Sweden

After graduating with a Master of Science in Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology, Urban Edenström began work in the 1980s real estate market in Stockholm. As a young professional, he found the industry quite conservative. But Urban was brimming with ideas and determined to do things a bit differently.

He launched Stronghold Invest in 1994 as a property and asset management consultancy company. Today it’s the leading asset management, property advisory, fund management and proptech company in Northern Europe. The group has around 1,800 employees across 40 offices and operates in 9 countries.

Passionate about innovation, Urban became an investor and champion of proptech, a new sector offering technologically innovative products for the real estate market. He also established the Stronghold Innovation Lab, which gives all startups the chance to come and pitch their ideas to his customers.

Urban is Chairman of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and has helped bring MIT to Stockholm, as well as greatly improve the city’s infrastructure through his collaboration between businesses and politicians.