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Built Environment Leaders Group

Thursday, 4th March 2021 1530hrs – 1730hrs

Built Environment Leaders Group is the place where leaders in the property and construction sector meet. A place to network with peers, clients, business leaders and national and local government representatives.

With an emphasis on enabling and developing business, we provide a forum where you can meet investors, developers and end-users (private and public sector) in a private environment.

When we can, we will revert to meeting physically – often at the magnificent Spencer House in London, but also at The House of Lords, members offices, sites, factories etc. For now, we are utilising the latest technology to provide an online leaders group experience, unlike any other. Monthly meetings on our conference platform, but daily communication via the leaders group conference app – now you can liaise with the other C-Suite members, online, when you want to.

Leaders Group is an exclusive C-Suite only opportunity for you and your company – every conversation can be a potential deal.

We invite only the highest level speakers to talk to you at Leaders Group and to join in the conversation. We have had recent speakers from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the House of Lords, the Bank of England, Network Rail, Scottish Government, British Land, One Public Estate, Department for International Trade, Transport for London. Bruntwood, the Mayor of London’s Office and Transport for the North.

Membership of Built Environment Leaders Group is by invitation only.

Current members include AECOM, Arden Cross, British Land, Canary Wharf Group, Cundall, England’s Economic Heartland, Gleeds, Godwin Developments, Grimshaw Architects, Hilton Hotels, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, Maber Architects, Morgan Sindall, Newforma, One Public Estate, Pagabo, Perfect Circle, Pick Everard, Rider Levett Bucknall, Royal Town Planning Institute, Sellafield, Stephen George & Partners, Sladen Estates, Transport for London, Transport for the North, Tiger Developments, UK Major Ports Group, Urban Splash, VU:CITY and Willmott Dixon.

You can see our current member companies below, and see more details in the Members tab above.



And below is an overview of some of our guest speakers and guest delegates.



Our current members are all regular attendees at the Built Environment Leaders Group gatherings. Here we take a look at some of our members…

We’ve been graced with some exceptional speakers at the Built Environment Leaders Group – and every month we attract some of the most influential names and business masterminds to speak. Here’s an overview of some of our past speakers:

British Land – Roger Madelin, Head of Canada Water

Roger is well known for his work at Argent – a firm he joined in 1987. In the years that followed he was responsible for the 67-acre King’s Cross development as well as others in Green Park and Thames Valley in Reading, Brindleyplace in Birmingham and Piccadilly in Manchester.

He joined British Land in February 2016 and jointly leads the development of Canada Water, a 53 acre £3bn development project in Central London which will see the creation of a new town. He is an Honorary Fellow of RIBA, an Honorary Fellow of the College of Estate Management and was awarded a CBE for ‘services to sustainable development’ in the 2007 Honours List.

Roger Madelin British Land

Barings – Kristina Arsenievich, Director, European Real Estate ESG

Canary Wharf Group are one of the leading developers across London – truly transforming the district. Kristina heads up the sustainability strategy and wellbeing framework.

Having started out her career as an engineer on the i360 Tower in Brighton she’s had huge success across a number of roles for firms including ZED Factory, Atkins, Elliott Wood and ARUP to name a few – before taking up her current position with CWG in 2019.

As one of the first to use BREEAM standard for their buildings CWG have always been one of the leading firms in the space and Kristina is pushing them even further in their bid for high sustainability in their buildings and communities.

Canary Wharf Group Kristina Arsenievich

Urban Splash – Tom Bloxham, Chairman

Tom Bloxham MBE is Chairman and major shareholder of award winning regeneration company Urban Splash, which has won 340 awards to date for architecture, regeneration, design and business success.

The firm is known for their eye-catching design, innovative approaches and game-changing partnerships which have seen them become a leading name in UK property and development.

