Louise Wyman

Strategic Director Growth & Development
Manchester City Council

Louise took up the Strategic Director of Growth & Development role at Manchester City Council in June 2020. She oversees investment and development across Manchester and has responsibility for; planning, housing strategy, work and skills, and inclusive growth.

Previously, Louise led the Design & Inclusive Growth agenda at West Midlands Combined Authority and as Director of Strategy & Engagement at Homes England, was part of the team that established the Government’s housing agency.

She has led urban renewal projects in the USA and Central Europe and was a member of the Planning Committee for London Legacy Development Corporation with responsibility for developing London’s 2012 Olympic Park.

Louise is a member of the National Infrastructure Commission Design Group and she’s an Ambassador for Harvard University where she undertook her graduate studies.

Aneeqa Hussain

Brainee
Regeneration Brainery

I’m 15 years old and go to Notre Dame High School.

For GCSEs I’m doing textiles, geography and business. I inspire to work in the property industry such as architecture and interior design.

I took part in a workshop called Regeneration Brainery. Regeneration helped me realise what the working environment is like. At first I thought there were only a few roles, I now know that there are many, such as planner, surveyer, project manager, engineer and an architectural technician.

I love doing fundraising and charity work. I have raised money for many charities including St Wilfreds homeless centre which I raised over £100 by doing a sponsored silence.

Melanie Ho

Brainee
Regeneration Brainery

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Nick Walkley

Chief Executive
Homes England

Nick is Chief Executive of Homes England, having become Chief Executive of its predecessor body in March 2017.

He leads the work to create the new organisation, focused on disrupting the land and residential funding market to increase and accelerate the supply of new homes.

Nick has had a senior career in Local Government, including Chief Executive roles at two London Boroughs as well as a range of sector roles at national level. He was rated 4th most influential in the LGC 100 and is an Inside Housing IH50 influencer.

John M’cheleka

Brainee
Regeneration Brainery

Pippa Frazer

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Regeneration Brainery

Alhasan Al-Rammahi

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Regeneration Brainery

Arshad Bhatti

Founder and CEO
Apex Airspace

Arshad founded Apex Airspace to pioneer the creation of new homes on London roof-tops, identifying a new residential market in London worth an estimated £54bn. Apex is now leading this development niche as a disruptive new asset class in housebuilding.

Arshad’s innovative approach to development is shaping the future of real estate and has secured £28m from the Business Growth Fund, Homes England and the Mayor of London to date.

David Jennings

Chairman
Movers & Shakers

David started his career in Construction and Property. In 1990 he jointly founded and was a Joint Managing Director of the Salisbury Consulting Group; he sold his interest in 1995. In 1996 he formed Business Vantage, a business and research consultancy which specialises in property and construction and advises major UK plc’s.
David is the Founder Director and Chairman of Movers & Shakers formed in 1996 the UK’s most successful and popular networking forum.
He is also a Founder Director and shareholder of Stonemartin plc, an AIM listed serviced office business; founded in 1999.

Niki Perry

Founder
Blessed Yoga

Niki Perry, Founder of Blessed Yoga, began her yoga teaching journey over 20 years ago. Her discovery of Baptiste Vinyasa Flow in 2005 dramatically changed her path in life. She was hooked and travelled to Hawaii and later Mexico to be trained by Baron Baptiste, the creator of Baptiste yoga. She spent time with Tao Porchon-Lynch, one of the oldest yoga teachers in the world, who at 101 years of age still taught in New York City. Through this journey, she met world-renowned teacher Brooke Hamblet, founder of Indigo Yoga in the US, with whom Niki now runs Blessed teacher training.

After moving from London 11 years ago to West Sussex, and years of teaching in various places, Niki put all her effort into renovating a barn near her family home to create what is now known as the Cowshed – the heart of Blessed Yoga.

Niki says that, even after all these years of practising and teaching yoga, the love for the practice just gets stronger. She has always dreamt of sharing this practice with as many people as possible – to help everyone with whom she comes into contact, through her classes, teacher training, workshops and retreats, to flow, breathe with connected awareness, move with ease, transform and feel awesome!

Russell Pedley

Director & Co-Founder
Assael Architecture

Russell is Director and Co-Founder of Assael Architecture. With over 30 years as an architect and 15 years in urban design, he has a strong passion for creating a sense of place with historical and cultural connections in all of his work.

