22 - 24 May 2024

Welcome to Birmingham

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority

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.

Starting on the John Lewis graduate scheme, Andy rose through the ranks to become Managing Director, overseeing one of the most successful periods in the company’s history.

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.

Plenary 1: Regeneration through Partnership Working

• Chair: Dav Bansal, Howells Architects
• Maggie Grogan, Managing Director, Muse Midlands
• Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, Aston University
• Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of Birmingham

Plenary 2: Same Old, Sam Old, or New Dawn Breaking?

• Chair: Richard Kauntze, Chief Executive, British Council for Offices
• Stephen Bush, Columnist and Associate Editor, The Financial Times
• Caroline Wheeler, Political Editor, The Sunday Times

Plenary 3: The Impact of Tech and the Creative Sector on Future Workspace

• Chair: Kris Krokosz, Director, squaredot
• Alexandra King, Lecturer, Birmingham City University
• Leah Jones, Interim Deputy Director Workplace Experience, Government Property Agency
• Andrew Martin, Director, Workplace Design & Delivery EMEA & India, Google
• Tim Oldman, Founder and CEO, Leesman
• James Watts, Birmingham Office Leader, Arup

Plenary 4: AI - Impact on Property and Construction

• Chair: Dale Sinclair, Director, Head of Digital Innovation, WSP
• Zachary Denning, Head of Product Sustainability, JLL Hank
• Hannah Critchlow, Neuroscientist, University of Cambridge

TOUR 1 | Paradise

TOUR 2 | One Centenary Way and Arup

Thursday 23 May, 14:00 - 15:45 & 16:00 - 17:45

TOUR 3 | 103 Colmore

TOUR 4 | 55 Colmore Row

TOUR 5 | 10 Brindleyplace

TOUR 6 | HSBC + The Exchange

TOUR 7 | Assay Studios

TOUR 8 | Cornerblock

TOUR 9 | Enterprise Wharf

TOUR 10 | City Centre Walks: Markets, Manufacturing & Listed Buildings

TOUR 11 | STEAMHouse

TOUR 12 | Digbeth Walking Tour

TOUR 13 | Billiards Building - 134 Edmund Street

TOUR 14 | HMRC - 3 Arena Central

SEMINAR 1 | The Future of Offices: The human in the machine, is the future of the workplace?

• Chair: Alex Slatter, Associate, Associated Architects
• Mike Brooman, CEO, Vanti
• Rachel Swann, CEO, UMA
• Karen Warner, Associate Director, Arup
• Steve Townsend, Director, Associated Architects

SEMINAR 2 | Culture shaped workplace, the future of the office

• Chair: Oliver Hall, Make Architects / BCO NextGen London and Southeast Chair
• Graeme Hart, Director of Consultancy, MCM
• More tbc

SEMINAR 3 | Social and environmental value in development

• Chair: Guy Battle, CEO Social Value Network
• Rachel Dickie, Executive Director, Investments
• Selina Mason, Director of Masterplanning & Strategic Design, Lendlease
• Deborah Saunt, Founding Director, DSDHA

SEMINAR 4 | Life Science

• Chair: Anna Strongman, CEO, Oxford University Development
• Colin Brown, Development Director, Mission Street
• Seb Denby, Partner, CreativePlaces
• Chris Walters, Head of UK Life Science, JLL

SEMINAR 5 | Birmingham Office Market

• Chair: Scott Rutherford, Partner, Cushman & Wakefield
• Charles Toogood, Principal & Managing Director, National Offices and Lease Advisory Team
• Nick Woodward, Executive Director, CBRE, Investment Properties
• Tim Webb, Senior Development Manager, Kier Property

SEMINAR 6 | Retrofit vs Redevelopment: The New Dilemma in Achieving Net Zero

• Chair: Katy Lightbody, Senior Director, Heritage & Townscape, Turley
• Alex Edwards, Sustainability Director, Bruntwood
• Anna Hollyman, Senior Sustainability Advisor, UK Green Building Council
• Steve Toon, Design Director, Akt II
• Richmal Wigglesworth, Associate Partner, Sheppard Robson

Dav Bansal

Dav has been with Howells since 1999 and became a Partner in 2015. He leads the Birmingham studio and oversees the design of major urban regeneration projects including Birmingham’s Paradise development in the city’s civic heart, along with the Curzon/HS2 and Martineau Galleries masterplans in the east.

