Alex Russell

Managing Director
Property Alliance Group

Deborah McLaughlin

Managing Director
GL Hearn

Deborah is the Managing Director GL Hearn and chairs the Capita Housing Board. Deborah is responsible for over 1000 people with capabilities spanning project management, architecture, design and engineering. Before joining Capita in November 2016 Deborah was executive director for the North West at the Homes and Communities Agency (now Homes England), with responsibility for supporting local authorities and private sector partners in the North West to deliver housing growth and regeneration priorities.

Many successful housing projects have benefited from Deborah’s experience; in particular she was instrumental in the delivery of the affordable housing programmes, the rebirth of Ancoats in Manchester, the re-development of Kings Dock in Liverpool, working with partners to deliver the Preston and Lancashire City Deal and the rapid expansion of the Omega site near Warrington.

During her time at Homes England Deborah also completed a successful 12-month secondment as chief executive of Manchester Place, establishing a new collaborative way of working to increase housing supply in Manchester and attracting international investment. Deborah was Director of Housing at Manchester City Council before joining Homes England.

Gavin Taylor

Regional General Manager
Far East Consortium International Limited

Gavin Taylor is a Mancunian with over 15 years’ experience in development, construction and portfolio management.

He joined the Far East Consortium International Limited as Regional General Manager in 2016.  Gavin’s role sees him overseeing the expansion of the organisation in the north of the UK. He is also responsible for the Angel Meadow and Northern Gateway projects which will bring over 15,000 homes to Manchester.

Previously, as Operations Director for Beijing Construction, Gavin was instrumental in the introduction and establishment of the international conglomerate in the UK. He was also the first non-Chinese citizen to become a director of a Chinese State-Owned Entity.

Bill Hughes

Head of Real Assets
Legal & General Investment Management

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.

Colette McCormack

Partner
Winckworth Sherwood

Colette leads the national Winckworth Sherwood Planning team and has over 25 years’ experience specialising in complex housing led mixed use developments.  She is ranked band 1 and a leading individual in planning in the legal directories ( bites by clients and peers).She provides strategic planning advice and is known for her ability to lead on and deliver complex projects.  She is solutions driven and collaborative in her approach to unlocking obstacles to development.  She understands the development cycle but also the regulatory and public law paradigm that public bodies and housing associations work within.  Her work advising developers, local planning authorities, Government departments and housing associations gives her a unique insight and in depth knowledge of housing delivery including BtR .  Colette advises on some of the largest and complex developments across the country including the iconic Battersea Power Station for Wandsworth Council, Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters for Peel Holdings and Barking Riverside Limited acting for the joint venture between L&Q and the GLA (all of which deliver BtR) and BtR operators such as Moda Living .