NextGen Mentoring Programme - BCO - British Council for Offices NextGen Mentoring Programme - BCO - British Council for Offices

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NextGen Mentoring Programme

We have created the BCO mentoring programme to provide supportive relationships for our NextGen members.

The BCO NextGen Mentoring Programme

Launched in March 2019 the BCO mentoring programme, a legacy project from the Presidency of Katrina Kostic Samen, has held multiple in person and virtual events giving NextGen members the opportunities to meet and create connections with industry experts keen to mentor and advise. 

We will be running regular events across all regions which will allow you to meet up with the mentors in your area; alternatively, you can apply for a mentor at any time. You will be able to find the list of mentors who have agreed to offer their time using the menu on the left. 

To apply for a BCO Mentor, please fill in this form and return to mail@bco.org.uk

Back to membership

How it works

  • Mentoring is free for BCO members
  • You can ask for a mentor at any time
  • Each pairing runs for at least a year, but can be extended
  • We recommend a meet up at least every quarter, but meeting frequency and length is completely down to you
  • The programme is led by the mentee, so it is down to you to get in touch with your assigned mentor

Benefits of mentoring

  • Building a network of expertise to draw on
  • Help with setting and achieving goals
  • Support for career and professional development
  • Support, encouragement and increased confidence
  • A safe sounding board outside their work colleagues
  • Gain independent feedback to enhance performance
  • Support to find solutions to challenges
  • Develop a greater understanding of the industry and an insight into what is needed to grow professionally within it

'The BCO Mentoring program has enable me to build a niche network of experts to enhance my role.  Having the space to focus on setting achievable goals and then being able to celebrate these with someone who has been on the learning journey with you has been a greatly exciting. I feel this opportunity has been really supportive to my career and professional development. Emma has always been very encouraging and supportive which has helped increase my confidence. She has provided me with a safe sounding board outside of my work place, and given me useful feedback which I can then put into practise in real life work situations.'

Vikki Ingram, SH Projects

'The BCO Mentoring Programme initially gave me the opportunity to hear the BCO Mentors discuss their own career paths and how they established themselves in the industry, as a start to the programme this was both motivating and interesting. Once I was assigned a mentor we would meet in person or over the phone every few weeks, here I could discuss my career aspirations and prospects with a professional outside of my specific sector, giving a fresh perspective on my career and non-biased advice. My Mentor advised me on how to better establish myself with my current employees, how to expand my network within the industry and overall built my confidence when meeting new and other industry professionals at management level.’

Alex Slatter, Associated Architects

'Sat in a digital room with all of the BCO mentors was an awe inspiring experience. Being exposed to such talent really started the drive within myself to integrate into the commercial sector to develop great projects and push the industry forward. My mentor has given me external and impartial advice throughout this year which has rapidly developed my understanding of how offices actually work, from concept to occupation. He has been able to share his contacts which I would otherwise have spent years obtaining, and this has led to many mornings expanding my network with countless coffees! Overall, I can truly say that the BCO Mentoring Programme has been the foundation stone of my career, and I look forward to seeing where it takes me.'

Timothy Newcombe, Cundall

'The BCO Mentoring Programme has provided a fantastic opportunity for me to discuss my career plans and aspirations with a mentor who is successful, experienced and highly respected within the Midlands and East Anglia region. Regular open and honest conversations with my mentor has provided me with invaluable advice and feedback to help me grow and develop the skills required to progress my career. The BCO Mentoring Programme has instilled additional confidence and optimism that has made an impact in my day to day role and my future career aspirations.'

Ross Jones, Quantem

‘I have had an incredibly enriching experience with the BCO Mentoring Programme so far, and it has only just begun. There’s been great communication throughout the process, starting with initial conversations with Joseph Huddleston that made me feel very welcomed and encouraged. BCO found me an amazing mentor, and I couldn’t be happier: someone who is at the top of their game in their field, and who has a wealth of knowledge and experience. From our first meeting I’ve already got a great insight for the year ahead – I’m very excited! I would highly recommend the BCO Mentoring Programme to anyone who is looking to advance their career, develop personally, discuss goals, create a measured plan or even have someone to brainstorm with.’

Dexter Clapp, Zip Water

‘I very recently enrolled onto the BCO Mentoring Programme and my initial experience has been one of much success. The programme has opened the doors for me to discuss my career aspirations with someone who is well established in the region, meeting face to face or in person each month. In doing so, I have been given invaluable advice which has allowed me to set the foundations for the future. Through sharing networking opportunities and contacts, the programme has also enabled me to meet professionals in the sector and expand my industry network. The support and encouragement which I have been provided thus far has allowed me to grow in confidence and be optimistic for the future.’

