Eamonn Boylan

Chief Executive
Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Eamonn Boylan was appointed Chief Executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in January 2017. He played a key role in the development of the Housing Market Renewal Programme, the Northern Way Growth Strategy and, through his work with the Core Cities Group and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, in the emerging policy framework for city regions. Eamonn takes the lead role on Investment and on Planning and Housing for the AGMA Wider Leadership Team.

Rachael Ainscough

Group Managing Director
Ainscough Group

Rachael Ainscough is the group managing director of the Ainscough Group.

Rachael has worked within the property-based group for over 8 years. She started as Property Administrator, helping to manage the group’s property investment portfolio, moving in 2012 into the specialist land business, Ainscough Strategic Land.

Rachael has been instrumental in growing Ainscough Strategic Land’s asset base and was promoted to Land Director in 2013.

Rachael became majority shareholder in the business in 2014 and now jointly manages all aspects of the business, from land identification and acquisition, through to planning promotion and land sale.

Ainscough Strategic Land currently controls in excess of 1,300 acres of development land across the UK, with the capacity for approximately 6,700 new homes and over 500,000 sqft of commercial floorspace. The company has an enviable planning track record, with a 95% success rate on all planning applications or appeals thus far.

Paul Westhead

Director of Development
Placefirst

With over 30 years’ experience in finance, regeneration and housing, Paul joins Placefirst from Trafford Housing Trust. In his previous roles as Head of New Business and more recently Head of Land and Partnerships, Paul helped establish Laurus Homes, a development subsidiary of Trafford Housing Trust and help set up the innovative joint-venture LLP with the L&Q Group. As Head of New Business Paul led the team that has successfully sourced land for over 2000 mixed tenure homes and prepared those projects pre-construction for the LLP in the past 3 years and established other JV structures to help accelerate housing delivery.

Gary Jackson

Founder & CEO
DeTrafford Estates Group

Gary’s entry into property development began in 1984, when he purchased and refurbished his first property with money saved from running his own door-to-door potato round as a teenager.

In the 20 years that followed, Gary refurbished and resold over 800 properties nationally, with a particular focus in the North West and London.

In 2006 Gary anticipated a possible market downturn and so traded his property portfolio for gross sales of £85 million in stock by the end of 2006. With the market at its peak, Gary sought to wait for an opportune moment, which came in 2009. Purchasing sites for development, DeTrafford Estates Group was formed with the ethos of pioneering functional and flexible living concepts.

As CEO he ultimately oversees the Group’s activity, with a heavy focus on land acquisitions, design ethos and branding. He is the Group’s main reference point for key Stakeholders and Government relationships.

Daniel Cochlin

Head of External Affairs
Northern Powerhouse Partnership

Daniel Cochlin is the Head of External Affairs for the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, the organisation bringing together the business and civic leaders of the North with the ultimate objective of rebalancing the economy and creating opportunities for the people of the Northern Powerhouse. His role involves working with the North’s leading employers, Government, elected mayors and a wide range of stakeholders to build consensus on improving key areas of policy, including transport, education, skills and productivity. Prior to this role, Daniel was Head of Communications for Advanced Materials at The University of Manchester, responsible for establishing a compelling narrative around graphene and other innovation.

Chris Grigg

Chief Executive
British Land

Chris Grigg is chief executive of British Land, a constituent of the FTSE100. Since taking the role in 2009, he has put placemaking, wellbeing and design excellence at the heart of British Land’s approach to real estate. This is summed up in the company’s strategic focus on creating “Places People Prefer”. Aligned to the corporate strategy, British Land’s sustainability activity addresses major social trends and benefits over 35,000 people every year. British Land’s portfolio, which covers approximately 25 million sq ft, includes three office-led campuses in central London and retail-led assets across the UK.

Prior to joining British Land, Chris was Chief Executive of Barclays Commercial Bank and a partner at Goldman Sachs. He is a Non-Executive Director of BAE Systems plc and is on the Executive Board of the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA).

Julie Hirigoyen

Chief Executive
UK Green Building Council

As Chief Executive of UKGBC Julie is focused on delivering lasting change within the industry by engaging with UKGBC members, regulators, and wider stakeholders in an effective and collaborative way.