He has significant experience in residential and commercial sectors including award-winning schemes such as One St Peter’s Square and 125 Deansgate, Manchester and Two Chamberlain Square, One Centenary Way and Port Loop in Birmingham.

Dav is driven by a passion for developing regional towns and cities to meet their potential and to ensure they play their role in the UK, promoting healthy environments, active movement and quality of place. His integrity of exploring ideas to make places for landscaping and buildings is considered both at macro and micro scales.

He regularly sits on awards panels, including the RIBA National, International Awards and Stirling Prize shortlisting, and as a judge for the Housing Design Awards, AT Test of Time, AJ Awards and BD Architect of the Year. Dav regularly speaks on topics that are important to him and he writes a regular column for Building Design from a regional design perspective.

In his voluntary capacity, Dav is on the Board of Directors for B:Music, Vice-Chair of Open City and a member of the WM Town Centre Task Force.  In a design review expertise role, Dav is a member of Design:Midlands, the Tower Hamlets Quality Review Panel and the HS2 Independent Design Panel.

Guy Battle

Guy Battle is passionate about the contribution that business can make to improve our society. This has been one of the driving motivations behind Social Value Portal, which he set up in 2015 to provide an online solution for measuring, procuring, and managing social value.

Guy is also the creator of the National Social Value Measurement Framework (The National TOMs) that have become the most widely used methodology for measuring and reporting social value in the public sector. Outside of his work with SVP, Guy chairs the ESG committee for the British Council for Offices, focusing on environmental sustainability within office developments, and also chairs Riversimple, a zero-emissions mobility solution that builds and operates a growing fleet of hydrogen-electric vehicles.

Mike Brooman

Mike Brooman is CEO of Vanti, an award-winning creative technology company and Master Systems Integrator that designs and engineers intelligent technological solutions, transforming buildings into spaces that support, enable, and empower people.

Mike has worked across every RIBA stage (concept to in-use) on major design and integration projects for a variety of clients including British Land, Informa plc, Tottenham Hotspur, and Canary Wharf, using cutting-edge technologies and a holistic methodology to help those organisations achieve their business goals. By championing an approach that puts the user at the core of building technology design, Mike focuses on creating extraordinary user experiences within the built environment.

Colin Brown

Colin is one of the UK’s leading commercial science developers with invaluable experience in leading the design, development and leasing of innovation buildings and campuses. Since his first building for the University of Bedfordshire in 2007, Colin has built up a significant track record in development for Research and Innovation buildings.

He joined Mission Street after 10 years at the Howard Group, a leading Cambridge property company, where he specialised in master-planning, design and delivery – this included leading the development of Unity Campus, Cambridge (a new 260k sf Research and Innovation campus).

Stephen Bush

Stephen Bush is a Columnist and Associate Editor at The Financial Times (FT). Before joining the FT, Stephen wrote for the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph and the New Statesman.

Stephen studied history at Oxford, and was a member of the University Labour Club (where he was a supporter of Andy Burnham’s campaign to lead the party).

Together with print journalism, Stephen makes regular television appearances, including on Newsnight.  In 2015, Stephen was tipped as an outsider to succeed Nick Robinson as BBC Political Editor, a post which finally went to Laura Kuenssberg.

Hannah Critchlow

Dr Hannah Critchlow is an internationally-acclaimed neuroscientist, broadcaster, author and Fellow at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. Best known for demystifying the human brain, she has appeared on BBC, ABC and Korean TV and Radio, notably in the Great Minds Series, Tomorrow's World Live and BBC Radio 4's Destiny and the Brain.