Tom is chair of the Manchester International Arts Festival. In 2008 he was elected as Chancellor of the University of Manchester and is a trustee of the Manchester United Foundation Charity. In 2009 he was appointed by the Prime Minister as a Trustee of the Tate.

urban-splash

Tom-Bloxham

Crossrail 2 – Michéle Dix, Managing Director

Michèle is responsible for developing Crossrail 2 and gaining funding and powers for it. She is also a visiting professor for UCL and is chair of an international committee PRESCOM for the UITP which promotes public transport research and best practice globally.

Michèle started her career at the Greater London Council (GLC) after completing her PhD in transport and land use planning and became a chartered civil engineer through the GLC’s transport planning graduate scheme. She spent fifteen years in the private sector with Halcrow Fox becoming the board director for urban transport. She joined Transport for London (TfL) in 2000 as director of Congestion Charging on a job share basis with Malcolm Murray-Clark and Managing Director of Planning in 2007.

Michèle has led TfL’s strategic thinking on the future transport needs of London, testing and challenging solutions; providing clear direction on appropriate transport solutions for the future; responsible for the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and transport requirements for the Mayor’s 2050 Infrastructure Plan; coordinating the implementation of local plans and borough partnerships; and developing major scheme interchanges.

Infrastructure and Projects Authority – Stephen Dance, Director of Commercial Advisor Team

Stephen has worked on some of the most ambitious and critical infrastructure schemes that have been put forward across the UK over a number of years.

He heads up a team of commercial specialists, based in HM Treasury, that are actively deployed alongside government departments to provide strategic advice, experience and expertise on financing and delivery of complex major projects, principally in economic infrastructure and housing.

Stephen Dance Infrastructure Projects Authority

Scottish Government – Kat Feldinger, Head of Investment

Kat has been a shining light within the Scottish Government since starting out her career in 2006.

Having studied at the University of Edinburgh she started a role as Project and Policy Officer at the Government and has had a number of roles since – including Regional Policy Specialist and Senior Economic Policy Advisor.

Since 2018 her role has been to develop policy, focus, profile and marketing collateral to drive foreign direct and capital investment into Scotland as the Head of Investment.

Scottish Government Logo

Kat Feldinger Scottish Governmen

Network Rail – Sir Peter Hendy, Chair

Sir Peter Hendy has been the Chair of Network Rail since July 2015, and Chair of the London Legacy Development Corporation since July 2017. Sir Peter was previously Commissioner of Transport for London (TfL) since 2006, having served since 2001 as TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport. He led the successful operation of London’s transport for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Sir Peter Hendy

Harlow and Gilston Garden Town – Naisha Polaine, Director

Naisha is a Senior Advisor to the Department of International Trade working across the UK to identify large-capital opportunities ready for international investment. A property professional, she networks across Whitehall and the private sector and public sector to ensure that the best of the UK offer is promoted overseas. Naisha is also a Non-Executive Director for Cambridge University’s Board delivering the urban extension at North-West Cambridge ‘Eddington’.

 

Naisha Polaine

Employee Ownership Association (EOA) – Deb Oxley, CEO

As Chief Executive of the EOA since 2015, Deb leads engagement and campaigning to influence government and policy makers and to raise awareness of the relevance and importance of employee ownership to the UK economy.

In her role leading the EOA, the UK’s membership body for the employee owned sector, she has shaped the organisation’s business engagement and membership proposition through national events, regional networks and campaigns to raise awareness and celebrate a sector, which is growing by more than 10% a year for the past 5 years.

Deborah Oxley

BAME in Property – Priya Aggarwal-Shah, Founder of BAME in Property and Account Director at Grayling Engage

Her organisation is a group for BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicities) and non-BAME professionals who are passionate about increasing ethnic diversity in the property and planning sectors. Their aim is to support talented people of all backgrounds, encourage coming generations to venture into fulfilling careers, and inspire businesses to create a wave of positive change. Priya started the organisation after entering the industry and discovering the lack of BAME diversity – with just 1.2% of the industry made up of those from BAME backgrounds and she is now one of the UK’s leading voices in driving a more inclusive and diverse workplace.

