Plenary Speakers

Ravi Chand CBE QPM Chartered Fellow CIPD

Director
Office of Government Property, Cabinet Office

Ravi Chand is the Director for Civil Service People and Places Directorate in The Cabinet Office where he leads the government’s Places for Growth Portfolio. Before the Cabinet Office, Ravi was the Chief People Officer at the Department for International Development (DFID), holding responsibility for people, operations, IT and systems, estates and change.

He was previously the HR director at HM Revenue and Customs with responsibility for workforce management of its 69,000 staff. He led the work on reforming the workforce to deliver the department’s blueprint ambitions for the future. He also worked as the director responsible for capability, talent and diversity at the Home Office, Managing Consultant in a FTSE 100 company and as a serving Police Officer with Bedfordshire Police.

He was awarded a CBE in 2011 and QPM in 2002 for distinguished service..

Ravi is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Mark Chivers

Government Chief Property Officer
Cabinet Office

Mark joined the Cabinet Office as Government Chief Property Officer in January 2022.

Mark is responsible for providing senior, strategic leadership for the whole cross-government property function. He works with a wide range of senior stakeholders within government and in the wider public sector promoting the intelligent use of property to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer.

Mark provides strategic leadership for the Government Property Function, and holds senior leaders accountable to the Government Functional Standard. He leads on major change programmes, supporting the delivery of better and more integrated public services, overseeing – among others – the Places for Growth programme and supporting the Levelling Up agenda.

Mark has 20 years’ experience at Board level in both the private and public sectors, most recently as Director of Estates Engineering and Energy at Boots UK, but has led teams across Property, Marketing, Procurement, Operations and Transformation in Walgreens Boots Alliance businesses.

Lynda Rawsthorne

Government Head of Property Profession
Cabinet Office

Lynda Rawsthorne was appointed Government Head of Property Profession and Director, Property Capability, Sponsorship & Standards, in August 2023.

Lynda is head of the Government Property Profession, the community of property professionals across government. She provides professional leadership across a diverse range of government departments and arms-length bodies which deliver the government’s property ambitions.

Lynda has over 25 years’ professional experience across the property lifecycle including valuation, managing estates as well as delivering transformational and construction-based programmes. A Fellow of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Association of Project Management, Lynda is a graduate of the Major Project Leadership Academy at the University of Oxford.

Andy Mills

Sector Director for Central Government
Equans

Andy has been Sector Director for Central Government at Equans since March 2023.

He has 32 years’ experience with Central Government, with over 20 in the Government Property Profession. As an established Property Leader, he worked closely with the Office of Government Property, such as Chairing Central Government’s FM Taskforce in 2021/2022.

Andy was the Chief Property Officer for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) up to January 2023, leading property services for the MoJ and the Home Office across a £8bn complex operational property portfolio (c2000 properties), with a diverse customer base. He specialised in Commercial, Facilities Management, Project Delivery (including capital project delivery), Estate Management and Sustainability.

In his current role, Andy will use his experience and his understanding of the complexities and challenges of managing Central Government property (and associated relationships) to prioritise and continually develop Equans partnerships across Central Government, ensuring that we understand and deliver to departmental priorities (such as sustainability and social value) and put end users at the heart of our service delivery.

Work Session & Panel Speakers

Tom Allen

Head of Consultancy
SCAPE

Tom is a former partner of a 400 strong national multi-disciplinary built environment design practice. A chartered architect by profession, he has spent more than 35 years in the construction industry and now leads on consultancy at Scape.

Tom has extensive experience in feasibility, design and project management across almost all sectors, and particularly for Military, Education, Healthcare and Commercial clients. He has also worked in Europe, China and Vietnam. An early pioneer of low carbon design, Tom has always been a sustainability advocate and an active participant in Scape’s successful drive to integrate Net Zero deliverables into all their frameworks. Married with three adult children and two grandchildren, he is also a keen tennis player

Mark Baptist

Associate Director for Strategy
Amey

Mark Baptist’s career has been focused on supporting organisations to develop and maintain innovative business practices focused on systematic improvements, putting people and users at the centre of decision making.

He applies that approach to the sustainability space to develop practical pathways for organisations and society to deal with the impacts of climate change and embrace the opportunities provided by the energy transition. Prior to his strategic advisory role, Mark led Amey’s carbon and sustainability practice.

Mark’s expertise spans sustainability innovation, climate action, aligning strategy and culture, behavioural change, mentoring and resilience building.