Hannah has also experienced great success with her publications: Consciousness: A Ladybird Expert Guide was published with Penguin in 2018, and the following year The Science of Fate (Hodder, 2019) received international press coverage and made the Sunday Times Bestseller List. Her most recent book, Joined-Up Thinking, was published by Hodder in 2022 to critical acclaim.

In 2022 Hannah received an Honorary Doctorate from Brunel University for her work in neuroscience and communication, and in 2019 was named by Nature as one of their 'Rising Stars in Life Sciences'. She was recognised as a 'Top 100 UK Scientist' by the UK Science Council in 2014 and named as one of Cambridge University's most 'inspirational and successful women in science' for her work in science communication.

Seb Denby

Seb is a Partner at Creative Places, which is a specialist R&D real estate consultancy.  Seb combines his understanding of academic, research and R&D occupier needs with commercial property, place making and investment know-how to source and create demand.

Seb primarily focuses on the firm’s agency instructions working with a range of clients to aid laboratory specification discussions in the case of development or repurposing, understand the scientific, research and academic ecosystem that may exist in the locality, through to agreeing commercial terms.

Zachary Denning 

Zach Denning is founder of JLL Hank, the virtual AI engineer for the digital age building HVAC. Reducing energy consumption and costs whilst improving comfort.

Zach qualified in Mechanical Engineering from California Maritime Academy and with a decade of experience in the building controls and integration industry working with the biggest names including Schneider and Controlco & Western.

He will speak about this system and use case studies to show how it has been effective on buildings managed by JLL, including 45 Church Street in Birmingham City Centre.

Rachel Dickie

Our growing portfolio enables us to translate our expertise in making and managing mixed use urban neighbourhoods to stimulate community success and tackle climate change UK-wide.

 Rachel leads the Investment team in Grosvenor Property UK with responsibility for scaling our investment portfolio across the UK through direct investment and partnerships.  She oversees the management of existing projects including Grosvenor’s regional office investments, Liverpool ONE and residential debt strategies.

Rachel joined Grosvenor from Legal & General where she was an Investment Director leading the Urban Regeneration team. Here she was responsible for the sourcing, structuring and investment management of real estate projects and partnerships including Cardiff Central Square, Newcastle Helix, Bruntwood SciTech and a joint venture with Oxford University.

Prior to that, Rachel held various asset and portfolio management positions across the UK and Europe at CBRE Investors and Tishman Speyer respectively.

Alex Edwards is ESG Director at Bruntwood SciTech. In his role, Alex leads Bruntwood’s response in driving performance of the business’s existing portfolio while implementing and overseeing decarbonisation and energy reduction strategies as part of the firm’s broader goal to reach net zero by 2050. As ESG Director Alex recognises the importance of broader environmental and social sustainability, supporting Bruntwood SciTech’s purpose of ‘Powering Economies through Innovation in our Cities’.

Alex embodies Bruntwood’s holistic approach to developing and enhancing the way workspaces operate more sustainably. He focuses on creating ultra-efficient, low carbon buildings while also providing end-to-end solutions for customers, such as water and waste management, biodiversity and sustainable transport.

Alongside chairing Manchester’s Climate Change Partnership Commercial Retrofit Task Group, Alex is also a member of the UK Green Building Council's Commercial Retrofit Task Group. Alex’s commitment to a sustainable and fair future is driving change in the commercial property sector, and in Bruntwood’s mission to create connected communities that allow cities to thrive.

Maggie Grogan

Maggie joined Muse in 2020 and having launched the Midlands office in 2022, Maggie secured Muse as regeneration partner for the £3.2bn Arden Cross project – one of the Midlands most important regeneration opportunities.

Maggie has also led a ground-breaking deal between the English Cities Fund – a partnership between Muse, Homes England, and Legal & General – and the City of Wolverhampton Council to regenerate City Centre West, one of Wolverhampton’s most important projects.