TTL Properties – Peter Elliott, Head of Property Development

Head of Development with over fifteen years’ experience of working in all sectors of development, predominantly within private sector, but also public, taking projects from inception to completion. RICS, RIBA qualified, also with a P.dip in Planning, offer a rounded education of the development process.

With a solid track record of delivering projects to time and budget, including master planning, site purchase and land assembly, Compulsory Purchase Orders, planning, demolition and remediation, completion of development agreements, disposal of lease and licences, sale/purchase and overage agreements and direct construction in traditional/ D&B contracts from a client as well as contract administration role.

Transport for London tfl Logo

 

Peter Elliott Transport for London

One Public Estate Local Government Association – Ellen Vernon, Programme Director

Utilising my communication and strategy skills and public sector regeneration knowledge to lead the One Public Estate programme with Cabinet Office. The innovative OPE programme promotes collaboration between local and central government to accelerate public service efficiency and to release surplus public land for homes to meet England’s housing needs.

Ellen Vernon

House of Lords – Lord Kerslake, Advisory Group Chair, Member of the House of Lords, Chair of Peabody, Be First and Pagabo

Lord Kerslake is Chair of Peabody, Chair of the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS), Chair of London CIV, and is President-Elect of the Local Government Association.

A former Head of the Civil Service, Lord Kerslake led the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) from November 2010, stepping down in February 2015. Prior to his DCLG role, Lord Kerslake was the first Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency, where he was responsible for promoting new and affordable housing supply; supporting the regeneration of cities, towns and neighbourhoods; improving existing housing stock, and advancing sustainability and good design.

Before joining the Civil Service Lord Kerslake received a knighthood for his services to local government; spending eight years serving the London Borough of Hounslow and then a further 11 years leading Sheffield Council.

In early 2015, he was made a life peer, taking the title Baron Kerslake, of Endcliffe in the City of Sheffield.

Lord Kerslake

Future – Tom Cheesewright, Futurist Speaker

Tom is an applied futurist and one of the UK’s leading futurist speakers, commentators and consultants on technology and tomorrow.

He works with people and organisations to help them to deal with high frequency change, the result of a shrunken world of low friction communities.

He’s developed and proven three original tools for Foresight, Narrative Planning and Agile Organisation Design that he now licences to companies and individuals who recognise that we need a new way of doing business that is fit for a fast-changing world. He uses these tools in his own work, teaches them to students and executives, and licences them to various consultancies to use with their own clients.

Tom Cheesewright

LCR – Andrew Ferguson, Partnerships and Property Director

Andrew is a commercially astute development professional working for BoKlok – a new JV partnership between ikea and Skanska which is set to bring new homes to the UK in an innovative way.

He’s a strategic and adaptable proven leader with demonstrable expertise in acquisition, planning and partnerships – with a proven track record of delivering robust revenue growth. He’s passionate about leadership and being part of developing outcome driven teams.

Andrew Ferguson BoKlok

Mates in Mind – James Rudoni, Managing Director

James was recently appointed Managing Director of charity Mates in Mind – a new industry charity that has already seen real success. In the first year alone they reached almost 200,000 workers through more than 175 supporter and partner organisations – and their aim is to address mental health and wellbeing in the industry.

James has a successful track record of delivering strategic objectives, operational leadership and service innovation having previously been Director of RBLI Living, Royal British Legion Industries during which time he doubled the reach to beneficiaries, delivered RBLI’s first national charitable training programme which resulted in 83% of beneficiaries getting into sustained employment and created a welfare support model which offered a tailored programme of assistance to help the hardest-to-help into housing, healthcare, wellbeing and employment.