Julie was previously UK Head of Sustainability and an International Director at JLL, having come into JLL as a result of an acquisition. JLL acquired Upstream, a leading sustainability consultancy which Julie was co-founder and Joint MD of, in 2007. Having led the Upstream team through the integration into JLL, Julie oversaw further development of cutting-edge sustainability services to property investors and occupiers across the UK and EMEA.

Julie sits on the Green Construction Board, the Igloo Footprint Advisory Board, Grimshaw’s Stewardship Group and the Carbon Trust Advisory Panel. Julie is a London Sustainable Development Commissioner, and previously chaired the British Property Federation’s Sustainability Committee for two years.

James Close

Head of the Circular Economy Programme
London Waste & Recycling Board

James is the Head of the Circular Economy Programme for London. He has background in sustainability and climate change and has worked extensively across public and private sectors in London, UK and internationally. Prior to joining LWARB, James was the Director for Climate Change at the World Bank in Washington, DC. He has also been a partner at EY and the head of the Corporate and Private Finance team at HM Treasury. In 2010, he was the author of the Mayor of London’s Prospectus for London as a Low Carbon Capital. He is the Chair of the Advisory Board of the Blockchain and Climate Institute

Cllr Darren Rodwell

Leader
London Borough of Barking & Dagenham

Darren is a passionate community champion. Prior to becoming a councillor, he led a tenant & resident’s association and was at the forefront of the Labour Party campaign which led to the defeat of the British National Party in Barking in 2010. He has also worked in welfare rights and has set up a food bank as well as serving as a non-executive director in the NHS and a school governor.

Darren was first elected to Barking & Dagenham Council in 2010 and became Leader in 2014. Since then he has set the vision and direction of the Council which includes Barking & Dagenham being London’s growth opportunity. He was also responsible for a series of successful festivals which marked the borough’s 50th anniversary in 2015 which included a visit by Her Majesty the Queen.

Since 2014 he has led Barking & Dagenham Council through a transformation programme to secure £63m of savings over the next four years at the same time as delivering real time improvements in services.

Richard Upton

Chief Development Officer
U+I

Richard is a creative entrepreneur and patron of the arts, who is passionate about quality of place, architecture, heritage and provenance. Over the course of his career, he has established, built and sold four property investment and professional companies and developed more than six million square feet of mixed-use real estate.

Pioneering Mount Anvil in 1991, Richard delivered 5,000 student bedrooms and regenerated several award-wining social housing projects. In 1998 he co-founded Cathedral Healthcare and Cathedral Group PLC, nurturing the latter to become a market-leader in public-private partnership developments and building a pipeline of over £2bn.

In 2014, Cathedral merged with Development Securities, which ultimately became U+I in 2015. U+I is a listed public company with a development pipeline of >£11.5bn. Together with U+I’s Chief Executive Matthew Weiner, Richard is a driving force behind the strategic direction of the company, whose vision is to create long-lasting social and economic change for communities and sustainable value for shareholders.

Abigail Dean

Head of Sustainability
Nuveen Real Estate

Abigail joined Nuveen Real Estate in 2016 to lead the business on sustainability, ensuring that it delivers on its mission to invest in the urban fabric of Tomorrow’s World for the enduring benefit of our clients and society. Abigail oversees our Sustainability Strategy, positioning us as a global leader on Environmental, Social and Governance issues so that we are well placed to pursue growth opportunities, whilst minimising the risk of obsolescence within the portfolio of real estate assets that we manage.

Since joining Nuveen Real Estate, Abigail has overseen the organization setting a long term target to reduce its energy intensity by 30% by 2030. This commitment responds to and supports the ambitious goals for sustainable real estate established by the 2015 Paris Accord. She is leading our process to develop a pathway to net zero carbon pathway for our portfolio of buildings Abigail is a member of Nuveen Real Estate’s Investment Committee and has spearheaded the integration of sustainability considerations into the acquisition process. She is now leading the organisation to develop investment guidelines related to physical and transition climate change risk, as set out in the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure Framework.