In less than three years Maggie has risen through the ranks, blazing a trail for women in property and becoming the first female regional Managing Director at Muse, delivering the company vision to create new places across the Midlands.

Oliver Hall

Oliver is a Partner at Make, joining in 2017 to deliver 80 Charlotte Street, a major mixed-use scheme in Fitzrovia, comprising commercial, residential, and a small public park. Designed as Net Zero Carbon it is the first All-Electric building for developer Derwent London.

In 2019 Oliver established and led Make’s internal sustainability team and associated working group, Make Neutral. The group includes a dedicated sustainability team focusing on materials research, environmental and regenerative design, and has defined Make’s sustainability roadmap including our transition to B Corp.

He remains a practicing architect running projects across multiple sectors; from masterplanning to workplace as well as laboratories and a garden bridge.

Oliver is the BCO NextGen London and Southeast Chair.

Graeme Hart

Graeme is MCM’s Director of Consultancy and an experienced leader with 20+ years in workplace strategy, change management and transformation. Graeme brings deep expertise and skills in cultural and behavioural change, workplace transformation, transition management, communications, and employee engagement.

Graeme’s expertise lies in enabling a company’s vision and strategy by delivering improvements in organisation effectiveness, culture, ways of working and people performance. He is passionate about building workplaces that inspire and bring the best out of employees, clients, and stakeholders. Graeme has worked across the Workplace spectrum from strategy and vision development through cultural assessments, change and transition support, and post implement reviews.

Prior to joining MCM Graeme has held Partner and Practice Director level roles for global firms in Europe and the US.

Anna Hollyman

Anna is a Senior Advisor at UKGBC working across the Advancing Net Zero (ANZ) and Learning & Leadership (L&L) teams. She is currently leading UKGBC’s work on Commercial Retrofit, exploring the challenges and opportunities of closing the gap towards net zero carbon offices, while building an evidence base around the cost, carbon impact, and co-benefits of retrofit.

Anna’s has over 20 years’ experience practising as an architect across the UK, China, and HK, leading the design and delivery of diverse projects from bespoke interiors to city-wide masterplans.  Anna is passionate about place-based approaches that help communities thrive, and reconnecting our natural and urban environments.

Leah Jones

Leah has had an extensive career delivering transformational change in challenging environments. Change portfolios Leah has led have included digital, legislative and workplace transformation.

Leah has been with the Government Property Agency since 2019, joining as the Programme Manager for the cross-government Smarter Working Programme and is now responsible for the Workplace Experience team, a collaborative, empowered and customer-focused team who are making a tangible difference to Civil Service ways of working.

Leah is based in Cardiff and is a trained coach and mentor who is passionate about supporting and enabling others to succeed.

Richard Kauntze is a graduate in government, politics and modern history, subjects in which he has maintained a keen interest.

Richard started his career as Parliamentary Officer at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), moving on to become Director of Policy, and then Deputy Director-General, at the British Property Federation (BPF). In 1999 he was appointed as Chief Executive of the BCO and has steered the organisation to its position as the leading UK authority on office-related matters.

Alexandra King 

Alex King is lecturer on the BA Interior Architecture and Design course at Birmingham City University. She has a MA in Architecture from the University of Edinburgh, a Part II Graduate Diploma in Architecture from the University of Westminster, and is a Fellow of the HEA.

Alex has worked within architectural practice and interior design across various locations including London, New York and Birmingham. The majority of her time in practice was spent working on heritage and educational projects for international practice Hawkins\Brown, and within the hospitality sector for StudioIlse.

She has worked in academia for the past 7 years and is currently year lead for second year Interior Architecture and Design. Her academic research revolves around theories of service and experiential learning. Working in partnership with Birmingham Youth Services, she is currently running multiple research-led projects with BCU design students and local manufacturers. Her field of enquiry explores how exposure to live clients and disadvantaged community groups can improve student engagement, development and success.

