Craig McWilliam

Chief Executive
Grosvenor Britain & Ireland

Craig McWilliam, FRICS, was appointed to the Grosvenor Britain & Ireland Board in 2010. In 2013 he became the Executive Director responsible for the London estate, having previously had charge of all development activities off the London estate. In January 2017, Craig became CEO of Grosvenor Britain & Ireland. Prior to joining Grosvenor he was a Managing Director at Fortress Investment Group.

Craig is an Honorary Fellow of the RICS, a Trustee of LandAid and a Director of London First. He also sits on BPF's Policy Committee and is Vice-Chairman of the Westminster Property Association.

Eiichiro Onozawa

Managing Director
Mitsui Fudosan UK

Eiichiro Onozawa joined Mitsui Fudosan UK in April 2014 as Deputy Managing Director and was promoted to the role of Managing Director in April 2016. His global real estate career spans more than 26 years with the Mitsui Fudosan Group and he is highly experienced in development, marketing, leasing, and asset management.

Before transferring to London, he spent four years as Senior Vice President of Mitsui Fudosan America, Inc., where he was responsible for strategising growth plans and assessing acquisition and disposal transactions within the company’s investment committee.

Eiichiro graduated with a Bachelor of Law from Keio University in Tokyo and earned an MBA from Georgetown University in Washington DC.

He serves as a Non-Executive Director of Stanhope plc and is a member of CLEAB, the Cambridge Land Economy Advisory Board (University of Cambridge).

Chris Taylor

Chief Executive Officer – Hermes Real Estate & Head and Private Markets
Hermes Real Estate

Chris joined Hermes in 2010, having successfully established Australian fund manager QIC’s European office in London. Prior to that he was head of European Property at HSBC. Chris spent the majority of his career as a fund manager at Prudential, where he led the diversification of its UK real estate exposure into overseas markets in 2001.

Under his leadership, Hermes Real Estate has led a number of landmark real estate transactions, including the largest regeneration project in Europe at King’s Cross, the development of the iconic Silverstone circuit, the major regeneration at Paradise Circus Birmingham and the rejuvenation of central Milton Keynes. Chris is currently the Chairman of MEPC, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a member of the Bank of England Commercial Property Committee and a Founding Board Member of INREV. As past President of the British Property Federation, Chris has engaged actively with Central and Local Government to recognise the pivotal contribution that real estate and infrastructure can make as conduits for growth and regeneration.

As CEO of Hermes Real Estate, managing over £7 billion of real estate, Chris is also the BTPS Director on the Argent Board and has taken a lead role in promoting responsible investment with major regeneration schemes such as King’s Cross London, Paradise Circus Birmingham, NOMA Manchester and Wellington Place Leeds.

Chris holds a BSc (Hons) in Land Management

from Reading University.

Robert Noel

Group Chief Executive
Land Securities Group plc

Fiona Fletcher-Smith

Chief Executive
L&Q

Fiona was appointed as L&Q’s Chief Executive in September 2020. A chartered surveyor, with almost 30 years of experience in the housing sector, Fiona has worked in a variety of voluntary and public sector roles including advising homeless people in Dublin, housing management, development and regeneration, strategy and policy development.

Fiona was previously L&Q’s Director of Development and Sales, spearheading a £5.1 billion development programme. Whilst in this role, Fiona led our development and strategic land programmes, including landmark projects such as the 10,800-home Barking Riverside development. She also oversaw the group’s expansion beyond the South East and delivered change programmes to improve both the efficiency and diversity of our Development and Sales function.

Prior to joining L&Q, Fiona was Executive Director for Development, Enterprise and Environment at the Greater London Authority (GLA). As part of their senior management team, Fiona was responsible for overseeing the delivery and implementation of key strategies such as the London Plan and overseeing the operation of the Mayor’s powers in relation to significant planning applications in the capital.

Fiona is the current chair of trustees at the Centre for London, helping the capital’s think tank to meet their charitable objectives.