Abigail previously worked at JLL for 10 years, where she led on sustainability for the Property and Asset Management business in the UK, embedding it into core processes and deliverables.

Abigail sits on a number of sustainability industry committees. In the UK, she is on the Design for Performance steering group, working towards ending the performance gap issue in newly developed buildings, she is also a Better Buildings Partnership Board Member, a member of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark European Benchmark Committee and a member of Inrev’s ESG Committee.

Bill Hughes

Head of Real Assets
Legal & General Investment Management

Bill joined Legal & General in 2007 and is responsible for transforming its UK property fund management business into a global-reaching real assets platform. Operating in both the direct investment and lending markets, today it actively invests and manages over £28.0bn* AUM providing capabilities in real estate, infrastructure and corporate debt. Bill previously held positions at RREEF, the Real Estate Fund Management business of Deutsche Bank and Schroder Property Investment Management.

Bill is currently Chair of the Property Industry Alliance (PIA), bringing together the UK’s leading property bodies to give them a stronger collective voice on issues such as policy, research and best practice. Bill was a Commissioner for the Lyons Review, is a Past Chairman of the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) and a Past President of the British Property Federation (BPF).

Nina Reid

Director: Responsible Property Investment
M&G Real Estate

Nina has overseen responsible investment within M&G Real Estate for over 8 years, driving its ambitious Responsible Property Investment (RPI) strategy, which seeks to enrich the lives of people and communities by creating and managing world class places which deliver positive value for its investors, society and the environment. Nina and her team work with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that M&G Real Estate’s fund range embed environmental and social considerations, identify opportunities whilst minimising risk associated with obsolescence and depreciation. She also oversees investor reporting on RPI/ESG initiatives, engaging directly with investors to ensure that funds are meeting their sustainability requirements.

With over 15 years experience in responsible investment and real estate, prior to joining M&G Real Estate in 2011, Nina was an associate director within the Upstream Sustainability Services Team at Jones Lang LaSalle. She has an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and is Practitioner Member of the Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (PIEMA). Nina is an active member of several industry groups, and is currently chairing the Better Building Partnership Net Zero Working Group and participating in the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) Paris Aligned Investment Initiative working group.

Peter Pereira Gray

Managing Director Investment Division
Wellcome Trust

Peter Pereira Gray is a Managing Director in the Investment Division of The Wellcome Trust. Peter is working with a team managing the £18 billion multi asset global investment portfolio, reporting to the Chief Investment Officer. Peter is also a member of the Investment Committee.

Peter is the Chairman of the farming & land management business, Farmcare Ltd, as well as the UK Marina, Boatyard and Boat Storage organisation Premier Marinas Ltd. Peter is also a Main Board Director of VeroGroup, a newly formed student housing joint venture with Goldman Sachs.

Peter is a Life Member and past Chairman of the Investment Property Forum, a past founding and advisory board member and member of the Management Board of INREV. He is a member of both the Bank of England Commercial and Residential Property Forums, and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Peter is an Advisory Board member for Composition Capital Partners, and an honorary vice president of Cambridge University Land Society. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Advisory Board member and Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Continuing Professional Development.

Paul Sutcliffe

Co-Founder
EVORA

Paul co-founded EVORA, the 60 strong, tech-enabled real estate sustainability consultancy, which launched in 2011. He is a Chartered Environmentalist, a Chartered Energy Manager and a full member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. He has 20 years’ experience of delivering strategic advice and practical sustainability solutions to diverse and large property portfolios. One of Paul’s current roles is to help clients incorporate Social Value into existing sustainability strategies. Prior to EVORA, Paul was Sustainability Director at DTZ

Victor da Cunha

Group Chief Executive
Curo Group

Vic joined the business in 2011, initially focusing on integrating three housing associations into one, bringing together our culture, governance and strategy. From these foundations, Curo was formed in 2013 as a re-energised commercially savvy business with a strong social purpose.

Today Curo has more than doubled its turnover and has a pipeline of over 2,700 new homes in development. It has established itself as an ambitious business with a regional and national reputation for innovation.