Russell spent many years spearheading Assael’s skills in the design of professionally-managed Build to Rent communities in the private rented sector. Following years of research, including many study trips to the US, and producing design guides for the UK, Assael is now one of the leading architects in the sector, paving the way with key projects such as Union Wharf in Greenwich for Essential Living, Blackhorse Mills in Walthamstow for Legal & General, and Pontoon Dock in Newham for Linkcity. Russell also co-authored both editions of the Urban Land Institute’s Build to Rent: A Best Practice Guide, which was sponsored by the British Government, and he is now Chair of the ULI’s UK Residential Council and advises on MHCLG’s Build to Rent Joint Committee.

Rebecca Lewis

Senior Development Manager
Morgan Sindall Investments

Rebecca has over 12 years’ experience in the real estate sector. With a background as a chartered surveyor, Rebecca has worked at Grainger Plc, spearheading the creation and delivery of Grainger Trust, the first for profit housing association in the UK. Further experience followed at PfP Capital where Rebecca worked for the PRS Joint Venture with the Universities Superannuation Scheme. Rebecca now works at Morgan Sindall Investment Limited, working in Joint Venture partnerships with Local Authorities to deliver mixed tenure regeneration schemes. Rebecca is also a non-executive director for B3 Living.

Richard Jackson

Managing Director & Co-Founder
Apache Capital Partners

Richard has been instrumental in the rise of alternative real estate sectors in the UK, particularly Build-to-Rent, Student Accommodation and Senior Living. Richard co-founded Apache Capital Partners in 2008, which, in partnership with Moda, has a £2bn pipeline of more than 6,500 BTR homes in the UK. Richard is also a member of the IPF Residential Special Interest Group (SIG) Committee.

Stephanie Barbabosa

Head of BTR (Multifamily) International Operations
Lendlease Development - Europe

Stephanie Barbabosa was appointed Head of Build to Rent in August 2017, bringing more than 25 years’ experience in the multi-family and build to rent sectors to the role.

Stephanie has a diverse asset background that includes multi-family, single-family, retail, mixed-use, and condo management across multiple markets in the US. Throughout her career she has focused on new business development, due diligence, asset management, value-add initiatives, business planning and strategy, acquisition, disposition, lease-ups, marketing and engagement plans, financial and market analysis, performance benchmarking, training and mentoring in multi-family management, pre-construction consulting and Yardi administration. Stephanie is a Certified Property Manager and an active member of the Institute of Real Estate Management. She holds the Registered Property Management designation from the International Real Estate Institute. Additionally, she is a District of Columbia Certified Property Manager.

Prior to joining Lendlease Europe, Stephanie was with Gables Residential in the United States overseeing the mid-Atlantic portfolio from Boston to Florida.

Stella Kanu

Executive Director
LIFT

Stella Kanu is Executive Director at LIFT (London International Festival of Theatre) previously as Executive Producer at Ovalhouse she spent 4 years overseeing a
comprehensive artistic, organisational and community-led transition as Ovalhouse constructed London’s newest purpose built £15m theatre in Brixton; creating the Brixton City Festival. She created the concept design for Black Womxn in Theatre and is co-curator of BWinT events, the #WeAreVisible movement & iconic photoshoot of over 250 Black Womxn in Theatre at The Globe in 2019.

She has worked in the theatre, festival and cultural sector for over 27 years shaping ideas, communities, events, people and organisations for great shifts. Working in the UK & US including Soundwave Cumbria where she was CEO, Cardboard Citizens Theatre Company, Harlem Stage, Southampton Live Street Arts Festival, Africa Centre, Dance UK, Theatre Royal Margate, Tomorrrow’s Warriors and Clean Break Theatre, as well as arts, community and regeneration directorates at numerous local and city councils. Stella created The Pivotal Place to coach and mentor emerging, mid-career and established leaders across multiple sectors, and is a long-term leadership mentor on Engage’s UK wide Leadership Programme, Extend.

Stella is a former Powerbrokers International Leadership Fellow (Cultural Leadership Programme, 2008), she is a sought-after speaker, strategic brain and trainer on topics including Diversity in Theatre, Inspired Leadership, Art/Activism and Women & power.

