Emily Wright

Head of Content
CREtech

Emily Wright is head of content at CREtech where she specialises in curating content and interviewing speakers from across the built world with a focus on innovation and sustainability. She is also a freelance journalist, contributing editor, moderator and keynote speaker focussed on design, development, cities, innovation and ESG. Formerly tech editor and then head of content at EG, Emily has been writing about and reporting on the real estate sector for nearly 20 years and has interviewed major players from both within and outside the industry including Zaha Hadid, Sidewalk Labs’ Dan Doctoroff, Lord Richard Rogers, Donald Trump and Sir Terence Conran.

Linda Chandler

Chief Digital Officer
Olympia

Linda Chandler is the Chief Digital Officer for Olympia, bringing her wealth of technology experience over 30+ years to the built environment to make the transformed Olympia the most connected human-centric place globally.

Prior to joining Olympia, Linda had a Microsoft career spanning 12 years in total – most recently as an Industry Advisor for Smart Places at Microsoft UK focused on the role of digital in local government place leadership and with that, the convergence of adjacent industry sectors of transport, built environment and energy. Linda was a returner to the company having been the Smart Cities Lead for Microsoft Services both in the UK and APAC for 10 years.

In between her Microsoft roles, Linda was an independent smart cities advisor, working on a portfolio of projects across the pillars of built environment, energy and mobility. Prior to Microsoft, she was Chief Information Officer for the London Development Agency. Linda has experienced many facets of the technology industry in her 30+ year career, having worked for systems integrators, large independent software vendors, an analyst firm and a number of start-ups. 

Linda is also a Trustee at BRE Trust and Member of the IET.

James Rowbotham

Head of Workplace Development
Landsec

James Rowbotham leads the Workplace Development team at Landsec and is responsible for the delivery of a £3bn central London office development pipeline. Prior to that he led the project management team overseeing project delivery in Landsec’s retail, office and regeneration portfolios; and was Development Director for a on a number of schemes, including Deloitte’s HQ at One New Street Square, the refurbishment of Holborn Gate on High Holborn and Lucent, the recently completed mixed-use development behind Piccadilly Lights, Westminster.  Prior to Landsec he held development roles at DTZ, Thornfield and Hammerson, working on major schemes across London and the UK including Principal Place, Smithfield Market, and Bishopsgate Goodsyard.

Alex Colvin

Head of Development Leasing
British Land

Alex is Head of Development Leasing at British Land, leading on customer engagement at campuses including Broadgate, Paddington Central and Norton Folgate.  He has responsibility for a full spectrum of workspace, from the flex offer within the Storey portfolio through to major new developments like 1 Broadgate, focusing on making sure the product is optimised for British Land’s customers.  Alex has been at British Land for 10 years, initially focusing on The Leadenhall Building and asset leasing at Broadgate.  He has since led on over 1.5m sq ft of pre-lets including 100 Liverpool Street, Blossom Yard and most recently 2 Finsbury Avenue.  

Rob Bristow

Director - Climate, Planning and Transport
London Borough of Lambeth

Rob is an experienced built environment and sustainability practitioner in the fields of planning, regeneration, development, and climate change.  Rob has held a number of senior leadership positions within London local authorities.

As Director of Climate, Planning and Transport at Lambeth, Rob has responsibility for place-making through steering the Council’s planning, transport and development activity to drive inclusive growth, creating opportunity for local communities.

Rob leads the Council’s climate change response, working with partners to deliver the borough’s net zero 2030 objectives; and plays a key role in enabling inward investment and regeneration through projects such as the major life sciences campus at Royal Street in Waterloo, and the creation of a new town centre at Vauxhall.

Rob has worked on a number of major commercial developments including the redevelopment of the former ITV Headquarters on the South Bank and the regeneration of the former Shell Centre site by the Canary Wharf group.  Which has led to his work with the London Property Alliance supporting their recent research into a more systematic approach to dealing with building retrofit and redevelopment options.

Rob is a chartered town planner and a member of the Chartered Management Institute, and is the recent past president of the Planning Officers’ Society, the national body for public sector planning professionals.

Hayley Mooney

Director, UK Research
JLL

Hayley Mooney is a Director in the UK Research team, focusing on the Central London office market. Hayley has over 15 years’ experience in the UK property market and her core responsibilities include the analysis of office market statistics, the management and production of core monthly outputs including the Central London Office Market Report and regular presentations to clients on the Central London leasing and investment markets. Prior to joining JLL, Hayley worked for Cushman & Wakefield where she worked in the UK Research & Insight team focusing on the Central London office market.

Barrie David

Associate Director
JLL

Barrie David is an Associate Director in the UK Research team, focussing primarily on the UK Regional office markets.  Barrie has over 20 years’ experience of undertaking research on the UK and European office markets and has worked on a wide range of projects in the UK and across Europe.  Barrie has written and contributed to a number of thought leadership pieces on the UK market, including Sustainability and Value in the Regions and the Future of UK Office Demand.  

Valeria Segovia, ARB

Principal
Gensler

As a Principal and Design Director, Valeria leverages her 18 years of experience to lead project teams to deliver excellence for clients by adopting a forward-thinking and holistic approach to design. She is recognized as an outstanding architect with a diverse design background that includes mixed-use, commercial offices, hospitality, residential, and cultural projects. Valeria takes a passionate approach towards reinventing and repositioning existing structures with a focus on sustainability and circularity to make them relevant again. Her portfolio includes many high-profile developments across the U.K. as well as a wealth of international experience.