Under Vic’s leadership, Curo has become an Investors In People ‘Gold’ employer, has been ranked 27th Best 100 Not for Profit Company to work for in the UK by the Sunday Times and has won many awards for our services and our new homes and regeneration activities.

Vic is Chair of Homes for the South West - a collaboration between housing associations working together to increase affordable housing supply in our region. Together these organisations can deliver 16,000 new homes between 2019 and 2024.

Vic is also a Governor of Bath College, one of our local partners, sits on the Nation Housing Federations’ Diversity, Equalities and Inclusion group and is active on the Bath Chamber of Commerce where he sits on the economic development sub-committee.

In 2019, Vic won Business Insider South West Property Personality of the year and the Vistage Life Time Achievement Award”

Joanne Casey

Managing Director, Homes England Division
Mactaggart & Mickel

Joanne Casey is Managing Director of Mactaggart & Mickel’s Homes England division and the Director responsible for sales, marketing and architectural design. She is Honorary Vice-President of the Institute of Customer Service, a member of the Board of Homes for Scotland and Chair of Business Beats Cancer (Glasgow) for Cancer Research UK.

Savannah de Savary

Founder and CEO
Built-ID

Savannah de Savary is the Founder and CEO of Built-ID. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 2013, Savannah joined Thor Equities, where she managed NYC real estate development projects. In June 2015 she founded Built-ID, a proptech platform that showcases the built environment projects of today and transforms community engagement to better shape the projects of tomorrow.

Savannah won “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Property Awards and was voted Property Week’s ‘Power 100: Top 20 Ones to Watch’ and one of the Top 20 Proptech influencers in a poll by the UK Proptech Association. She is also a regular columnist for Property Week. Built-ID enables property developers to invest in communities, not just their bricks and mortar. Through a digital platform, residents can influence the built environment projects that matter to them, and be rewarded for their engagement with real donations to local charities within their community.

Martin Bellamy

Co-CEO & Chairman
Gravity

Martin has over 20 years’ experience in leading real estate investments across the globe. In 2002 he founded the Salamanca Group, a Merchant Banking business where he lead on the regeneration of a Mediterranean’s leading superyacht marina and Bulgaria Mall, one of the largest developments completed in South-Eastern Europe when launched.

In 2017 he became Chairman and Co-CEO of Gravity, the UK’s first commercial smart campus, which is the blueprint for a smarter, cleaner future. Gravity will be a centre for clean growth, employment and the talent and technology of the future. The smart campus’s design - informed through consultation with a team of economic analysts, sustainability and environmental specialists - responds to the shifting global trends in consumption, energy use, automation and digitalization, creating thousands of long-term jobs.

Prior to 2002, Martin served as an officer in the British Army. He has an MBA from Reading University and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. In 1997, Martin rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in a boat named Salamanca.

Bridget Wilkins

Director of Community Engagement
Built-ID

Bridget Wilkins is Director of Community Engagement at Built-ID where she is responsible for leading the team to scale the Give-My-View platform.Bridget has ten years of international real estate experience having worked at CBRE in the UK Development team and Asia Pacific Capital Markets. Bridget is an expert in the global PropTech sector and the wider real estate industry through her role on the CBRE UK Innovation Board and as a founding member of the Urban Land Institute UK Tech Forum.Bridget is a passionate advocate for developing the next generation of real estate professionals across London, with a focus on skills evolution into the digital age, through her role as a Steering Member of the City Property Association Next Generation Committee and as a Co-Founder of the Peer 20 Networking & Social Impact Program.

Anna Evans

Project Director, Perry Barr Residential Scheme
Lendlease

Joined Lendlease Construction (Europe) in March 2019 to lead on the delivery of the redevelopment of Perry Barr. This exciting project will provide the Athlete’s Village for the 2022 Commonwealth Games with the legacy of driving forwards the regeneration of the local community and wider region.

Previously worked at Ministry of Justice as Deputy Director with responsibility for the Design and Construction of the Prison Estate Transformation Programme. Also Deputy Head of Profession for Project Delivery across MOJ. Before that, worked for the Education Funding Agency as a Project Director on the Priority School Building Programme leading the North East team.