Dominic Brankin

Workplace Services Director
Government Property Agency

Dominic (Dom) Brankin joined the Government Property Agency (the GPA) in January 2019 as its Workplace Services Director.

Dom is responsible for creating and managing workplaces across the UK that nurture productivity and wellbeing, and engender a sense of community, while achieving greater value for money and improved performance efficiencies. This includes leading teams to deliver workplace services such as facilities management and workplace experience, as well as research, insight and business change.

Dom also led the team responsible for the Agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dom has over 30 years experience in the Civil Service. He joined the GPA from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) where he led the Workplace and Transformation agenda. Prior to this, Dom worked in operations, corporate services and project delivery at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP): leading customer services delivery in Jobcentre Plus regions; covering financial strategy, HR and marketing; and delivering welfare reform through major transformation programmes.

Sue Brown

Managing Director
Real Estate Balance

Sue Brown is managing director for Real Estate Balance, a campaigning organisation working to improve diversity and inclusion in the real estate industry. Sue has four decades of business, property and economic-development experience.

Sue joined Real Estate Balance in April 2020 from London First, where she was executive director with responsibility for property, planning, the environment and development since 2016. Sue started her career in government, serving as a senior advisor in a variety of high-profile roles, before going on to establish her own real estate consultancy.

Sue was a driving force behind the launch of MIPIM, the world’s largest real estate investment conference that takes place each year in Cannes. Sue was the co-founder and co-chair of REWIRE, the network for women in property. At the EG Awards in October 2023, Sue won the ‘Outstanding Individual Award’ in recognition for her services to the property industry.

Lesha Chetty

Business Unit Director – Local Government and Communities
Mace

Lesha is a Business Unit Director at Mace Consult. She leads a multidisciplinary team of consultants managing projects and programmes across the Cities and Places market.

She provides a unique blend of strategic and project delivery advice to provide clients with an integrated service offer focussed on outcomes. These include major transformational place regeneration in towns, cities and regions and sustainability programmes that support the route to net zero. She has also successfully run her own small management consulting practice in the UK and in South Africa.  Lesha is a recipient of the Women of the Future award for Real estate, Engineering and Construction in 2023.

Chris Clarke

Director of Performance and Improvement
SCAPE

Chris joined SCAPE in 2015, with over 15 years’ of diverse experience working in Local Government, including leadership of organisational change and service improvement as well as capital programme and energy efficiency delivery in the built environment sector.

As Director of Performance and Improvement, Chris is responsible for environmental and social value policy and performance measurement, as well as providing strategic input into the improvement of SCAPE’s service offering and the development of new products. He is also responsible for our group Risk Management strategy, infrastructure and systems.

Chris is a steering group member for the Construction Leadership Council’s Carbon Reduction Code, and co-convenor of the sustainability group at the National Association of Construction Frameworks. Chris holds an MSc in Public Leadership and Management and is the proud father of two children.

James Conlin

Technical Director and Chair of the Global Technical Network for Asset Management & Operations
AtkinsRéalis

James is a Technical Director and Chair of the Global Technical Network for Asset Management & Operations at AtkinsRéalis. James is also the Chair of the Faculty for the Institute of Asset Management and a member of the Advisory Board for the Institute of Infrastructure and Environment at Heriot Watt University.

In his position as Technical Director, James informs, develops and influences people’s understanding and their relationship with Asset Management. Helping shape how clients can better utilise the assets they own and derive greater value financially whilst also making more sustainable decisions for the future. A specialist in asset management strategy James helps his clients make informed decisions, driving value at each stage of the asset life-cycle. James as a passion for infrastructure asset management and believes it is critical to a holistic approach to sustainable development.

James has been intrinsically involved in the Institute of Asset Management’s ‘Unlocking Value’ programme, including the creation of the accompanying video with ITN: Unlocking Value – ITN Business.

Hannah Davis

Director and Head of Strategic Asset Management
AtkinsRéalis

Hannah is the Director and Team Lead for our Asset Management Consultancy team. With 20 years of working across the globe, Hannah has extensive international experience in sustainable asset management strategy and transformation, procurement and technical due diligence. She drives value for money and efficiencies whilst maintaining focus on ESG requirements for a broad range of clients across the public and private sectors.

Hannah is an award-winning surveyor (Woman of the Future for Property, Real Estate and Construction 2015), she is a member of the RICS Strategic Facilities Management Board and a guest lecturer on facilities management at UCL.