Olivia Harris

Chief Executive
Dolphin Living

Olivia Harris was appointed as Chief Executive of Dolphin Living in April 2017. Previously, Olivia was Finance Director at Dolphin, providing financial and commercial oversight on a wide range of property and related projects, including debt and fund raising. Olivia is a Chartered Accountant and has worked for more than 15 years in the property industry.

Jennie Daly

Group Operations Director
Taylor Wimpey

Jennie was appointed to the Taylor Wimpey PLC Board in April 2018 and also holds the role of Group Operations Director. Jennie joined Taylor Wimpey in 2014 from Redrow plc, as UK Planning Director, before becoming UK Land Director in 2015. She has a wealth of experience in the housebuilding industry gained from roles which include strategic land and managing director of Harrow Estates Plc. As Group Operations Director, Jennie oversees the land, planning, design and technical, production and supply chain functions, in addition to managing the Taylor Wimpey Logistics business. Jennie is also a non-executive director of the Peabody Trust, a large affordable housing provider based in London.  

Karen Cooksley

Karen is highly regarded within specialist planning, advising clients on the full spectrum of planning and environmental issues they face, including devising strategies for obtaining planning permissions and other consents, viability, environmental impact assessment, s106 agreements and CIL, compulsory purchase and highways matters. She has particular expertise in relation to mixed use developments, tall buildings, urban extensions, waterside schemes and the optimisation of consents to increase financial value for clients. She works for leading developers, private rented sector operator and management companies, national housebuilders, registered providers, local authorities and funders. The majority of her projects are in London – she is currently working on several tall building projects, advising on the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station and other major schemes in the Vauxhall opportunity area and securing office to residential conversions under permitted development rights. She and her team also work across the country – they have recently obtained permission for the £5.5 billion Liverpool Waters scheme and are advising on new settlements in Cambridgeshire, Devon and Kent.

Cath Shaw

Deputy Chief Executive
Barnet Council

As Deputy Chief Executive of Barnet Council, Cath is responsible for the Council’s extensive housing and growth programme, environmental services, and major commercial relationships. She is a Director of the Council’s joint venture company with Related Argent to deliver Brent Cross Town – a park town for future London including 6,700 new homes, 50 acres of green space, workspace for 25,000 people, three schools, a new station and other amenities and infrastructure. Cath sits on London Councils Economy Board and the New London Architecture Sounding Board, and Chairs the West London Economy and Skills Directors Group. She joined Barnet in 2013 from Harlow Council where she was Assistant Chief Executive responsible for Growth and Regeneration. Prior to that she was a senior civil servant, undertaking a variety of roles including as Deputy Director of the Social Exclusion Unit responsible for children and young people’s issues. She stepped down as a Board Member of the Peabody Trust in 2019 on completion of her maximum term of appointment, remaining on the Development and Thamesmead Committees until March 2022.

Robert Evans

Partner
Argent (Property Development) Services LLP

Robert joined Argent Group PLC in 2001 and became an Executive Director in 2004. In 2012 he became a founding Partner of Argent (Property Development) Services LLP. Robert has overall responsibility for Argent’s residential projects and also oversees communications and public affairs.  He is also one of the Partners charged with seeking out and securing new development opportunities. 

Robert has led the planning work at King’s Cross since 2001 and sits on the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership Board. Robert has also been involved in Argent projects in Manchester and the Thames Valley. 

Robert is a Member of the King’s Cross Academy Trust that sponsors the new King's Cross Academy school, which opens its doors in September 2015. He is also Chair of Governors.  Robert is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a member of the committee for the Joint Planning Law Conference, held each year in Oxford. He formerly chaired the British Property Federation’s Development Committee and the Tottenham Landowners’ and Major Businesses Group. 

Before joining Argent, Robert worked in planning and environmental consultancy and gained experience in a wide range of public and private sector development and infrastructure projects in the UK, Canada and Norway.