Prior to that spent four years at NMSI leading on Estate Management and Project Delivery. Having previously spent over twenty years in local government, working initially as a Building Surveyor and for the latter 10 years working as a Project Manager and Programme Director.

During her LA project management career Anna was responsible for the delivery of a broad range of construction and refurbishment projects valuing from £5m to £45m including sports centres, new schools and was involved in the Government’s Building School’s for the Future programme. During this time, Anna sat on a Government research group, Project Faraday, which developed design and teaching guidance to create new and innovative ways of teaching the Science curriculum to 11 – 16 years olds, with the aim of encouraging more students to study Science at A level and beyond, with a view to developing careers within the Science sector.

Specialties: APM Project/Programme Management, PRINCE 2 Practitioner; MMC; Construction/IT/Media/Exhibition project management; Programme management; stakeholder management, stakeholder-led design development. HMT 5 Case Business Model Practitioner

Jason Longhurst

Chair
UKBCSD

As Corporate Director of one of the leading authorities for sustainable development and economic growth, Jason has overseen one of the most proactive and significant shifts in strategic delivery to ensure a sustainable approach to growth.

At Central Bedfordshire Council, Jason leads the Regeneration and Business Directorate, developing an integrated approach to investment, development, regeneration, employment and skills, in close partnership with business and industry. Balancing enviro-economic growth that delivers social benefit, this has unlocked over £3bn of investment in four years for the area.

Having previously held a range of Director-level positions at Regional Development Agency, County and Unitary bodies, Jason is one of the leading strategic growth enablers shaping approaches to deliver commercial, residential, economic and strategic infrastructure sustainably. In addition to his primary role, is Chairman of UK Business Council for Sustainable Development (UKBCSD) which focuses on the implementation of sustainable development practice nationally and was formerly Chair of the Central Corridor Officer Group (CCoG) for OxCamb Growth Corridor.

His work with both public and private sector organisations at a senior and board level encouraged the development of innovative public/private partnerships with national providers. Jason has spearheaded critical sector investments that delivered nationally award-winning services, projects and strategic growth outcomes. These include enabling sector investment partnerships of national significance in advanced logistics, M1/A1, off-shore Energy industry, seafood, aviation, advanced tech & research and visitor economy.

Ian Macleod

Acting Director, Inclusive Growth
Birmingham City Council

Ian MacLeod has worked for Birmingham City Council for over 15 years. He led the preparation of the Birmingham Development Plan which sets the strategic planning policy for the City over the next 15 years and will deliver over 51,000 new homes, over 700,000 sq m of office development and over 300 hectares of industrial land. This included leading work on the Green Belt review and associated evidence base which has resulted in the allocations of 6,000 homes at the Langley Sustainable Urban Extension and 71 hectares at the Peddimore employment site.

He led the procurement process for the Peddimore scheme which led to the appointment of IM Properties for the first phase of the development which has delivered a successful outcome for the City both of terms of the Capital receipt and social value outcomes. He also leads work on a number of key regeneration schemes including the Commonwealth Games Athletes Village and the wider regeneration of Perry Barr, the Advanced Manufacturing Hub in Aston which has to date delivered over 1200 jobs and £50million of private sector investment and emerging the Masterplans for the NEC and the life science campus in Selly Oak.

Chris Darroch

Director, Fund Management
Hermes Real Estate

Chris joined Hermes in December 2009 having over 20 years’ experience in the commercial property sector, gained primarily as a fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Managers, where he was a Director of Fund Management and responsible for the management of over £1.2 billion of assets on behalf of pension fund clients.

On graduation in 1989 he joined Richard Ellis (now CBRE) where he gained a broad range of experience in the commercial property which extended to opening an office to asset manage an under-performing portfolio with a view to realising the investment. Following completion of this project in 1994 Chris joined Scottish Amicable Investment Managers (now Aberdeen).

At Hermes, Chris is the Fund Director for the BTPS UK £5 billion real estate portfolio (the Fund). It is a diverse portfolio which includes ownerships of MEPC and Argent, as well as significant joint venture with Westfield. As fund manager he is responsible for all aspects of managing the portfolio, and is accountable for delivering investment performance.

