Geeta Nanda OBE

CEO
Metropolitan Thames Valley

Geeta is Chief Executive of MTVH (Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing) a leading national provider of social and affordable homes to rent and buy. Across a career of nearly 30 years, she has held a variety of leadership positions in the housing sector.

Geeta was Chief Executive of Thames Valley Housing for nine years, and then Chief Executive of Metropolitan from October 2017, before the two organisations merged. She also established the highly successful market rent subsidiary, Fizzy Living, in 2012.

Geeta has served on the boards of a number of other housing organisations and the National Housing Federation and is the former Chair of the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations, which collectively provides homes to one in ten Londoners and builds a quarter of the capital’s new homes.

Geeta is a non-Executive member of the housebuilder Redrow plc and PRS REIT plc, the UK’s first quoted real estate investment trust to focus on high-quality new-build family homes for the private rental market.

She also serves on the government’s Older People’s Housing Taskforce and the Advisory Board for Homewards, the Prince of Wales’ Homelessness initiative. Geeta is also an ambassador for the charity World Child Cancer.

In 2013, Geeta was awarded an OBE for achievements in social housing, and in 2021 received the ‘Outstanding Individual’ award at the EG Awards in recognition of her achievements and position as a ‘role model’ within the sector.

Mike Woolliscroft

Group Business Improvement Director and London Divisional Chair
Vistry Group

Mike Woolliscroft is a member of the Vistry Group Executive Leadership team and is Divisional Chair of the Group’s three London regional businesses.

He is a respected leader in partnerships and urban regeneration having spent over 16 years in senior roles at Countryside Partnerships and The Berkeley Group.
Mike’s Vistry team in London is currently delivering 34 major, residential-led, projects. These are reference points for good design and community development, as well as delivery through high-performing partnerships.

Vistry Group is the UK’s leading partnership housing provider and trusted partner of local councils, housing associations and other public sector organisations across the UK.

Adam Challis

Head of Research & Strategy, UK
JLL

Adam leads UK Research & Strategy at JLL. His role brings together a best in class team covering insight, analytics and client advisory as part of a 500+ personnel global structure. The team covers all real estate sectors to deliver solutions for investors and corporate occupiers. Adam also works internally to drive business line and corporate strategy.

Adam’s experience spans over 20 years of real estate advisory with both public and private sector clients. He is regularly cited in national and international media as a commentator on the factors that shape real estate markets. He provides public policy advice, with a particular focus on the role of real estate as a catalyst to sustainable prosperity in cities.

Adam holds an MBA from London Business School, an MSc Urban Regeneration from the Bartlett, University College London and BA Economics from Western University (London, Canada). He is a member of the Urban Land Institute and is a Board Trustee and Chairperson of the Investment & Finance committee at World Habitat.

Jennifer Murray

Director Product, Equity & Partnerships
Homes England

Jennifer leads on equity investment and attracting institutional capital into residential and regeneration at Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency for England She began her investment management career at Schroders where she was fund manager for directly invested real estate funds and multi manager property portfolios on behalf of pension fund and charity clients for over 15 years.

Prior to joining Homes England, Jennifer was a fund manager for Tesco Pension Investments. While managing the scheme’s international real estate portfolio she developed a professional interest in the residential sector as an institutional investment class.

Jennifer is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Investment Property Forum. She represents Homes England on Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), Investment Property Forum (IPF) and Urban Land Institute residential committees.

Rhona Brown

Head of Private Sector Housing and Home improvement
London Borough of Lewisham

I joined Lewisham Council as Head of Private Sector Housing and Home Improvement in March 2022. Prior to that I led the Greater London Authority’s work on the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in the Housing and Land directorate for nine years, where I delivered initiatives such as the Mayor’s Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker and the Mayor’s London Borough PRS Partnership, as well as leading on Build to Rent policy from the housing perspective. I have worked in housing policy in a variety of roles since 2011, including two years as a policy officer at the National Housing Federation. Before specialising in housing policy, I was a research assistant in the House of Commons for four years, covering a range of issues including local government finance, article 4 directions, energy efficiency, renewable power generation and retrofit.

Peter George

Strategic Director for Economy + Sustainability
Ealing Council

Peter is the Strategic Director for Economy and Sustainability at Ealing Council leading a remit that includes: housing delivery, planning, regeneration, climate change, economic development, parks, culture and strategic housing. Peter is responsible for a large programme of transformational change at Ealing which includes delivering 4,000 affordable homes, creating 10,000 jobs as well as leading on the creation of a new regional park for London.

Prior to joining Ealing Peter worked for Enfield Council where he led from inception the 10,000 homes Meridian Water development. During his time leading Meridian Water Peter led on the delivery of a new train station, homes, workspace, film studios, a music venue and skills academy. Prior to Enfield Peter worked on the Woodberry Down development.

Peter was the first recipient of the Public Sector Pioneer of the year award at the UKREIFF conference and he has led teams to win both design awards and an award for equalities, diversity and inclusivity.

Ailish Christian-West

Chief Operating Officer
Get Living

Ailish is Chief Operating Officer at Get Living, responsible for the performance of Get Living’s circa £3bn build-to-rent neighbourhood portfolio and the development pipeline portfolio of a potential 6,500 homes. She leads Get Livings ESG agenda and supports industry collaboration on a broad range of issues. Ailish has been with Get Living since 2020 supporting a rapid growth in the business and leading on operational efficiencies and customer experience strategies.

Prior to Get Living, Ailish enjoyed 12 years at Landsec, laterally as an executive committee member responsible for portfolio management and portfolio operations. At Landsec she led key strategic initiatives, creating significant portfolio value and repositioned the retail business to exit the secondary shopping centre sector ahead of a significant decline in market values. She also spent ten years in fund management, running core plus and opportunistic funds including at La Salle Investment Management.