Ben Stewart, Drees & Sommer

'The BCO Mentoring program has enable me to build a niche network of experts to enhance my role.  Having the space to focus on setting achievable goals and then being able to celebrate these with someone who has been on the learning journey with you has been a greatly exciting. I feel this opportunity has been really supportive to my career and professional development. Emma has always been very encouraging and supportive which has helped increase my confidence. She has provided me with a safe sounding board outside of my work place, and given me useful feedback which I can then put into practise in real life work situations.'

Vikki Ingram, SH Projects

'The BCO Mentoring Programme initially gave me the opportunity to hear the BCO Mentors discuss their own career paths and how they established themselves in the industry, as a start to the programme this was both motivating and interesting. Once I was assigned a mentor we would meet in person or over the phone every few weeks, here I could discuss my career aspirations and prospects with a professional outside of my specific sector, giving a fresh perspective on my career and non-biased advice. My Mentor advised me on how to better establish myself with my current employees, how to expand my network within the industry and overall built my confidence when meeting new and other industry professionals at management level.’

Alex Slatter, Associated Architects

BCO Mentors regions

Jon Allgood

Head of Asset Management ,
Seaforth Land Limited

Jade Alvarez

Associate, Designer,
KKS Savills

Michelle Anthony

Development Projects,
Oxygen

Clare Ashmore

Chief Operating Officer,
Parkeray Limited

Jason Balls

Main Board Director,
EPR

Peter Barbalov

Partner,
Farrells

Dan Bayley

Director,
JLL

Guy Bonser

Partner,
Gleeds

Phil Breeden

Senior Director,
AECOM

Frances Brown

Associate Director,
Hoare Lea

Mike Burton

Director,
AECOM

Karl Chamberlain

Global Head of Projects,
Deutsche Bank

Loki Cheeseman

Project Director,
Move Plan

Biography

Amy Cooper

Head of London Project Management,
Cushman & Wakefield

Jon Eaglesham

Managing Director,
Barr Gazetas

Chris Early

Head of Acquisition,
Freshwave

Suzannah Howson

Partner,
3PM

Graham Jones

Director,
Turner & Townsend

Kavita Kumari

Associate,
Cundall

Paul Langham

Head of Project Management Central London,
Landsec

Benjamin Lesser

Associate, Development,
Derwent London

Chris Maddison

Partner,
Seven

Robert Marney

Electrical Associate,
Cundall

Michelle Marwood

Head of Corporate Real Estate,
Norton Rose Fulbright

David Massberry

Associate - Tenant Representation,
JLL

Caroline Maude

Partner,
CMS Cameron Mckenna Nabarro Olswang

Chetan Parmar

Managing Director,
Parmarbrook

Biography

James Pellatt

Director of Workplace & Innovation,
GPE

Roxanne Quesnel

Director,
Turner & Townsend

Natasha Rantle

Divisional Director,
APS Consultancy

Sophie Riley

Interiors & Lite Board, Director,
Parkeray

Connie Robson Velaetis

Head of Business Development,
AIS Interiors

Lucy Scott

Board Director,
Chapman BDSP

Gareth Sinnamon

Partner,
Stace LLP

Martin Smith

Director,
TFT

Simon Tann

Partner,
Levy Real Estate

Geoff Taylor

Project Director,
Almacantar

Kevin Tilson

Global Head Capital Projects,
BP

Blake Turner

Partner,
Quantem

Andrew Tyler

Head of London  Office Development,
Knight Frank 

Vince Ugarow

Design Director,
Hilson Moran

Oliver Watson

Managing Director,
Overbury

Gary Wingrove

Global Real Estate Capital Projects Director,
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Atepheh Amid

Associate Director,
AECOM

Atepheh is an Associate Director in AECOM Interior Design & Strategy team with specific interest in user requirements-centred design focusing on how built environment can function to support their occupants' needs. She has a strong background in understanding and developing initial analytical data and business objectives, into creative solutions that provide effective long-lasting design. She is recognised as a trusted advisor by her clients and a visible team lead who dedicates time to the driving of client-focused design, innovation, lessons learnt and mentoring colleagues with a strong emphasis on future-proof design, sustainability, inclusivity, value-for-money, safety, wellbeing, and award-winning quality. 

April Burns

Senior Change Consultant,
AECOM

I have worked in the commercial office sector for 15 years across the public and private sectors. My career started in design, then following the 2008 crash I transferred to move management and workplace strategy. I have a BSc in Industrial Product Design and a MSc in Construction Project Management. I am a geek at heart, and love data as well as the latest tech and apps to help us work smarter. 

I can empathise with the unique challenges (and opportunities!) of working in Scotland. The includes working in large busy corporate environments as well as occasionally being the only team member in Scotland and working remotely with teams across the globe. 

Elliot Cumming

Property Director,
HFD Group

Elliot is Property Director for HFD Group, a developer who specialise in delivering best in class projects, predominantly within the office sector. Elliot has a well-rounded experience within the property industry, working for both large corporate real estate advisers and client-side managers.