Kris Krokosz

Kris is a designer and strategist with particular expertise in the application of workplace analysis to commercial interior design. As joint managing partner at workplace design consultants, Squaredot, he has grown the business into one of the key consultancies in the Midlands.

My philosophy on work and the workplace is that the work environment can play a key role in helping people feel a greater sense of belonging, purpose and engagement with their organisations. A theatre of innovation, creativity, activity and enjoyed productivity. Just following a fad or fashion is not sensible design, instead it should be based on evidence that is pertinent to that particular businesses interests, aims and aspirations.

He has had the honour to have worked for organisations such as Birmingham City Council, Network Rail in the UK and Kimberly-Clark globally and be rewarded with a host of BCO awards, which is public recognition for top quality design and functionality and provide a benchmark for excellence in workplaces. WOW...without the but why?

Katy Lightbody

Katy is a senior director in the heritage, townscape and landscape team at Turley.  She has over 20 years’ experience as a town planner and heritage specialist and specialises in the provision of strategic and detailed advice on managing change within the historic environment.

Katy is experienced in dealing with the challenges presented by the reuse, adaptation and alteration of existing buildings, development within the setting of heritage assets, heritage led regeneration and the integration of new development, including tall buildings.   She takes a positive approach to problem solving and engagement and provides clear strategy advice to de-risk complex projects.

Andrew Martin

Andrew joined Google's real estate team in May 2014 and is based in London. He leads a team that is responsible for the design and delivery of capital projects across EMEA and India, including the ground up construction project in King’s Cross.

Andrew started his career in the industry as a construction manager before moving into project management consultancy, then corporate real estate. Andrew has been involved with Google since 2011, firstly via CBRE as a project manager before joining Google directly in 2014 as a Project Executive. Andrew has a BSc in Construction Management.

Selina Mason is an Architect and masterplanner who is responsible for delivering high quality design and masterplanning across Lendlease’s UK and Europe urban regeneration portfolio. Currently she is also Development Director on Smithfield Birmingham.

Selina also has an Honorary Fellowship from RIBA and she is a Design Council Ambassador and was recently appointed by the Government to the Urban Centre Recovery Task Force.

Tim Oldman

Tim is the Founder and CEO of Leesman – the world’s foremost authority on employee workplace experience.

He started his career in 1991 as a designer in the gritty world of transport design but by 2003 had developed a greater interest in the business strategy of workplace.

In 2009 while working as an independent advisor supporting several leading global organizations on the alignment of their workplace strategies, he spotted an opportunity to develop a new and technique that would properly test the ability of an organization’s places to support its employees. 10 years plus later, the Leesman Index is used by industry thought leaders around the world to measure, benchmark and improve the experience of their employees.

In March 2020 Leesman launched new tools that would also evaluate the experience of employees working from home and today sits on the largest employee home working experience benchmark dataset of its kind, positioning Leesman at the epicenter of the future of work debate.

Scott Rutherford, Partner, Cushman & Wakefield

Scott has 30 years’ experience of the provincial office leasing and development market. He advises clients on the acquisition and disposal of offices and sites throughout the wider Midlands region.

Scott relocated to Birmingham to head office leasing and development in April 2006 and joined Cushman & Wakefield in June 2007 and was appointed as Head of Cushman & Wakefield Birmingham in February 2008 into 2015.

Scott is responsible for Office Agency in the Midlands and was appointed Chairman of The Birmingham Market Office Forum in 2020.

Deborah Saunt

Deborah is a Founding Director of the architecture, urban design and spatial research studio DSDHA. Blurring the boundaries between infrastructure, landscape, and architecture, the studio’s work is the result of extensive dialogue with communities, as well as stakeholders and collaborators, to deliver projects that have the broadest impact.