A graduate of the UK’s first full time BA Writing course, she was one of the first cohort on MA Coaching and Mentoring Practice at Oxford Brookes University. Stella is a practising writer, musician and maker. She has served on boards including Creative Margate (including interim Chair) and New Writing South, Stella is currently Chair at Eclipse Theatre, an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation based in Leeds and the UK’s Black Theatre & Production Company.

Jeff Risom

Chief Innovation Officer
Gehl (copenhagen)

As Chief Innovation Officer, Jeff is passionate about the relationship between human experience and design and works to apply people-first design principals to communal ecosystems, such as streets, public space, food systems, and energy. Working at the intersection of urban governance, business and culture, Jeff delivers projects that are economically viable and socially equitable, as well as sustainable in terms of using energy, land and time. With degrees in Architectural Engineering from the US and City Design and Social Science from London School of Economics, Jeff’s multi-disciplinary background has shaped his cross-cutting holistic approach to all projects. He has worked with both public and private clients as well as non-governmental organizations in Europe, USA, Latin America, India and China.

Blaise Backer

Deputy Commissioner
Department of Small Business Services (New York)

Michael Blaise Backer is the Deputy Commissioner of the Neighborhood Development Division (NDD) at the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS). In this role, Blaise oversees a team of 28 urban planners and economic development professionals focused on supporting the City’s neighborhood commercial districts by partnering with over 100 community-based development organizations. Blaise and his team launched the Neighborhood 360° initiative, a first-of-its-kind partnership between SBS and community non-profits which invests in conducting local needs assessment and multi-year planning and commercial revitalization opportunities in targeted neighborhoods. Through this initiative, Blaise expanded the division’s annual non-profit grantmaking from $1.4M to $4.5M per year. Blaise is also responsible for oversight of the City’s 76 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), the largest network in the country, which invest more than $158 million annually in locally customized programs and services for commercial districts across the five boroughs. Before joining SBS in May of 2014, Blaise was the Executive Director of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, comprised of a BID and LDC in Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, for 10 years. Blaise also served terms as the board co-chair and treasurer of the New York City BID Association, the membership association of all of New York City’s BIDs. Prior to working in the non-profit field, Blaise was an information technology consultant in the private sector, working in Washington D.C., Dusseldorf, Germany, and Madrid, Spain. Blaise holds a Master in Urban Planning from NYU Wagner and a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Tim Stonor

Managing Director and Owner
Space Syntax

Tim Stonor is an architect and urban planner who has devoted his career to the analysis and design of human behaviour patterns: the ways in which people move, interact and transact in buildings and urban places. He is recognised internationally for his work in the design of spatial layouts and, in particular, the role of space in the generation of social, economic and environmental value.

Tim is the Managing Director of Space Syntax, an urban planning and design company created at University College London in 1989 to develop and apply predictive design technologies. He is a Director of The Academy of Urbanism, a Visiting Professor at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, and a Harvard Loeb Fellow. In 2018 he became Deputy Chair of the UK Design Council and was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Norman Foster Foundation.

Patricia Brown

Director
Central

Patricia runs Central, a niche consultancy advising civic and business leaders on urban change. She has over 25 years of direct experience thinking about, influencing and improving London, and at the heart of many of the initiatives that have been part of the city’s successful evolution.

In the mid 1990s she worked alongside real estate guru Honor Chapman in helping to establish London’s first inward investment body, promoting London as a premier business destination. She became CEO of the Central London Partnership in 1997, leading a cross-sector partnership and agenda set on maintaining the capital’s position as a global world city. At CLP, she led much of the early work to achieve this sustained success through ensuring it was a city that people wanted to be in; a people-focused, liveable city, with improved quality of life and built environment.

Andy Street CBE

Mayor
West Midlands

Andy Street was elected as the first Mayor of the West Midlands on May 4 2017. The primary function of the role is to chair the West Midlands Combined Authority and brings with it significant powers over transport, housing, skills and jobs. Before becoming Mayor, Andy combined a career with John Lewis, Britain’s most successful workers’ co-operative, with a host of high-profile economic development roles, working with local and national government. He was the Chair of the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership between 2011 and 2016, helping to build the relationships that have underpinned the economic growth of the region. Additionally, he has been lead non-executive director for the Department for Communities and Local Government as well as a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.

In June 2015, Andy was awarded the CBE for services to the national economy. He was named the ‘Most Admired Leader’ of the year by business magazine, Management Today in 2014. He received the ‘President’s award’ from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce for his work in the region.