James-Rudoni

UK Major Ports Group – Tim Morris, Chief Executive

Tim joined the UK Major Ports Group from the communications consultancy Hanover, where he was the Director responsible for the energy and infrastructure practice. Prior to Hanover Tim spent eleven years in the steel industry with Tata Steel Europe and its successor companies, latterly as the Head of Public Affairs and interim Director of Corporate Communications. His prior roles in steel included those involving energy, environment and strategy.

Tim spent six years as a management consultant for McKinsey before joining the steel industry. He has degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Warwick.

 

Tim Morris UKMG

Special Appointment to the Mayor of London – Theo Blackwell, Chief Digital Officer

Appointed in 2017 as London’s first Chief Digital Officer, Theo leads on London-wide digital transformation, data and smart city initiatives at City Hall.

His role involves strategic leadership on the digital transformation agenda for London’s public services, across the GLA group and the wider public sector, convening on behalf of the Mayor, across London local government to support the take-up of innovative, technology, and data-led approaches to service delivery and public engagement and developing and promoting partnership between the public, private and community sectors to enable and support the development of new public service-oriented technology and innovation.

 

 

PD Ports – Geoff Lippitt, Group Business Development Director

Geoff joined PD Ports as Business Development Director in 2011. A marketing graduate from Salford University, Geoff started his career as Transport Controller for Overseas Containers Limited (OCL).

Geoff has over 30 years’ experience in the logistics and transport industry with a background in operational and general management, as well as in business development. His experience includes senior appointments in the shipping and ports logistics sectors, and more recently with Kuehne + Nagel, where he held the position of Vice President, Global Business Development. During his career, Geoff has also worked at ABP, BOC and a number of other major logistics businesses in senior role.

In his role at PD Ports, Geoff is responsible for driving the commercial business development activities across the Company. He has been instrumental in driving forward relationships with Transport for North and continues to play a key role in lobbying for critical improvements to UK transport infrastructure as part of the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

Bounce Back Project – Francesca Findlater, Chief Executive

Social entrepreneur and CEO of Bounce Back Foundation a registered charity and social enterprise. It is a National charity specialising in training and employment of ex-offenders who are employed within its own painting and decorating social enterprise, now a 40 strong team working around London and the Home Counties, working for diverse clients including major construction companies, local authorities, housing associations and private residential properties.

Bounce Back evolved from a CSR project within the brand design consultancy, Ricochet, in 2011 and has grown year on year. It still maintains creative projects at its heart and has a number of ongoing initiatives in this area. My years of experience in brand development and global marketing has led to advising other charities in the sector with those skills and in addition working with community organisations to explore ways to communicate their values.

Specialities: Application of brand and design strategy to the charity sector, event organisation and management in the arts and design industries and exploring creative ways to change perception and drive employment in the criminal justice sector.

Bounce Back Project

Francesca Findlater

Ipsos Mori – Ben Page, CEO

Ben Page is Chief Executive of Ipsos MORI. He was one of the leaders of its first management buyout in 2000. A frequent writer and speaker on trends, leadership and performance management, he has directed thousands of surveys examining consumer trends and citizen behaviour. Follow on Twitter: @benatipsosmori

From 1987-1992 Ben worked in our private sector business on corporate reputation and consumer research, working for companies like Shell, BAE Systems, Sky TV and IBM. Since 1992 he has worked closely with both Conservative and Labour ministers and senior policy makers across government, leading on work for Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office and the Department of Health, as well as a wide range of local authorities and NHS Trusts.

He became Chief Executive of Ipsos in the UK and Ireland in 2009.

Ben is Visiting Professor at Kings College London and a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is a Fellow of the Market Research Society.

He serves on advisory groups at the Kings Fund the Social Market Foundation (SMF), and is a Trustee at the Centre for London and at the Centre for Ageing Better, as well as a patron of Create Streets. He recently served as a commissioner on the Resolution Foundation’s Intergenerational Commission. He is a Council member of the CBI for London. Ben was named one of GQ’s 100 Most Connected Men of 2015.
He regularly appears on national TV and radio programmes.