Dale Sinclair

Described as a pragmatic futurist, I'm driven to transform project delivery through innovative use of digital technologies and offsite manufacturing. By integrating artificial intelligence into interdisciplinary workflows, I aim to revolutionise how we approach design complexity and future challenges including net zero. My global team is actively engaged in delivering cutting-edge projects, collaborating with clients and contractors to harness the advantages of progressive manufacturing methods including kits of parts and platform approaches.

Having qualified as an architect and with over 35 years of experience, I've played a key role in shaping industry standards, including being the lead author of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 publications. Recently, I’ve contributed to the field with the publication of the RIBA Plan of Work 2020 Overview and the Security Overlay and contributed to the 2^nd Edition of the DfMA Overlay. I've also authored multiple books emphasising design management and the crucial role of the lead designer in the digital age.

I’m involved in many forums to help stimulate and drive change in the built environment industry. I am chair of the UK Construction Industry Council (CIC) Digital Forum, sit on the digital committee of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), chair the CB/1 committee for the British Standards Institute (BSI), and am an adviser on the Bridge AI steering committee.

Alex Slatter

Alex is an Associate at Associated Architects based in Birmingham, working at the practice for 7 years. Alex has worked across multiple sectors, predominantly on commercial and education projects. She has considerable experience in the refurbishment and conversion of commercial buildings, with extensive involvement in mixed-use commercial, residential and luxury residential developments.

The current Chair of the British Council for Offices (BCO) NextGen Committee for Midlands and East Anglia; Alex has led BCO tours of numerous projects. She acts on behalf of Associated Architects on the RIBA Future Architects Mentoring Scheme and is a previous recipient of the BCO Rising Star Award.

Anna Strongman

Anna Strongman is CEO of Oxford University Development (OUD), a joint venture between Oxford University and Legal & General set up to build Innovation Districts and subsidised accommodation for graduate students and the university workforce.

Anna was previously Managing Partner of Argent LLP in London, where she spent 12 years executing a range of asset, development, and business planning projects. Highlights included leading the Asset Management of King’s Cross, developing Coal Drops Yard, and setting up a BTR portfolio with JV partners Related.  Anna was instrumental in building the business from 40 people to a team of 200 over a ten-year period and led the corporate side of the business as Managing Partner.

Before joining Argent, Anna worked in the planning and economic development team of Arup, worked for DTZ in Scotland, and lived for 18 months in Japan, where she studied Japanese and conducted research at the Japan Productivity Centre as a Daiwa Scholar.

Professor Aleks Subic

Professor Aleks Subic joined Aston University in August 2022 as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive.  Prior to this he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the College of Science, Engineering and Health, and Vice President for Digital Innovation at RMIT in Australia. He also held the position of Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) at Swinburne University of Technology.

Professor Subic is a recognised global leader in technology and innovation in higher education, leading on Industry 4.0 strategy and digital transformations across the university sector and with industry and governments both in Australia and internationally. He has received a number of prestigious awards for his work, including the Australian Business Innovation Award and the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Award.

He is a passionate and lifelong advocate for multiculturalism, equity, diversity and inclusion, leading through clear actions and strategic initiatives at enterprise level. These include creating and appointing the first Dean of STEMM Diversity & Inclusion in Australia, establishing Women in STEMM Fellowships and mentoring scheme, Indigenous Research Fellowships, scholarships and internships programs, and creating an innovation precinct with start-up accelerators and industry incubators focused on founders from diverse backgrounds and access.

The Vice-Chancellor works with the executive and senior leadership teams, staff and students at Aston University to create and deliver an outstanding experience for over 20,000 students, and for thousands of SME’s and corporate employers through mutual business and research interests.

Rachel Swann

Rachel has 30 years of commercial and leadership experience, starting in export sales and marketing of British-based manufactured products, moving into digital and tech.

Always focusing on mutual benefit and a solution-based commercial approach, she has been involved in steel, lingerie, hot air balloon fabric and packaging, joining a tech start-up which grew into the leading FMCG loyalty business, and from there to tech and SaaS focusing on gamification, user engagement, behaviour and data.

