Robert Noel

Group Chief Executive
Land Securities Group plc

Robert Noel (53) is the Chief Executive of Land Securities Group PLC. Landsec is the UK’s largest listed property company and is a constituent of the FTSE100. It owns over 23 million square feet of commercial floor space and has approximately 1,000,000 visitors to its buildings every day. From 1992 to 2002, he was a Director of Nelson Bakewell Ltd, the property services group. From June 2002 until October 2009, he was Property Director of Great Portland Estates plc. He joined Landsec in January 2010 as Managing Director of its London business and was subsequently appointed Chief Executive from 1 April 2012. Robert is a Trustee of the Natural History Museum and is a member of the Boards of both the British Property Federation (BPF) and the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA).

Melanie Leech CBE

Chief Executive
BPF

Melanie joined the British Property Federation as Chief Executive in January 2015, following nine years as Director General of the Food and Drink Federation.

Melanie began her working life as a Police Constable in the Metropolitan Police Service. She joined the civil service (HM Customs) in 1988 and subsequently held senior roles in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Office of the Rail Regulator and the Cabinet Office. Her role is to champion UK real estate and to promote a long-term, sustainable partnership between governments and the sector to deliver a high quality built environment, creating economic and social value for local communities.

Melanie is a Fellow of the RSA and an external member of the Council of the University of Essex. In 2015 she was awarded a CBE for services to the food and drink industry.

Bill Hughes

Head of Real Assets
Legal & General Investment Management

Bill joined Legal & General in 2007 and is responsible for transforming its UK property fund management business into a global-reaching real assets platform. Operating in both the direct investment and lending markets, today it actively invests and manages over £27.2bn AUM across commercial property, private residential, infrastructure, property lending and corporate credit as at 31 December 2017. Since the beginning of 2015, L&G has worked closely with Government’s Regeneration Organisation to identify and invest in critical regeneration projects that support UK growth. 

Bill previously held positions at RREEF, the Real Estate Fund Management business of Deutsche Bank and Schroder Property Investment Management. From July 2014 to July 2015, Bill was President of the British Property Federation. He is currently Chair of the Property Industry Alliance (PIA), bringing together the UK’s leading property bodies to give them a stronger collective voice on issues such as policy, research and best practice.

Anne Breen

Head of Investment Strategy (Real Estate)
Aberdeen Standard Investments

Anne’s role is to lead the investment approach, process and strategy for the real estate business. This includes the creation of a Global Houseview to support real estate investment allocations relevant to all investor outcomes, as well as the development of the risk based tools and strategic insights to deliver a strong long term risk adjusted track record for clients. Anne chairs the global committees across the Real Estate business assessing fund strategic plans for investment, distributions and asset management. Anne also holds a board position in the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) board and also sits on SLA’s Global Inclusion Committee.

Ben Page

Chief Executive
Ipsos MORI

Ben Page is Chief Executive of Ipsos MORI. He joined MORI in 1987 after graduating from Oxford University in 1986, and was one of the leaders of its first management buyout in 2000. A frequent writer and speaker on trends, leadership and performance management, he has directed thousands of surveys examining consumer trends and citizen behaviour. From 1987-1992 Ben worked in our private sector business on corporate reputation and consumer research, working for companies like Shell, BAE Systems, Sky TV and IBM. Since 1992 he has worked closely with both Conservative and Labour ministers and senior policy makers across government, leading on work for Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office and the Department of Health, as well as a wide range of local authorities and NHS Trusts. He became Chief Executive of Ipsos in the UK and Ireland in 2009. Ben is a Visiting Professor at Kings College London, and a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He sits on the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) at UKRI. He serves on advisory groups at the Kings Fund, and the Social Market Foundation (SMF), and is a Trustee at the Centre for London and at the Centre for Ageing Better, as well as a patron of Create Streets. He recently served as a commissioner on the Resolution Foundation's Intergenerational Commission. He is a Council member of the CBI for London. Ben was named one of GQ’s 100 Most Connected Men of 2015. He regularly appears on national TV and radio programmes.