Since joining Hermes Chris has completely re-structured the UK portfolio, being responsible for approximately £6.4 billion of transactions during the period, whilst delivering top quartile investment returns for the client. Major projects that the Fund is currently involved in include Kings Cross in London, Paradise in Birmingham, NOMA in Manchester, Wellington Place in Leeds and Silverstone.

Jules Pipe

Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills
Greater London Authority

Jules Pipe is working on key priorities for the Mayor, including: revision of the London Plan, major regeneration projects across the capital, ensuring London’s infrastructure needs are delivered to benefit all Londoners, and building a skills system that properly addresses the needs of young people and the economy.
Jules has unrivalled knowledge of London government, becoming the first directly elected mayor of Hackney in 2002 and serving as Chair of London Councils from 2010 until he joined the Mayor’s team in 2016.

Bob Weston

Chairman and Chief Executive
Weston Homes plc

Bob Weston is Chairman and Chief Executive of Weston Homes Plc. He left Fairview New Homes to form the company in 1987 and has spent a lifetime in the housebuilding sector. From the first development, a four bedroom, detached house in Essex, Bob has developed Weston Homes into a
company which now delivers over 800 homes a year across the South East. Bob is a regular commentator on issues shaping housebuilding in the UK and has been working with government and policy-makers to effect change in the industry.

Jo Negrini

Chief Executive
London Borough of Croydon

Originally from Australia, Jo has worked in regeneration and planning in London for over 28 years.

Working on projects from small public improvements to major city regeneration, Jo has focused on making places that people can enjoy and own. Jo now has, in her words, “the best regeneration job in London” as Chief Executive of the fastest growing economy in London. Jo now pulls the strings on bringing together all the services of the Council, together with partners to make Croydon a place where people want to be. Croydon is a unique place as it provides opportunities for housing growth but also is re-emerging as an alternative place for business. HMRC, Superdrug and EDF are just some of the companies who have moved to Croydon in recent years.

Quality design of both place and service is a fundamental principle driving the work of Jo and her team in Croydon. In 2018 Jo was awarded the New Londoner of the year award by New London Architecture for services to regeneration and her championship of equal rights.

Bek Seeley

Chief Operating Officer, UK Development
LendLease

Bek

Seeley is the Chief Operating Officer for Lendlease’s UK Development Business.

She has worked in a range of environments including outsourcing and public services, engineering and construction, before her role at Lendlease.

In undertaking both commercial and wider business roles, Bek has a strong track record in delivering cultural change and business growth.

In her role at Lendlease Bek is responsible for the operations and overall growth of the Lendlease Development business, including New Business opportunities.Her previous experience in regeneration, change and partnership working enable her to build on the strong foundations that Lendlease has to further grow and
innovate the Lendlease business.

Rokhsana Fiaz

Mayor of Newham
London Borough of Newham

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Savannah de Savary

Founder and CEO
Built-ID

Savannah de Savary is the Founder and CEO of Built-ID. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 2013, Savannah joined Thor Equities, where she managed NYC real estate development projects. In June 2015 she founded Built-ID, a proptech platform that showcases the built environment projects of today and transforms community engagement to better shape the projects of tomorrow.

Savannah won “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Property Awards and was voted Property Week’s ‘Power 100: Top 20 Ones to Watch’ and one of the Top 20 Proptech influencers in a poll by the UK Proptech Association. She is also a regular columnist for Property Week. Built-ID enables property developers to invest in communities, not just their bricks and mortar. Through a digital platform, residents can influence the built environment projects that matter to them, and be rewarded for their engagement with real donations to local charities within their community.

James Agar

Head of Residential
Schroder Real Estate Investment Management

James is Head of Residential at Schroders Real Estate Investment Management, having previously been Head of Specialist Funds at Brooks Macdonald Group Plc.

