When Natalia Napoleon De Bens stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer at Equity Estates in February, she brought with her a dynamic background in law, wealth management, and alternative investments — along with a passion for solving complex problems and building smart, scalable systems.
Natalia began her career as an attorney specializing in investment management before pivoting into the international private banking industry. From there, she worked as Chief Operating Officer for Sam Zell’s private investment group and served as president of his single-family office before joining a Blackstone real estate portfolio company. Across these roles, she deepened her expertise in strategic operations, change management, and investment management.
When the position at Equity Estates opened up, she says it felt like the right fit. “Joining a mature organization with a successful track record and proven model was quite attractive, and it also aligned perfectly with our family ethos of creating and sharing memories with family and friends.”
Chief Operating Officer at Equity Estates
As COO, Natalia oversees member services, property operations, marketing, and expeditions, with a particular focus on strategic growth. Being involved in so many aspects of the company keeps things interesting.
“There’s so much opportunity here,” she says. “From optimizing internal processes to supporting our incredible team and scaling our portfolio, the work is challenging in the best way. Every day looks a little different, which I love.”
While she’s enjoying the work that goes into building processes and solving problems, meeting the different members of the Equity Estates team, the people who keep things running, has actually been one of her favorite things.
“It’s been great,” she smiles. “The team is wonderful. There are interesting projects and problems to solve. And learning the ins and outs of what goes into managing all of the properties is a lot of fun.”
An Active Family Life
Natalia’s husband, Tom De Bens, is a managing director in media operations who was born in Belgium and raised in Dubai. The couple met and fell in love in Miami where they both lived and worked at the time. Today, raising their nine-year-old son Luka, they operate as a team, balancing work, family responsibilities, and shared wanderlust for travel.
Having lived in both Miami and London, they’ve now called Chicago home for the past 4.5 years.
As a family, they make a point to stay physically active and curious — something that’s part of their day-to-day lives as well as their vacations. They are into exploring museums, biking, hiking, and indulging in the lakefront life. Natalia and Tom also use their weekly date nights as a chance to check out new restaurants and cocktail bars, one of their favorite parts of Chicago living.
“We still love to explore our own city,” Natalia shares, “and we always get out to get a feel for a place and its people when we travel.”
In fact, the family travels often, with at least two big trips each year to new destinations along with returning to Miami regularly, and spending a full month abroad between England, France & Belgium each summer with extended family and loads of friends.
“It gets busy, but it’s so special,” Natalia says. “It’s a month filled with food, laughter, and memories.”
“We like to vacation with friends and family,” says Natalia. “It’s especially nice when Luka has friends or cousins his age to hang out with on the trips. Then the kids can connect and keep each other entertained and the adults can also have fun and unwind.”
Becoming Investors
With their love of travel and Natalia’s appreciation of the Equity Estates business model, she and Tom made another big decision just a few months into her new role: they decided to invest in Equity Estates themselves.
The idea wasn’t new; the couple had known about the company even before the COO position opened up. Back when they made the move to Chicago, they had debated what to do with their Miami Beach home.
“We looked at so many options — keeping our home in Miami as a vacation property, selling it to buy a condo, or using the money to invest in a travel club or shared home,” Natalia says.
As they had previously maintained their Miami Beach residence while living in London, they decided that continuing to maintain a second home would take more energy than they wanted to spend, and they didn’t want to feel obligated to always go to one location. So, they decided to sell and begin to look into different ownership and vacation options.
Though they took their time researching the various companies and opportunities, nothing felt right until they found Equity Estates.
“Equity Estates stood out because it gave us access to an entire portfolio of luxury homes, including places we already love like Miami and Europe,” she says. “We liked that we would be buying into a Fund, but that we would have access to the entire portfolio. We also appreciated the diversity we’d have with multiple homes instead of the burden of managing a second home ourselves or sharing one singular vacation home with eight other investors. It really ticked all the boxes.”
In April, they invested in Fund VII at the Executive Level. Natalia, Tom, and Luka are planning their first stay at an Equity Estates property in the Caribbean later this year.
“We’re so excited to visit the Virgin Islands, and the homes look stunning,” Natalia says. “It’s going to be a perfect first experience.”
In addition to exploring new destinations, she says they’re also happy to be able to experience the company’s many investor perks first-hand.
“I’m normally the one managing every detail of our trips — activities, bookings, dietary needs,” she says. “Now, with our Destination Managers, I can hand that off and actually relax. It’s a game-changer.”
Unlimited Travel
One aspect of the investment that Natalia and Tom have been most excited about is the unlimited last-minute travel available to them as investors. “That was a big draw for Tom when we were initially looking at investing,” she shares.
“Not everyone likes last-minute trips like that, but I no longer have to do the planning. As a young(ish) family we’re a little chaotic anyway, and it’s just the three of us, so we love that option.”
As she puts it, “It’s a huge value-add to our investment, which will allow us to be more spontaneous because someone else is handling all the details.”
A Vision for Growth
Even with a full portfolio of prime destinations and stunning homes already available, Natalia is eagerly pushing for Equity Estates to expand. She is passionate about the company’s continued growth — particularly internationally.
“I would love to see us expand into Portugal and deepen our footprint in France. There are deals to be made in both locations with an aging demographic looking to offload prime properties,” she says. “Lisbon is a first-tier European city, vibrant and family-friendly, the wine country and beaches are beautiful, and there’s great value to be had from an investment standpoint as the country’s economic outlook continues to improve. We’ve already started exploring opportunities there.”
Natalia would also like to help potential investors rethink the Equity Estates model.
“Some people may think of Equity Estates as a regular real estate investment. But it’s not really comparable. The potential return isn’t going to be as high, but for a very good reason — we balance our targeted return on investment with our investors ability to use and enjoy the properties,” she says.
“Normal real estate investments perform based on cash flows from rental revenue and the like, and then the level of appreciation on sale. We want to buy well, make strategic improvements, manage the homes professionally and efficiently, and then sell for the highest price after 10 years — we don’t rent the homes and prioritize cash flows. While that means our potential returns look more in line with a ‘capital preservation plus’ play, this strategy allows our investors to maximize their utilization through amazing vacation benefits. Our investors love that balance.”
She’s also eager to share more about the inner workings of Equity Estates with the broader investor community.
“There’s so much behind the scenes that’s fascinating — from how we source and evaluate properties to how we set up and maintain each home,” she says. “I think our investors would be interested in hearing about the strategy and care that goes into those processes.”
As both an executive and an investor, Natalia brings a valuable dual lens to her work.
“I have to check my own biases at the door,” she admits. “But really, I think by being on both sides of the company, I’m incentivized to streamline and help the company grow. The two halves align more than anything; there’s a synergy that makes me more effective in my role. It changes your perspective when your own money is also on the line.”
For her, it all comes back to alignment — between work, family, and investment. “Equity Estates isn’t just about real estate,” she says. “It’s about experiences and making memories that last. That’s why we joined — it felt like a smarter way to enjoy our preferred lifestyle. And that’s why I’m so excited to help shape where we go next.”