Last year, Hannah, along with colleagues, wrote the British Council for Offices ESG Paper “What is the Role of Offices in Our Society” which highlighted the variety of challenges facing office-based organisations on their ESG journey.

Jonathan Easthope

Head of Professional Development for the Government Property Profession
Cabinet Office

Jonathan works for the Cabinet Office as the Head of Professional Development for the Government Property Profession, a cross government collective of 7,600 property professionals across over 200 departments and agencies

Jonathan is responsible for championing, setting strategy and leading the operational delivery of the early talent and accreditation offer for the Government Property Profession. In role, Jonathan has overseen significant expansion in apprenticeship programme participation across government, and successful delivery of the Government Estate Strategy KPI target of 250 property apprenticeships starts by 2022.

He has also led the creation and delivery of the Property Fast Stream programme. Aligned to the award-winning Civil Service Fast Stream, this innovative four-year leadership programme, provides candidates with the opportunity to gain a property qualification and accreditation with IWFM or RICS whilst working on key government buildings and programmes.

In addition to capability development, Jonathan has over 20 years’ property professional experience across the property lifecycle including valuation and managing estates in both private and public sectors.

Although North West based, Jonathan has worked nationally both in capability and property roles. Outside of work, Jonathan balances an active family life with a love of vinyl records and Morecambe FC.

David Healey

Professor in Practice, Keele University
Managing Director of Smart Grid Solutions

For over 30 years, David has held influential “Strategic and Thought Leadership” positions across the energy utility, telecommunications and climate change industries on a global scale. Today through Smart Grid Solutions Limited, David guides public and private sector stakeholders on the energy industry transition to a decarbonised, digital, distributed and democratised system.

In 2017 David was appointed as Professor in Practice at Keele University to support to their unique Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) project, Europe’s first at scale fully integrated Smart Energy project.

Marie Leaphard

Partner
Rider Levett Bucknall

Marie Leaphard is a Partner at Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB). Vice Chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors South East Board and a Member of the Association for Project Managers, Marie’s wealth of experience and skills is drawn from roles working as a Project Quantity Surveyor and being a qualified Joiner by trade.

Working across public and commercial sectors for 30+ years, Marie supports clients to successfully manage construction projects and deliver best value. Driven by a passion to find better ways of working, Marie excels in team leadership and collaboration, using her vocational route into industry to bring cognitive diversity to a project team.

Rick Lawrence

Partnerships Director
LCR Property

Rick Lawrence is a Chartered Surveyor with over 35 years’ experience in the property industry.

At LCR (the UK Government-owned placemaking and regeneration experts), Rick is Partnerships Director, where he leads on establishing partnerships with local authorities and Network Rail to deliver new placemaking and mixed-use regeneration opportunities across the country.

He previously acted as Partnerships Director for Places for People, leading long-term placemaking and regeneration projects for Runnymede Borough Council, including a £90 million mixed-use scheme in Egham town centre. Prior to this, he spent 18 years with Land Securities / Telereal Trillium, where he was responsible for overseeing joint venture partnerships with public sector organisations including the Department for Work and Pensions, the DVLA and Central Bedfordshire Council.

Karl Limbert

Director of Strategy
Equans

Karl began his career in an intelligence role before taking up senior positions in both central and local government.

During the 2010’s Karl successfully led several large public private partnership programmes in the regeneration, education, and energy sectors, before being appointed as Director of Property for the London Borough of Kingston Upon Thames.

Karl joined ENGIE in 2017 as Commercial Development Director before being promoted into his current role as Director of Strategy for EQUANS UK & Ireland in 2019.

A proud product of several ‘bog standard’ comprehensive schools, he is a graduate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, an Academician at the Academy of Urbanism, a Fellow of the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy and is currently undertaking research into AI at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence.

Outside of work, Karl enjoys trail running, gravel biking, and snowboarding.

Gavin Mason

Director
Pick Everard (Perfect Circle)

Gavin Mason is a Director at Pick Everard and comes from a cost management background. Gavin has worked on some of the UK’s highest profile construction programmes, and on projects which have directly led to the long-term improvement of the local area including the King’s Cross Redevelopment Programme and Woolwich Works.

In recent years Gavin has used his commercial experience to assist local authorities with the challenge of securing value and viability in an ever more complex planning and funding environment.  Gavin currently manages and oversees full multi-disciplinary teams and is currently working with the London Borough of Islington on their Finsbury Leisure and Residential programme.