James is the fund manager of Ground Rents Income Fund Plc, a listed UK REIT, and has a history of investment in various alternative asset classes such as Long Income, Residential, Student Accommodation and Farmland. James attended Harvard business School in 2010, is an FCA Approved person, Associate Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Edward Dixon

Head of Environmental, Social and Governance
Aviva Investors

Tom Royston

Director
DTZ Investors UK

Tom has worked in the commercial property sector for nine years and joined DTZ Investors in 2014 undertaking a fund management role. Prior to DTZ Investors, he worked as an Investment Surveyor at SEGRO plc where he started his career in 2010.
Tom’s primary responsibilities include implementing the fund’s investment strategy and managing its trading activities through strategic portfolio asset management and the execution of real estate transaction. Tom has a range of experience including:
• Implementation of portfolio asset management strategies;
• Sourcing and analysing real estate investment opportunities;
• Processing real estate transactions including both acquisitions and disposals;
• Undertaking portfolio analysis and formalising fund performance reports.
One of Tom’s primary responsibilities includes the asset management of King Street in the heart of Manchester’s City Centre where DTZ Investors have recently implemented a placemaking strategy to regenerate one of Manchester’s primary shopping destinations.

Rob Perrins

Chief Executive
The Berkeley Group

Rob is Chief Executive of the Berkeley Group, one of Britain’s most successful, sustainable developers. He joined the company in 1994 having qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young. He was appointed to the Main Board in 2001 and became Chief Executive in 2009.

In 2010, Rob launched a ten year plan for the Berkeley Group called Our Vision. This set out to make the company a modern world class business, blending homes, parks and community facilities to create fantastic places where people love to live. By 2016, under Rob’s management, Berkeley was supporting 30,000 jobs across Britain and contributing £2.6 billion to the UK’s Gross Domestic Product - £32 for every person in the UK.

Rob regularly contributes to public debates about the direction of housing policy and the property market and is a member of the Bank of England’s Residential Property Forum, as well as a council member of Aston University and a Governor of Wellington College.

Tom Henry

National Acquisitions Director
Grainger plc

Tom joined Grainger plc in January 2019 to lead the National Acquisitions Team. He has 17 years’ experience in the UK residential market and has specialised in the UK private rented sector (PRS) since 2011.

Tom has an extensive track record in PRS including the acquisition; stabilisation; financing and investment phases of build to rent development projects.

Helen Gordon

Chief Executive
Grainger plc

Helen Gordon is Chief Executive of Grainger plc the UK’s largest listed residential landlord.

Helen was appointed Chief Executive of Grainger in January 2016 from RBS where she had been Global Head of Real Estate Asset Management since October 2011. Prior to that Helen was Director of Legal and General Property, responsible for the Main Life Fund and c.8 smaller Funds, and Group Property Director of Railtrack and Managing Director of John Laing Developments.

Helen sits on the Board of Derwent London as a non-executive Director and is currently a Board Director of the European Public Real Estate Association and Vice President of the British Property Federation. Helen has held a number of non-exec positions and Government appointments including the Board of Covent Garden Market Authority, Board of British Waterways, TfL Property Board and was a Trustee for The College of Estate Management for nine years.

Simon Earles

Planning & Sustainability Director
Bristol Airport

In 2017 Simon became the Planning and Sustainability Director at Bristol Airport, after over 16 years of experience in the aviation sector. Having worked at both Heathrow and Luton, as well as being a qualified transport planner, he is a proven airport executive. Part of Simon’s current role is to consider how Bristol Airport can meet the challenge of serving the South West region’s demand for international connectivity in a way that is sensitive to the local community and environment. His previous roles, most recently as Planning and Policy Director at Heathrow, have led to his keen knowledge of strategic planning, community and government engagement, surface access strategy, master planning, development and corporate social responsibility.

Olaide Oboh

Director of Partnerships
First Base

Olaide has been with First Base since 2011 and leads on establishing and nurturing relationships with public and private sector partners.

A qualified project manager, Olaide’s experience is varied ranging from managing communications at Marks and Spencer to working on large scale regeneration in Hackney and leading the external relations for East Village, the new neighourhood on the Olympic Park.

This varied background makes her role at First Base very broad. Olaide leads on communications and culture for all First Base’s projects, develops strategic relationships to help embed the company into new locations and builds crucial contacts with brands and emerging industries to play a part in developments.