Christine Dryden

Partner
Arcadis

Christine Dryden is a Partner of Arcadis LLP. A Chartered Surveyor with over 25 years experience, Christine has led numerous large scale client commissions and managed a number of consulting businesses. Her focus is on creating high performing teams that exceed customer expectations.

Christine leads the award winning Arcadis Property Team across the Midlands for Commercial and Residential clients. Delivering over £1bn of capital projects annually for a client base of local authorities, RPs, Homes England, house builders, commercial developers, and manufacturing businesses. Christine and her team provide a wide range of consultancy, design and engineering services across residential and affordable homes, tower block new build and refurbishment, extra care, later living, and regeneration projects. Arcadis are winners of the RICS 2020 Social Impact Award, 2018 & 2019 Insider Property Awards West Midlands - Residential Consultant of the Year, and RICS 2019 Commercial Project of the Year, West Midlands.

Jace Tyrrell

Chief Executive
New West End Company

Jace is Chief Executive of New West End Company, a leading business partnership for London’s West End, representing the people and organisations behind the world’s largest retail destination. It delivers management and marketing services to over 80 streets within London’s retail heartland including Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street.

Its aim is to drive the change to create a truly unique and sustainable West End experience, unlock the barriers for economic growth and further strengthen the commercial success of the area with its 150,000 employees and £2bn annual contribution to UK GDP.

He leads the representation locally and globally of 600 businesses across retail, leisure and real estate in London’s West End with a property portfolio of £3.5bn and annual turnover of £10bn. He is a company spokesperson and member of the Board.

London’s West End attracts millions of visitors from around the world each year, making it a valuable destination for both investors and brands. Over the past decade New West End Company has worked with its members, partners and stakeholders to invest over £60m into the area driving the transformation of London’s retail heartland, improving public spaces, promoting inward investment and working with Westminster City Council, The Mayor’s Office and Transport for London.

Shelia King

Founder
Shelia King International Ltd

Sheila King is the founder of Sheila King International (‘SKI’) an independent real estate advisory business formed in 2014. Breaking new ground, the company was the first team in the UK to offer expertise derived from in-house landlord backgrounds.

SKI is retained by leading owners of prime retail and mixed use destinations from North America, Europe and the UK including Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Value Retail, The Blackstone Group, Triple Five, Macerich, Cadillac Fairview and London and Continental Railways.

SKI advises international landlords on strategy, emerging market trends, retailer insight and identifying key brands which make a difference to a destination.

Sheila is renowned for her visionary approach to prime retail destinations and her global connections. Throughout her career, Sheila has anticipated trends in retail mix, the growth of international brands and, ultimately, the emergence of the D2C sector. Within SKI, a specialist division was created in 2018 to focus on the emerging retailer scene including D2C brands.

Prior to creating SKI, Sheila spent 20 years as Group Leasing Director and New Business Director at Hammerson plc. Sheila led the leasing strategy for all nine of Hammerson’s major retail developments including Bullring, Birmingham; West Quay, Southampton; and Brent Cross and Spitalfields in London. At her time at Hammerson, she introduced the business to turnover rents and developed its strategy for international retailers.

Sheila’s journey of seeing shopping centres as a partnership between landlord and occupier began through her experience at Capital Shopping Centres (now INTU), at the time a leading shopping centre innovator. At 26, she was given responsibility for the leasing of The Glades shopping centre in Bromley, a scheme which, in the midst of recession, introduced the turnover rent model and the concept of a food court into the UK.

Brian Bickell FCA

Chief Executive
Shaftesbury plc

Brian qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1976. He joined Shaftesbury when it was formed in 1986, and was Finance Director from the date of its float on the London Stock Exchange in 1987. He became Chief Executive in 2011.

Starting with £10 million of private capital in 1986, Shaftesbury now has a market capitalisation of c. £2.9 billion. It has assembled a portfolio of 15 acres of freeholds in the West End, comprising c.600 buildings, valued at £3.9 billion. Its ownership includes 590 shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs across 1.1 million sq. ft. in Carnaby and West Soho, Chinatown, Seven Dials and Fitzrovia.

