MOST: Manchester Office, Sustainability & Tech

Aisling joined Bruntwood on graduating from Heriot-Watt University in 2006 and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 2008. Her role as Development Director focuses on the identification and acquisition of large scale mixed use regeneration schemes, taking these opportunities to their maximum potential, working on them from conception through to delivery. Aisling is currently leading on Bruntwood’s sustainable development agenda, with a focus on low carbon development and helping the business meet its ambitious Net Zero Carbon ambitions. Recent and ongoing schemes include the acquisition of Manchester Science Park, and following this the development of the £11.7m Hub new build at Manchester Science Partnerships, as well as the wider site masterplan. Aisling is currently the project lead working on the master planning and delivery of Circle Square, the £750m mixed-use development scheme located on the former BBC site on Oxford Road, which Bruntwood acquired in spring 2015.

Ben Sanderson is Executive Director in the real estate group at Hermes Investment Management. Hermes are a London headquartered institutional fund manager with real estate AUM of £8.5 billion. He oversees a £5 billion global real estate portfolio for one of Hermes key clients and is responsible for all real estate investments made on behalf of Hermes client funds outside the UK as well as overseeing the Hermes real estate debt investment programme. Ben also established the Hermes UK PRS/residential investment platform in 2015. Ben has extensive experience of global real estate investing across public and private markets. Before joining Hermes in September 2008, Ben was Fund Manager of the M&G Global Real Estate Securities Fund and managed the UK Prudential’s global real estate securities exposure. Prior to that, he led Prudential Property Investment Management’s (PRUPIM – now M&G Real Estate) global view formation and strategy team for PRUPIM’s £17 billion of private real estate assets under management. From 1998 to 2003 Ben worked in London and Tokyo for Jones Lang LaSalle as part of the European and Asia Pacific real estate research teams. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees in Economics, is an FCA authorised person, a member of the UK Investment Property Forum (IPF) and chairs the IPF’s International Investment Group and is a member of the UK Society of Business Economists and the CFA Institute. Ben was also previously a member of the UK AREF Investor Committee and the IPF's Research Steering Group.

Basil is managing partner of FORE, a pan-European social impact real estate investor and developer set up by Jeff Skoll, the billionaire co-founder of Ebay, to invest in property and drive positive social and environmental impacts. FORE is a family office, and now invests the money of more than a dozen wealthy individuals and families from around the world, who share a commitment to sustainability and social value. FORE is one of a very small group of UK social impact real estate investors – and is active in London and key regional cities including Manchester and Glasgow, as well as Germany. FORE’s main focus is on offices, transforming outdated buildings into modern workspaces that cater for the next generation of occupiers, with a rigorous focus on carbon reduction and positive social impact. Recently completed projects include Windmill Green, the most sustainable new office building in Manchester. FORE is also bringing forward two sustainable offices in Glasgow as well as TBC, a major new project at Tower Bridge, in London.

Paul is Managing Partner of Cundall's Manchester office, which provides multidisciplinary design engineering consultancy for a wide range of clients and projects throughout Manchester and the North West. He is a chartered electrical engineer with a particular interest in engineering infrastructure systems and competitive procurement of utility network connections. Paul specialises in commercial landlord-tenant projects, where capital and running costs impact on service charges, and building services design must consider flexibility that responds to an everchanging workspace. He has also provided strategic facilities maintenance advice to a variety of clients in both private and public sectors.

Jon specialises in providing strategic advice and independent challenge on responsible investment, urban futures, risk management, policy and sustainability to clients ranging from global investment managers and FTSE100 corporates to governmental and industry bodies around the world. He has a proven track-record of strong leadership, distinctive vision, effective partnership working and persuasive advocacy, which he combines in the pursuit of progressive change across the real estate and built environment sectors. Jon combines his role as an advisor with a number of industry group and charity roles through which he seeks to inspire and facilitate solutions to social, environmental and economic challenges. He is regarded as an eminent thought-leader, networker and an orchestrator of collaboration, combining a strong appreciation of market dynamics, effective policy and transformational business strategy. He is an experienced and distinctive public speaker and has delivered many speeches and presentations across Europe, North America and Asia. Formerly, he led the global Real Estate Sustainability Practice at professional services firm, Deloitte, having previously established the award-winning sustainability team at Drivers Jonas LLP. Jon is a vice-Chair of ULI UK and is a former Chair of its Sustainability Council. He is also a fellow of the RSA.

Joanne has been the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council since April 2017. During the last 18 months she has dealt with a number of unprecedented events including the Manchester Arena Bomb. Joanne is driving the Council through the fundamental changes to Health and Social Care. She is lead Chief Executive for skills across Greater Manchester. Before moving to Manchester, Joanne was previously Chief Executive of Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council, where she held the top post from 2008. Joannes career started in local government as an apprentice with Birmingham City Council when she was 16. She has a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives such as the Hepworth Gallery Wakefield and Parkhill Housing in Sheffield. She has extensive experience in housing and local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council. Joanne is a Fellow of CIH and a regular contributor to Inside Housing. Joanne is a Trustee of the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, established in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack, to provide financial support to victims and families affected. Joanne was awarded the OBE for services to local government in 2009.