Jason McEwen

Portfolio & Programme Management Director, Capital Projects
 Government Property Agency

Jason is a leader in real estate investment and delivery strategies across workplaces, regeneration, SMART buildings and ESG, and will play a key role in our capital investment programme. He brings over 20 years experience to the GPA from leading private sector property specialists such as Legal & General, CBRE, LendLease and Mace.

Jason has a wealth of experience leading complex and high-end strategic property portfolios across the UK and Australia. His most recent position was as Programme Director for insurance giant Legal & General where he delivered a state-of-the art energy and technology leading scheme, ‘The Interchange’ in Cardiff which comprised 120,000 sq ft, eight-storey office space for 2,200 L&G employees.

Jason has previously held a variety of leadership roles including working for property consultancy CBRE, where he headed the project management function for the North. This included some of the North West of England’s most prestigious development schemes such as ID Manchester, St  Helens Town Centre redevelopment and the regeneration of Oldham Town Centre.

Prior to that, Jason was Head of Portfolios, Programmes and Projects at the The Co-operative

Group and was an Assistant Director with renowned accountancy firm EY where he led

Transformation and Infrastructure Programmes for the likes of Lloyds Banking Group, RBS,

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Amos Simbo

Managing Director
BPIC Network

Amos Simbo is the founder of BPIC Network (Built Environment Inclusion) and Winway Group a fitout M&E services specialist contractor

After graduating from Loughborough University with a Mechanical Engineering degree, he started working in construction as a trainee Projects Engineer. He has since moved on within the industry ranks as a Technical Services Manager and has been running Winway and BPIC Network since leaving full time employment to run his own businesses.

BPIC Network (www.bpicnetwork.com )  serves as an inclusion hub in the built environment, operating both as a network and consultancy. We foster collaboration with individuals and industry organizations, working collectively to enhance representation and advocate for inclusion best practices.

Our consultancy services encompass talent acquisition, career advancement, inclusion guidance, social outcomes, and curated networking events.  This support is made possible by our team of subject matter experts, each excelling in their respective fields. Together, we are dedicated to shaping an industry that thrives on diversity and provides meaningful opportunities for those currently engaged or aspiring to contribute to its dynamic landscape.

Winway Group (www.winwayservices.com ) having started as a small design consultancy has now gone on to be a mechanical and electrical installation business within the construction and real estate market in London. Through sustainable growth, Winway looks to expand across London and the UK and implement sustainable solutions to better enable easier and more accessible ways to engage with experts.

Nazar Soofi

Head of Sustainability and Decarbonisation
 Eddisons

Nazar Soofi, former Head of Decarbonisation and Planning Maintenance at Leeds City Council, has joined Eddisons to offer his valuable experience and skills to more UK public sector organisations. By volume, Nazar has one of the most successful track records in securing and delivering Salix PSDS funding with his work at LCC.

With an extensive background in successfully delivering high-profile, fast-track mega projects over the last 25 years, Nazar Soofi has transitioned his vast experience and versatile skillsets to champion the ambitious Net Zero goals of the UK.

Nazar has a remarkable track record, having delivered over £50 million in Salix PSDS-funded projects for Leeds City Council since 2021. He helped to transform over 80 sites, moving them from fossil fuels to renewable resources. This contribution will influence sustainable practices for years.

A thought leader in the field, Nazar has been a keynote speaker for Salix roadshows, sharing his insights and knowledge. Additionally, he has facilitated workshops guiding public sector bodies in Salix PSDS-funded projects.

At Eddisons, Nazar leverages his skills beyond Leeds. Collaborating with public and private sector organisations, he is dedicated to steering widespread decarbonisation efforts, contributing to the realisation of sustainable and environmentally conscious practices on a larger scale.

Stephanie Walters

Regional Director and Central Government Sector Lead
AtkinsRéalis PPS

Throughout Stephanie’s 15 years with AtkinsRéalis, her people focus and desire to encourage positive change across the business has always been clear. Stephanie has recently been appointed as our National Sector Lead for Central Government having previously been an Account Lead for one of our Key Central Government clients alongside her role as a people and culture leader for the business.

She is a Chartered Building Surveyor by background and has extensive experience in technical multi-disciplinary delivery across Central Government, Education, Local Government and Commercial sectors.

Her focus is to support our Central Government clients in the development, maintenance and operation of fit for purpose, agile facilities and provide sustainable places for Civil Servants and their customers to work for a better future.

Speakers here soon…

More speakers here soon…

Speakers, agenda and times may be subject to change