In June 2022 she joined UMA in Halifax as CEO, to support the founder, Stephen Milner, to expand the fast-growing proptech SaaS business.  She’s inveterately curious, loves to meet people and introduce her network to each other.

Professor Adam Tickell

Professor Adam Tickell is Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Birmingham. Adam took up the post in January 2022 after five years as Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sussex.

Prior to this he served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer), and then Provost, at Birmingham and has also worked in leadership roles at the University of Bristol and Royal Holloway, University of London.

Adam trained as an economic geographer at the University of Manchester, and, amongst other things, his research explored the political economy and regulation of finance, English regionalism, and the economic ‘common sense’.

Charles Toogood

Charles is a Principal of Avison Young and Managing Director of the National Offices and Lease Advisory Team, with overall responsibility for the operation and strategic direction of the UK service line.

Charles’s principal client focus is city centre transactional work largely in the office market, alongside development consultancy in office led mixed-use development and place making.  He has 25 years’ experience in the transactional, office and education sectors in the Midlands.

Charles’s skills include site acquisition and disposal, marketing, sale, letting, lease restructuring, building refurbishment, acquisition of commercial property, master planning, development strategy and financial modelling, providing advice to occupiers, landowners and landlords.

Some of his key clients include MEPC, Praxis, Federated Hermes, Hines, Birmingham City University, Rathbones, DLA Piper, and Eversheds Sutherland and AXA.  Key disposal projects include Brindleyplace and Paradise in Birmingham.

Steve Toon

As Design Director, Steve offers 20+ years of design experience at AKT II, who as a practice have led the charge of many re-invention projects, including the Angel Building, 100 Liverpool Street and HY-LO.

Steve has broad experience working across London, and the wider UK office sector, and is currently pioneering AKT II’s adaptable and low carbon structural typologies for commercial office and mixed-use projects. As a former BCO regional judge, he has visited 100+ shortlisted and award-winning office developments.

His project experience includes a multitude of commercial buildings at King’s Cross, emerging projects at the Canada Water development, and schemes for Edge which are both on-site and on the drawing board. As well as new build, Steve has notable experience with re-use and re-invention projects, including South Bank Tower where the 30 storey tower was extended by 11 storeys, the recently completed Norton Folgate project in Shoreditch and 334 Oxford Street which is currently undergoing an extensive re-invention.

Steve Townsend

Steve Townsend is an architect and a Director at Associated Architects, where he has focused on delivering environmentally responsible buildings for 15 years. Steve has recently completed Birmingham’s largest commercial retrofit project and is currently working on several low and zero carbon office, residential and education buildings, including one of the Midlands’ first NABERS certified buildings. Steve heads up the Practice’s ‘Green Team’ and is responsible for the development of its in-house carbon analysis tools and workflows, to support responsible design and client decision making.

As the Practice’s commercial workplace sector lead, Steve has led high quality commercial schemes in many of Birmingham’s most prestigious office addresses. Steve has been an active member of the BCO and Urban Land Institute for many years and applies the latest thinking and innovation shared by these bodies to his work. Many projects within his portfolio have been recognised by bodies such as the RIBA, the BCO, Constructing Excellence, and others.

Chris Walters

Chris leads the UK life science group at JLL that focuses on the science, technology and innovation sector. Through experience working with NHS Trust’s, academic and research institutions, local authorities, and a diverse set of private sector clients covering private equity, institutional capital and sovereign wealth, Chris is recognised as an industry leading expert in both the UK and European markets.

Chris’ responsibilities are focused on providing strategic recommendations on a range of development and investment opportunities comprising development consultancy, appraisals and transactional advice. In addition, he works closely with all aspects of the occupier business to find tailored solutions to their needs across the full spectrum of science and technology industry.

Karen Warner

Karen has background in building control systems design and building performance evaluation, she has worked in a variety of project sectors.

