belfius Bank & Insurance. She holds an MBA from the University of Chicago GSB Booth and studied Commercial Engineering at the KU Leuven (Belgium).

---

Thomas Blangy

QuadReal

No bio provided

---

Federico Rölz

CEO Mr.[B] Self Storage, CEO Mr.[B] Self Storage

Federico Rölz is CEO of Mr.[B] Self Storage, a vertically integrated self-storage platform operating across Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Over 15 years, he has led the company's expansion across five countries — Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic — growing it to 19 facilities, 72,000m² and over 7,300 units, with a pipeline targeting 100,000m² and 10,500+ units by 2028.

A recognised industry voice, Federico has spoken and moderated at events across the US, Europe, and Asia, and co-founded the self-storage association in Guatemala. Mr.[B] is a four-time winner of the Modern Storage Media International Facility of the Year Award and the only Latin American operator with a meaningful footprint across five countries.

---

John McGlynn

founder of Scottish Capital, Scottish Capital

John McGlynn is the founder of Scottish Capital, a privately held family investment office established in 1994, and the founder of Storage Vault — Scotland's largest self-storage brand. Since launching Storage Vault in 2014, he has expanded the platform into flexible workspace with CoVault and, in 2026, micro-workspace brand LOCKUP.

Through Scottish Capital, John invests long-term capital across operating businesses, real assets and public markets, with a focus on durable, cash-generative businesses. The group's holdings span real estate, healthcare, technology, finance and mining.

He holds degrees in Accountancy and Law, has studied at Harvard Business School, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of the West of Scotland. Beyond business, John is an executive producer in film and television, with credits including a Brian Cox directorial debut shot in Scotland.

Beyond business, film and television are a genuine passion. John made a cameo appearance in Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland and was appointed an executive producer by Alan Ritchson, who now plays Jack Reacher in the Amazon series Reacher. In 2025 he took a
cameo role in, and was appointed co-executive producer of, Glenrothan, a film made in Scotland and the feature directorial debut of Brian Cox. He is also an investor in and executive producer of Flickers Films Ltd.

: linkedin.com/in/johnmcglynn1
: @johnmcglynn

---

Tron Jordheim

Tron Jordheim is an internationally experienced self-storage strategist, operator, and consultant with more than 30 years of leadership across sales, marketing, operations, and portfolio growth. He is the Managing Partner of Self Storage Strategies, working hands-on with owners, operators, and investors to solve real operational and revenue challenges.
Tron is a proven international speaker, with keynote and consulting engagements in Hong Kong, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Mexico, as well as extensive work across North America. He is known for translating complex market conditions and operational practices into clear, practical strategies that work across cultures and operating environments.
His experience includes senior leadership roles as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for a major multinational self-storage operator and President of Operations for a multi-country self-storage call-center business, contributing to billions of dollars in asset value through operational and customer-experience innovation.

---

Jason Mathew

Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Nokē Division at Janus International, Janus International Europe

Jason Mathew is the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Nokē Division at Janus International. He has 20+ years of experience in industrial goods, technology products and services with a proven track record of delivering customer impact, business growth and transformation.

 

Jörg Rocholl

Jörg Rocholl is President of ESMT Berlin and the Deutsche Bank Professor in Sustainable Finance. He serves as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at the German Federal Ministry of Finance and as Chair of the Steering Committee of the Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM). The renowned economist is one of the leading experts in corporate finance, sustainable finance, and governance.

---

Gavin Shields

Stora

Gavin Shields is the founder and CEO of Stora, the operating system for growth-focused self storage businesses. Before founding Stora, Gavin launched and scaled startups and ran his own self storage business, giving him first-hand insight into the challenges of legacy systems, manual admin, and operational drag. Today, Stora helps operators modernise and unlock new revenue through automation, pricing intelligence, and flexible integrations — and powers hundreds of self storage businesses worldwide.

Tom Atherton

No bio provided

---

Enrique Santos

Enrique Santos is a Director at Incus Capital, where he is responsible for sourcing, executing, and managing real estate investments across Europe. His experience spans debt and equity investments, including real estate lending, structured credit, and direct equity transactions across a range of asset classes, including self-storage.

Prior to joining Incus Capital in 2024, Enrique held roles at Deutsche Bank, Violy & Co., and 3i Group. He holds a double degree in Business Administration and Law from CUNEF and completed the Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) at London Business School.

---

Bonita Norris

Bonita Norris is one of the world's most compelling keynote speakers. At just 22, she became the youngest person to reach both the summit of Mount Everest and the North Pole — having never climbed a mountain just two years before.

Bonita's message is simple but powerful: we all have mountains to climb. Whether navigating market uncertainty, driving growth in competitive landscapes, or leading

---

Ken Huges

Ken Hughes — known as The King of Customer Experience — is one of the world's leading authorities on consumer behaviour and customer experience strategy. Blending consumer psychology, digital anthropology and retail futurology, he helps global brands understand and connect with today's new consumer.

A TED speaker, author, actor and part-time university professor, Ken's presentations are as energetic as they are insightful — and always delivered with a healthy dose of Irish wit.

---