Prior to joining HFD, he spent 8 years working in London, most notably for CBRE IM managing a number of UK pension fund mandates. Previous roles have involved valuation, agency and transactional teams but his main area of interest has been projects involving repositioning and refurbishing office buildings. Through his career, Elliot has been active within intern/graduate programmes and always welcomes the opportunity to help those starting out in the industry.

Jenny Mitchell

Director,

Jenny started her professional career as a Chartered Building Surveyor before specialising in Construction Project Management. With a strong interest in workplace design and relationships between place, people and technology she established Workplace Scotland in 2021 to provide bespoke consultancy services to support organisations in creating excellent physical and virtual workplace environments.

Prior to this she had worked for both large construction consultancies and client side teams. Having experience on both sides gives her valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities that organisations have in construction and workplace projects.

Find out more about Jenny's mentoring here.

Gillian Stewart

Director,
Michael Laird Architects

Gillian has over 40 years experience working initially in interiors, specialsing in workplace and strategic Consultancy, across a wide range of business sectors. She joined MLA in 2015, as a Director in the Glasgow office, after working for a number of other practices, most notably BDG architecture + design, haa design, BDP and DEGW. While at DEGW Gillian was introduced to Workplace and Building consultancy in which she developed a keen interest and specialism.

She believes that buildings and interiors should be designed around people, and as designers we should engage with a variety of people throughout the design process. This way we will achieve beautiful and meaningful buildings which delight, inspire and endure.

Simon Walsh

Director,
Cooper Cromar

Simon joined Cooper Cromar in 1998, having started his career at practices in Manchester and Singapore. Positive, enthusiastic and patient, he balances a creative eye and skill for design with a wealth of technical expertise.

Simon is recognised in the business for his work ethic and determination to solve any problem that comes his way. As a natural people person, he is equally comfortable collaborating with Clients as he is talking to other industry consultants, which, when combined with an unflappable nature, makes him the perfect man to lead multi-disciplinary design teams on complex projects.

Popular with Clients and a mentor for the next generation of young architects, he’s even brushing up in his leisure time on his drawing and painting skills, which some might say is just showing off.

Allan West

Technical Director,
Hulley & Kirkwood Consulting Engineers

Allan is a Technical Director currently in his 24th year with Hulley & Kirkwood Consulting Engineers, having started as a Mechanical Engineer in 1997 in their Glasgow office. Allan left behind a prior 10-year career in heavy engineering on the Clyde, having been ‘seduced’ by the ‘glamour’ of Building Services Engineering, construction and consultancy. His experience in building engineering services design is extremely broad and diverse in all respects e.g. sector, value, complexity and duration. Whilst he has contributed to projects of all sizes, he has more recently led the MEP design on some landmark developments in Scotland i.e. City of Glasgow Colleges and Aberdeen Arena and Exhibition Centre (P&J Live).

Whilst relatively new to the BCO, having joined in 2019, he has enjoyed delivering a number of successful commercial office commissions around the country with some notable examples in Glasgow’s IFSD (AQ5 Capella and 55 Douglas Street).

Allan is in his fourth year as an External Examiner for the ‘BEng (Hons) Building Services’ Degree at Glasgow Caledonian University. As an alumnus and where he gained his first degree, he finds it particularly gratifying to play a small part in the development of the future crop of Building Services engineers and their higher education. He is a member of CIBSE and gained chartered status in 2014.

Andy McBain

Head of Future of Workplace & Design,
NatWest Group

With over 40 years experience Andy leads the team responsible for office design, workplace experience and  the cultural change support for hybrid working for all NatWest locations and colleagues. Andy is a member of the leadership team in Natwest Property Services and drives change, innovation and improvements across all aspects of the colleague workplace experience.

Andy is a member of the Board of Management of the BCO, Chair of the BCO Occupier Committee, a former member of the BCO Scotland committee where he took responsibility to set up Nextgen in Scotland and continues to be a strong supporter of BCO activities across Scotland.

Andy’s passionate about place making and the role of the office in supporting a great work place experience.