She specialises in smart building (IoT) interoperability.  Her focus is on realising value by leveraging data to help owners and occupiers enhance user experience and optimise their buildings’ performance, by providing secure and scalable solutions while avoiding vendor lock-in.

James is Arup’s Birmingham Office Leader and a Director in the Midlands Property Team. He leads Arup teams on regeneration projects including Paradise, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Stadium and Shrewsbury Riverside.

He is also the Midlands Growth Director, engaging with clients and collaborators to bring the breadth of Arup’s skills and experience to the local market.

Caroline Wheeler

Caroline Wheeler is the Political Editor of the Sunday Times. In over 17 years of parliamentary reporting, she has broken numerous agenda-setting stories including coronavirus lockdowns, Theresa May’s snap general election (that would ultimately wipe out her parliamentary majority) and exposing Operation Yellowhammer, the government’s secret contingency plan for a hard Brexit. She holds a fascinating insider’s view into government and Whitehall.

Her work in Westminster began as the Parliamentary Correspondent for Local World Media, reporting on political events for a string of regional newspapers. Working in the heart of the action, she interviewed Cabinet Ministers, including the Prime Minister and MPs which helped her build impressive contacts with senior politicians, leading business figures and civil servants. She then went on to work as the Political Editor at the Sunday Express before moving to the Sunday Times and working her way from Deputy to Political Editor.

Her investigative roots began when she covered the NHS contaminated blood scandal for two decades as a reporter on the Sunday Mercury in Birmingham. It was her research that led May to launch a public inquiry into the worst treatment disaster in NHS history. More recently she triggered a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into modern slavery by exposing details of how textile workers in Leicester making clothes for the fast-fashion giant Boohoo were being paid as little as £3.50 an hour.

Caroline is a frequent political commentator for the BBC and Sky and has also appeared as a guest analyst on the BBC Andrew Marr show and Westminster Hour on BBC Radio 4.

Tim Webb

Tim has over 25 years-experience in the development sector, managing at senior level large scale and complex regeneration projects across the office, retail & F&B and residential sectors.

 Tim is responsible for running development activities on several large-scale office-led projects in Birmingham as well as new building business opportunities in the wider West Midlands and South West of England.

Richmal Wigglesworth

Richmal is an accredited Conservation Architect with a passion for creative reuse of historic and existing structures. With a deep understanding of historic and mid-century construction methods, she has delivered multiple heritage reuse schemes across the North West and beyond. Her expertise lies in reuse and retrofit, working mainly within the office and retail sectors. Richmal's work within the NOMA area of Manchester has earned several awards, including a national BCO award for Hanover Building for Recycled/Refurbished Workplace.

 Richmal's portfolio includes complex refurbishments of some of Manchester's most loved buildings, showcasing her skill in balancing the preservation of historic elements with the need for modern functionality. Richmal is known for her innovative solutions that respect the past while meeting the needs of the present and future. She is an active member of the RIBA NW steering committee on Heritage and Sustainability and has been a conservation judge for RIBA NW in 2019.

Nick is an Executive Director in the Investment Properties division, based in Birmingham, and Head of the Midlands and South investment team.

Nick provides strategic investment and development advice to a range of UK and overseas investors, specialising in disposals and acquisitions across the Midlands region.  Nick covers all sectors, with a particular focus on Birmingham city centre offices.

When: Wednesday 22 May 2024, 18.30 – 20.00

Where: Library of Birmingham, Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2ND

The Library is the cultural centre of Birmingham and a fitting venue for the conference welcome drinks reception. Meet up with old colleagues and new, whilst enjoying the view of Birmingham from the outdoor roof terrace.

When: Thursday 23 May 2024, 20.00 – Midnight

Where: Luna Springs, Digbeth Arena, Lower Trinity St, Birmingham, B9 4AG

 Luna Springs is Bimingham's largest venue set outdoors. Enjoy an evening of networking, a variety of street food, drinks and a live music.