Ben Page

Bank of England – Rob Elder, Agent

The Bank’s eyes and ears around London. Gathering intelligence from the Bank’s business contacts, and feeding that into the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Also giving presentations on the Bank’s policies to our contacts.

Rob Elder

Transport for the North – Martin Tugwell, Chief Executive

Highly skilled policy and political professional with 20 years experience working as a senior member of corporate management teams in complex environments at national and local level. A specialist in transport and infrastructure planning whose strategic vision provides nationally recognised leadership.

Outstanding ability to assimilate, analyse and evaluate information across a wide range of policy areas, and to then develop a unifying narrative that underpins strategic policy development. Challenges perceived wisdom, focused on delivering outcomes with the ability to develop innovative approaches when necessary.

Flexible in approach and used to dealing with new responsibilities, consistently delivers practical results within demanding deadlines. Thrives working in creative environments, producing innovative solutions that develop the business offer and maintain competitive advantage.

England's Economic Heartland

Martin Tugwell

Institute of Business Ethics – Philippa Foster Back CBE, Director

Philippa has 30 years of business experience, having begun her career at Citibank. Following 9 years at Bowater, leaving as Group Treasurer, she became Group Finance Director at DG Gardner Group, a training organisation. She joined Thorn EMI in 1993 as Group Treasurer until 2000. She was appointed Director of the IBE in 2001. She stepped down in April 2020 and was appointed a member of IBE’s International Advisory Council.

She joined the Board of the FICC Financial Markets Standards Board in June 2020 and sits on the Boards of Barrier Biotech Ltd and that of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, from which she will step down in July 2020 after 9 years in the role. She is a Visiting Fellow of the Said Business School at Oxford University and Honorary Fellow of the IoD, APM, and The Governance Institute. In May 2020 she was appointed to the Stakeholder Panel of the Finance Leasing Association and the PRCA Ethics Council.

She chairs the Antarctic Place Names Committee and is former chairman of the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust and South Georgia Heritage Trust.

Philippa was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours 2006 for services to the Ministry of Defence and in July 2008 was awarded the BITC Marks & Spencer Sieff Award. In the 2014 New Years Honours she was awarded a CBE for services to Antarctic Heritage. In 2020 she was honoured by the Business Ethics Alliance in Omaha with their Beacon Of Ethics Award. She holds Honorary Degrees from the University of Warwick and the Open University.

Philippa Foster Back CBE

British Antarctic Survey – Simon Garrod, Director of Operations & Engineering

The ritish Antarctic Survey (BAS), an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the Polar Regions.

Simon has over 25 years in the sector working on numerous field operations.

 

 

Spaceflight Academy – Angela Richardson, Managing Director

With a mission to bring affordable, accessible, commercial Spaceflight training and adventure experiences to the public, Angela helms a team that collaborates with industry, government and academic institutions to ensure the UK is at the bulwark of space exploration. Heavily involved with the prospective development of “spaceport Snowdonia” she will talk about making Wales the premier destination for European Space tourism while continuing to look for new sites to grow the academy.

RSBGi – Rupert Robinson, Managing Director

Experienced Director with over 25 years demonstrated history of working in the investment real estate and infrastructure market. Skilled in; Investment Strategies, Investment Operations, Asset Management and Operations, Investment Management, Investment Administration, Risk and Compliance and Partnerships.

Strong professional with a strategic, financial, operations and corporate governance management focus, having invested, operated, advised and served as a board member on regulated and non-regulated organisations in the UK, France and Germany with Investment Institutions, Private Equity, State-Owned Enterprises and Sovereign Wealth Funds.