Find out more about Andy's mentoring here

Lisa Beaman

Strategic Business Development Manager,
Sytegral

Shauna Bradley

Director,
Glenn Howells Architects

Emma Cochrane

Director,
Shape the Space Architects
 
 

Ross Fittall

Senior Development Manager,
MEPC Limited

Adrian Griffith

Principal,
Avison Young

James Hall

Director,
Associated Architects
 

Joseph Huddleston

Business Design Development Executive,
Squaredot

Lee Jones

Partner,
Quantem

Angela Reeve

Senior Director/Head of Planning Midlands,
Turley

Paul Thomas

Director,
WSP
 
 

Andy Trickey

Business Development Manager,
Overbury

Rob van Zyl

Building Services Partner,
Cundall
 
 
 

Charlotte Acreman

Director, Project Management,
CBRE



Steph Calder

Senior Interior Designer,
BDP

Andy Heath

Partner,
Cushman & Wakefield

Catherine Macpherson

Project Director,
Hoare Lea

Mark Rogers

Director Cost  Management,
Turner & Townsend

Matt Perring

Senior Associate,
Method Consulting

Ioan Prydderch

Partner,
Hugh James




Toni Riddiford

Senior Associate Architect,
Stride Treglown

John Wright

Director,
Stride Treglown

Racheal Cadey

Co-Founder & Principal,
Tonik Edge

YORKSHIRE

  • Business Leadership & BCO Board Member
  • Interior Architectural Specialist
  • Relationship Management

Alex Stork

Business Development Manager,
Overbury

YORKSHIRE

  • Business growth & Relationship Management

  • Regional Management & BCO North Vice-Chair
  • Sales Strategy & Business Resilience

Thom Bone

Project Director,
Hoare Lea

YORKSHIRE

  • MEP & Sustainability background

  • Client facing and Project Leadership

  • Sector blend (e.g., workplace & science, workplace & resi/mixed use, etc.)

Clare Danahay

Interior Designer & Workplace Consultant,
WILL + Partners

YORKSHIRE

  • Interior Design (workplace specialist)

  • Workplace Consultant & Engagement
  • Female Lead/Business Leadership

Leigh Dimelow

Principal Director,
TP Bennett (Leeds/Manchester)

YORKSHIRE

  • Technical knowledge

  • Client & Project team management

  • Complex fit out and heavy refurbishment projects, 15 years in London fit out market and 10 in the regions

Andrew McLean

Director,
TP Bennett

YORKSHIRE

  • Interior Design and Architecture
  • Strategy and business continuity
  • Thought leadership

Joe Tetley

Senior Manager,
Lloyds Banking Group

YORKSHIRE

  • Leader in Banking Property
  • Due Diligence & Contracts Management
  • Project Leadership

 

Andrew Fairest

Projects Director,
Gener8

YORKSHIRE

  • Contractual Obligations & Project Management

  • Real Estate Management & Contract Negotiation

  •  Sustainable Practice & Business Leadership

Dom Williams

Managing Director,
Ryder Interiors

NORTH EAST

  • Business Leadership & Team Management
  • Client Facing & Account Management
  • Interior Design Backgrund

Sarah Sabin

Senior Design Lead,
Castle BS

NORTH EAST

  • Strong client relationships 

  • Experience of both speculative and bespoke client design
  • Focusing of data backed design solutions

Steve McIntyre

Partner, Architects,
FaulkerBrowns

NORTH EAST

  • Architectural Specialist & Business Leadership
  • Key Account & Project Leadership
  • Long Standing BCO Experience & on the National Judging Panel

Jonathan Seebacher

Director,
Ryder Architecture

NORTH EAST

  • Specialist in Architecture
  • Business Leadership & BCO Committee Member
  • Local & International Account Management

Maritina Markopoulou

Senior Sustainability Consultant,
AtkinsRéalis

NORTH EAST

  • Specialist in sustainability

  • Early stage analysis
  • Architecturally trained business leader

Jake Bell

Electrical Engineer,
Black & White  

NORTH EAST

  • Electrical Design Engineering (Building Services)

  • Detailed Design & Project Management

  • Collaboration/Co-ordination

 

Tony Hutchinson

Mechanical Engineer,
Black & White

NORTH EAST

  • Mechanical Design Engineering (Building Services)
  • Project Management & Leadership
  • Collaboration/Co-ordination

Rob Turner

Partner,
Cundall

NORTH WEST

  • Holistic engineering

  • Business development

  • Networking

Leanne Wookey

Interiors Director ,
TP Bennett

NORTH WEST

 

  • Leadership – Creatively directed and managed design teams for over 10 years

  • Client and project team management - delivering projects in all sectors over the last 16 years (schools, hotel, retail, F&B, Residential, BTR & Commercial)

  • Business Development - developing relationships

Peter Pringle

Interiors/Technical Director,
TP Bennett

NORTH WEST

  • Technical knowledge

  • Client & Project team management

  • 22 years experience in complex fit out and heavy refurbishment projects

Andrea Glenister

Senior Specification Manager,
Optima

NORTH WEST

  • Technical & specification writing
  • Business to business communications
  • Team leadership

Steve Baker

Associate Director,
Colliers

NORTH WEST

  • Building Surveying & Project Management
  • Over 25 years experience in various sectors including Commercial Offices, Primary/Higher Education, Defence, Transport, Public, Social Housing & Residential
  • Project Planning/Programming/Consultant Management

MORE INFORMATION

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