Jim Taylor is Chief Executive in a City which is experiencing unprecedentedly levels of growth and investment. MediaCityUK is set to double in size, The Crescent and University £800m masterplan presents an 840-acre mixed-use development opportunity and the Royal Horticultural Society’s 5th Garden (RHS Bridgewater) is set to open Summer 2020. The last decade has seen inward private sector investment amounting to billions of pounds which has secured new commercial developments, housing, infrastructure, public realm, cultural, health and educational facilities. This has been city making in action on an accelerated scale - however Salford’s growth is very much unfinished business. The city has the fastest growing economy in Greater Manchester with GVA up 22% contributing £5bn to the regional economy - a figure set to double in the next decade. From this, the city has a bold new vision to deliver 40,000 new homes and 40,000 new jobs by 2040 within our 4 strategic growth locations (City Centre Salford, The Quays and MediaCityUK, Greater Manchester Western Gateway and Salford’s Towns). Following a career in Education, Jim became Executive Director for Children, Learning and Economic Services in Tameside, where he had responsibility for a £300m BSF schools programme. He then joined Rochdale Borough Council as Chief Executive in May 2012, ensuring the council did everything to keep children safe from harm and received the protection and support they deserved. Jim led the authority out of Children's Services OFSTED intervention in less than two years and also had oversight of the extensive regeneration of Rochdale Town Centre. In addition to his role in Salford, Jim also acted as Chief Executive in Trafford for seven months, pending a permanent appointee. Jim has a number of pan-Greater Manchester roles with the GM Combined Authority and is the lead Chief Executive for the Combined Authority for Business Investment and the Economy.

Mr. Adam Higgins, Msc Mrics serves as Director of Retail & Leisure at Capital & Centric Plc. Mr. Higgins served as Development Director of Ask Developments Ltd. Mr. Higgins is responsible for the development and letting of the 50,000 sq ft Rossetti Place office scheme in Manchester City Centre along with taking forward the £40m mixed-use Castlefield Quay scheme , the £12m Sheffield city centre fine-dining and café bar led Leopold Square refurbishment and the redevelopment of Urmston Shopping Centre. Prior to joining Ask in October 2001, Mr. Higgins spent 7 years at Peel Holdings Plc and was responsible for delivering in excess of £100m worth and 650,000 sq ft of commercial, retail and residential development. His wit and a daily bowl of porridge provide the ingredients for a totally committed attitude.

Richard Leese was born and brought up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. After graduating from the University of Warwick, he worked as a teacher in Coventry and as an exchange teacher in the USA before moving to Manchester to take up a post as a youth worker. He was employed variously in youth work, community work, and education research between 1979 and 1988, and was elected to Manchester City Council in 1984. He became Leader of the Council in 1996, having previously served as Deputy Leader (1990 – 1996), Chair of the Education Committee (1986 - 1990) and Chair of the Finance Committee (1990 - 1995). Richard’s political interests include devolution, place-based budgets and the links between economic development and social policy, developing open democracy and the community leadership role of local authorities; and the role of cities in creating a sustainable future. He has a number of additional responsibilities including Director of Manchester Airport Holdings Ltd, Deputy Mayor and Vice Chair of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Chair of the LGA City Regions Board. His interests outside politics include walking, cinema, music, and sport (as a spectator, principally Manchester City football and cricket). He is a regular runner and cycles to the Town Hall most days.

I have been with HPE for 25 years, starting as a Sales Administrator, moving through various country and regional roles in Project and Process Management, and am now in a global role in Pointnext Services portfolio management. I have a Master’s Degree in Strategic Quality Management, earned 3 years ago with the support of the company.  As Site Leader for our Manchester office, I focus on driving our office culture and employee engagement, ensuring our workplace is a dynamic and compelling place to be.

Prior to joining Aviva Investors, Giles was an Investment Manager at Kennedy Wilson for seven years. He was directly involved in establishing the multi billion pound direct and indirect Real Estate portfolio of UK commercial assets. This included acquisition, asset management and disposals. He has previously held roles with Cushman & Wakefield, Close Investments, Ernst & Young and the Asset Protection Agency. Giles has over 16 years of direct and indirect Real Estate experience in the UK and Europe. He is a qualified Chartered Surveyor and a graduate of The University of Reading.

Megan Hanney is the Regional Innovation Lead at CBRE, Manchester. She kick-started her career at Pinsent Masons working with Partners to deliver bids to FTSE 100 tech companies. After that, she joined WeWork in 2014 to launch their first couple of UK buildings. Megan later joined CBRE in 2018 and has since gained experience in Office Agency and Development Advisory. Megan seeks to identify innovative tech-related opportunities and is currently working with the University of Oxford on the ‘Future of Real Estate’ initiative alongside EY, BCLP and other stakeholders. Megan was recently shortlisted at the EG Awards 2019 for the ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Future of Real Estate’ award categories.

Michael O’Shea is a partner and Head of the Gowling WLG's contentious construction team. He is recognised by clients and his peers as a leader in his field and is one of the few lawyers to have taken a construction case to the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court). Michael is a CEDR Accredited Mediator, member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Past Chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors North West Dispute Faculty, a member of TeCSA, a Regional Coordinator of the Society of Construction Law and has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Manchester. He is also qualified as a solicitor in Ireland. He is known for his role as trusted advisor to a number of significant UK contractors and is a specialist in complex legal, factual and technical disputes.

Anand is an industry expert in the domain of Digital Twins and their applications for creating operationally efficient real estate assets that meet ESG goals of investors. He has over 30 years of experience in the smart buildings industry, having built and scaled businesses that were acquired by SIEMENS. His current venture “Invicara” has developed the industry first “low code” cloud platform to create highly customized Digital Twins of the built environment.