RSBGi

Rupert Robinson

Center for European Reform – Charles Grant, Director

Charles Grant helped to found the Centre for European Reform in 1996. In January 1998 he left The Economist to become the CER’s first – and so far only – director. He is the author of numerous CER reports, including Russia, China and global governance (2012), How to build a modern European Union (2013) and Relaunching the EU (2017). He works on, among other subjects, Britain’s relationship with the EU, the future of the European Union, EU foreign policy, Russia and China.

Center for European Reform

Charles Grant

UWTSD Swansea & Cardiff – Ian Walsh, Professor

Professor Ian Walsh BA(Hons), PhD, FRSA obtained his first degree in 3D Design from the University of Wales, Newport in 1988 and his PhD entitled ‘nurturing innovation in industrial design – quantifying innovation propensity in industrial design by means of a novel innovation trait index’ from the University of Wales, Swansea in 2008. Ian is currently Dean of Swansea College of Art at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Ian is also Director of the Institute for Sustainable Design and Principal Investigator for the Cerebra Innovation Centre. He has over 25 years experience as a designer, academic and researcher and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) Ian’s current research interests include the role of design thinking in assisted living and nurturing innovation in individuals and organisations.

Smart Cities – Julia Thomson, Policy Lead at Greater London Authority

Julia oversees the Mayor’s Smart London Together roadmap and advises the Chief Digital Officer in utilising data and technology to meet the needs of Londoners. Julia is interested in how technology can improve city services and spaces for a diverse range of people, and the role of government in shaping the use of emerging technologies. She has over 10 years’ experience working across a wide range of public policy areas in both London and Melbourne. With a Master of Urban Planning and a Bachelor of Science, Julia sees technology as one of the key tools that policy makers can use when working in the built environment, and takes a collaborative, cross-disciplinary and inclusive approach to smart cities policy.

Greater London Authority

Six Miles Across London (SMALL) – Ricky Sandhu, Founder & Director

Six Miles Across London (SMALL) is committed to solving the challenges our cities, planet and population faces today and in the future. Ricky and his team are committed to making Urban Air Mobility a reality and have partnered with Hyundai Air Mobility, Cambridge Science Park and others to create an Urban Air Mobility ecosystem in the UK and around the world.

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Regeneration and Development, House of Commons – Gagan Mohindra MP, Chair and MP

Gagan attended KCL before spending a few years at a large European Investment Bank in London, before working for his family business including property development leaving in 2015. In his roles as a Councillor, Gagan has “sat” on planning committees and his most recent District Council role was as Chairman of a Planning Committee. At County Council he was Cabinet Member for Economic Development and more recently Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Housing. Gagan was elected as the MP for South West Hertfordshire in December 2019 and founded and is the Chairman of the APPG for Regeneration and Development.

Membership of Built Environment Leaders Group is by invitation only. Membership is for your companies C-Suite only. Please contact Keith Griffiths, Managing Director of Built Environment Networking Ltd for more information.

Keith’s contact number: 07590751638

Keith’s email address: keith.griffiths@built-environment-networking.com

This event will take place via Zoom – keeping the industry leaders talking and connecting during uncertain times when face-to-face meetings aren’t possible. Numerous senior board representatives from some of the UK’s leading firms will be brought together virtually for a stimulating discussion with exceptional opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking, and thought provoking content.

We’ll also hear from some influential figures who’ll deliver inspirational and inspiring speeches to stimulate discussion and sharing their expertise.

Agenda:

1500 – 1530 Optional early networking

1530 – 1600 Round the table Introductions

1600 – 1615 Victoria Hills, RTPI, Planning Update

1615 – 1630 Q&A with Victoria

1630 – 1700 Discussion around the UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum

  • Pros and Cons of MIPIM
  • Sustainability issues
  • Diversity
  • What people want to see form a UK Antidote to MIPIM Conference

1700 – 1715 Future Plans for Built Environment Leaders Group

  • Specifically asking members what they want to achieve through Leaders group

1715 – 1730 Round the table Q&A

For information on joining this event click the Join Leaders Group tab above.