Cllr Rachael Robathan

Leader
Westminster City Council

In 2010, Cllr Robathan was elected to Westminster City Council to represent the Knightsbridge and Belgravia Ward. Before becoming Leader she has previously held the Cabinet Member portfolios for Finance, Property and Regeneration; Housing and Adults and Public Health and was Deputy Cabinet Member for both the Adult Services and Customer Services portfolios. Cllr Robathan has also sat on the Finance and Children’s Policy and Scrutiny Committees and Planning Committees.

Cllr Robathan spent 20 years working in Investment Management, specialising in emerging markets. Cllr Robathan is also a Trustee of The Westminster Almhouses Foundation, a charity which provides sheltered housing to over 60s in the city and a board member for The National Lottery Community Fund.

Susan Freeman

Partner
Mishcon de Reya

Susan is a Partner in the Real Estate department. An experienced real estate lawyer, her in-depth understanding of the property market, the emerging world of tech and her business training as a Sloan Masters MSc (London Business School) graduate, combined with a wide circle of contacts is an effective combination. She is also the business development Partner for her department and uses her commercial know how and connections to benefit clients and the firm. Susan’s contacts help to make the firm’s programme of client seminars and events “must attend” networking opportunities.

Andrew Saunderson

Director of Investments
Grainger plc

Andrew Saunderson is Director of Investments at Grainger plc. Since joining Grainger in 2001 he has been instrumental in facilitating several large acquisitions of both assets and corporate entities, helping to establish Grainger as a market leader in the Private Rented Sector (PRS).

In line with the group’s strategy, Grainger has developed a pipeline of PRS homes, valued at £2bn, all of which have been sourced and acquired by Grainger’s inhouse Investment team, which is managed by Andrew. Andrew also has overall responsibility for the Sales and Asset Management divisions within Grainger.

A member of Grainger’s Executive Committee, Andrew is also Grainger’s representative on the British Property Federation (BPF) Residential Committee.

Prior to joining Grainger Andrew worked at Allsop LLP where he qualified as a Chartered Surveyor.

Rebecca Taylor

Managing Director of BTR
Long Harbour

Rebecca joined Long Harbour in 2015 and has deployed over £450m for the Multifamily programme in this period. Having raised a further £500mn of equity in 2019, Rebecca is responsible for the entire delivery cycle from strategy and deal origination through to structuring, delivery and asset management phase.

Prior to joining Long Harbour, Rebecca spent 8 years at Laing O’Rourke working in their property and PFI investment team. Here she worked on their offsite delivery solution, securing the planning and delivery of 1.3mn sqft of mixed-use space and over 4,000 residential units in Ireland, UAE and UK.

Tony Brooks

Managing Director
Moda

With over 35 years in property development, Tony Brooks has a proven track record in delivering complex mixed-use and residential schemes across different markets. In 2013, Tony co-founded Moda with Johnny Caddick to create the first UK wide high amenity build-to-rent platform in the UK. Since the inception Moda has secured a pipeline of over 7,500 apartments across the UK with a development value in excess of £2.5bn. Moda’s flagship, 36-story scheme, Angel Gardens, officially opened last October and pre-let its first phase of apartments two months ahead of schedule.

Katie Rogers

Financial Director
Telford Homes

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Simon Scott

Lead Director - Living Capital Markets
JLL

Simon has over 20 years’ experience in the field of residential investment and development, and was actively involved in the development of the student investment market in an advisory capacity, and led in a number of innovative funding structures working with both Housing Associations and Universities in making institutionally acceptable investment assets in the residential sector. Simon is now overseeing the residential investment team and will be focused on matching investor appetite for residential investment, whether off plan bespoke developments or existing portfolios of income producing or reversionary assets.

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.

Colette McCormack

Partner
Winckworth Sherwood

Colette has 20 years experience of large scale regeneration projects acting for public sector, land owners and private sector developers. She has been involved in securing planning and land assembly on complex multi ownership sites including estate regeneration projects and understands the public private sector interplay.

Colette is currently advising on some of the largest and complex planning projects in the country and is one of the leading experts in CIL . She is ranked as a leading individual in legal directories and is currently lead planning adviser on Peel’s Liverpool Water - regeneration of 60 ha docklands; Barking Riverside – 10,800 homes, 65,000 sqm of commercial and leisure plus infrastructure ; Wandsworth VNEB Opportunity Area – 20,00 new homes infrastructure including the northern line extension and incudes Battersea Power Station .; multi billon bound estate regeneration of Winstanley estate -2225 homes ( including affordable housing) flexible commercial space measure space and public realm.