February 08th 2019
The Year Ahead - North West
Radisson Blu Edwardian Manchester
Free Trade Hall
Peter Street
Manchester M2 5GP
Tel: 0161 835 9929
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Event speakers
Alex Russell
Managing Director
Property Alliance Group
Alex is Managing Director of Property Alliance Group having joined four years ago following 10 years in Office Agency and Asset Management at Dunlop Heywood, WHR and lastly CBRE, where he headed up the Office Agency team. Alex has a key focus on deliverability, quality, service, management, innovation and making a difference.
Deborah McLaughlin
Managing Director
GL Hearn
Deborah is the Managing Director GL Hearn and chairs the Capita Housing Board. Deborah is responsible for over 1000 people with capabilities spanning project management, architecture, design and engineering. Before joining Capita in November 2016 Deborah was executive director for the North West at the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England), with responsibility for supporting local authorities and private sector partners in the North West to deliver housing growth and regeneration priorities.
Many successful housing projects have benefited from Deborah’s experience; in particular she was instrumental in the delivery of the affordable housing programmes, the rebirth of Ancoats in Manchester, the re-development of Kings Dock in Liverpool, working with partners to deliver the Preston and Lancashire City Deal and the rapid expansion of the Omega site near Warrington.
During her time at Homes England Deborah also completed a successful 12-month secondment as chief executive of Manchester Place, establishing a new collaborative way of working to increase housing supply in Manchester and attracting international investment. Deborah was Director of Housing at Manchester City Council before joining Homes England.
Gavin Taylor
Regional General Manager
Far East Consortium International Limited
Gavin Taylor is a Mancunian with over 15 years’ experience in development, construction and portfolio management.
He joined the Far East Consortium International Limited as Regional General Manager in 2016. Gavin’s role sees him overseeing the expansion of the organisation in the north of the UK. He is also responsible for the Angel Meadow and Northern Gateway projects which will bring over 15,000 homes to Manchester.
Previously, as Operations Director for Beijing Construction, Gavin was instrumental in the introduction and establishment of the international conglomerate in the UK. He was also the first non-Chinese citizen to become a director of a Chinese State-Owned Entity.
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 £27.2bn AUM across commercial property, private residential, infrastructure, property lending and corporate credit as at 31 December 2017. Since the beginning of 2015, L&G has worked closely with Government’s Regeneration Organisation to identify and invest in critical regeneration projects that support UK growth.
Bill previously held positions at RREEF, the Real Estate Fund Management business of Deutsche Bank and Schroder Property Investment Management. From July 2014 to July 2015, Bill was President of the British Property Federation. He 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.
Colette McCormack
Partner
Winckworth Sherwood
Colette leads the national Winckworth Sherwood legal Planning team and has over 25 years’ experience specialising in residential led mixed use development. She provides strategic planning advice and is known for her ability to lead on and deliver complex projects. Colette advises on some of the largest developments across the Country including the iconic Battersea Power Station for Wandsworth Council, Liverpool Waters for Peel and Barking Riverside for the joint venture company between the Mayor of London and L & Q. She is known for being solutions driven and having a collaborative approach to unlocking development.
“Colette McCormack has been an invaluable member of our project team. She has consistently provided commercially focused advice in an efficient and effective manner, with full awareness of our business requirements.” – Legal 500 2022
The Winckworth Sherwood Planning Team was awarded Planning Law Firm of the year in 2020 and is ranked in the top 10 firms nationally by planning Resources. Colette is ranked in the industry directives in the top tier planning lawyers and is also ranked in the top 5 planning lawyers nationally by the industry in the Planning Resources Survey in 2021.
“The Winckworth Sherwood planning team led by partner Colette McCormack are clear leaders in the field of planning law. As planning law/policy becomes ever more complex, they are always ahead of the curve in terms of new law/policy and how it affects local planning authorities and the development industry.’ - Legal 500 2022”