James Murray joined the Mayor's Office in 2016 as Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, coming from Islington Council, where he held the position of Executive Member for Housing & Development for six years.

During James’s time in Islington, the borough was one of the top building local authorities in the country. He oversaw the introduction of planning policies to raise the proportion of affordable homes in new developments, including a new standard for viability assessments.

In the Mayor’s Office, James is focussing on bringing together a broad alliance – including councils, housing associations, developers and businesses – to support plans to build more new and affordable homes in London. He is advising the Mayor on planning policy, particularly helping to develop and implement new approaches to housing. He is overseeing work at City Hall to improve the private rented sector and tackle homelessness, in line with the Mayor’s priorities.

James advised the current Mayor during his selection and election campaigns. Before taking a position on Islington Council’s executive, he worked in Parliament and for a management consultancy. He has lived his whole life in London, and currently lives near King's Cross.

Nigel has held numerous senior positions within the property and regeneration industry over a career spanning 30 years, including serving as special policy adviser to Sir Bob Kerslake at the HCA. He was chief executive officer of Chelsfield plc from 1992 to 2005 and executive chairman of Lend Lease Europe from 2005 to 2008, having joined the company through the joint acquisition of the residential developer Crosby.

External appointments

Nigel is chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the respected urban think tank Centre for Cities as well as chairing the Estates Strategy Committee of the London School of Economics.

Melanie joined the British Property Federation in 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

HM Customs in 1988 and subsequently held a number of senior roles in the civil service. Her role is

to champion a diverse, successful and sustainable real estate UK real estate sector recognised for

the positive benefits it delivers to communities across the country.

Melanie is also a Trustee of the property industry charity LandAid and a member of the Council of

the University of Essex. She was awarded a CBE in 2015 for services to the food and drink industry.

Mary-Anne Bowring is the founder of Ringley Group, a multi-award winning property consultancy

established in 1997 and based in Camden Town, London, she also features weekly on Sky TV’s

Property Question Time.

A qualified engineer, property manager, lettings agent and chartered surveyor, Mary-Anne has a

detailed understanding of property assets, specialising in leasehold issues. She leads the team,

remains a practicing surveyor and carries out advocacy and expert witness work, presenting in cases

on service charge reasonableness, recoverability and valuation matters.

Key roles include setting the direction, values and vision that make Ringley a market-leading business;

researching and exploring new markets; and providing strategic guidance and coaching - helping to

develop and support both existing staff and new entrants to the industry.

A passionate consumer champion, Mary-Anne has led Ringley to win a number of prestigious

accolades including a World Skills ‘national training award’, Camden & Islington’s Employer of the

Year, the Property Week RESI Award and The Times Property Awards.

A keen advocate of customer-facing technology, Mary-Anne led development of Ringley’s BlockCare

range of property management software solutions:

- BlockCare 1000 - for Premium Blocks and facilities management

- BlockCare 500 - quality 24/7 management, and

- BlockCare 300 - an innovative online client portal for small blocks of flats

True to Ringley’s brand promise, all service levels provide 100% transparency for residents, giving all

parties instant access to all relevant documentation including live management accounts.

Strongly committed to giving back to and improving the property industry, Mary-Anne has acted as a

Governor of the Institute of Residential Property Management (IRPM) and is on the committees of

both the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) and the Notting Hill Housing Trust. She

is a consultant to the Federation of Private Resident’s Associations (FPRA) and an ambassador for the

National Apprenticeship Service.

A familiar face within the leasehold sector, Mary-Anne was recognised as Surveyor of the Year at the

Women in Property Awards in 2010.  She is one of News on the Block’s top 100 residential property

people.

It is Mary-Anne’s energy, technical expertise, and determination to see others achieve their true

potential that is behind the Ringley philosophy: Professional advice and great service from brilliant

people - every time.

Since 1997, Mary-Anne has developed the Ringley Group to manage over 10,000 properties, as well as

providing valuation, building engineering and legal services in the leasehold enfranchisement sector.

During this time, she is proud that the Ringley team has saved clients over £2M by taking a practical,

hands-on approach to right to manage, lease extensions and other enfranchisement issues, to directly

benefit flat owners.

Jonathan co-founded Cain International in 2014 and has since built it into a privately held real estate investment firm with $5.8 billion of debt and equity transactions in Europe and the United States. Under his leadership, Cain International was named Property Week’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017.

Prior to Cain International, Jonathan was Head of European Real Estate and Direct Investments at Guggenheim Partners, the global investment and advisory firm. He previously served for seven years as Deputy Chief Executive of Heron International, where he led substantial real estate transactions in the UK and Europe and played a central role in Rontec’s 2011 acquisition of 500 Total petrol stations and the majority of its downstream business in the UK.

Prior to Heron, Jonathan worked at Olswang LLP, an award-winning international law firm. He became a partner at age 28 and one of the youngest ever chief executive of a city law firm at age 32. Under his stewardship, the firm’s turnover grew significantly and it was awarded ‘Law Firm of the Year’ on multiple occasions. During that time, the firm also expanded operations into Belgium and Germany and entered into a global alliance with Greenberg Traurig.

Jonathan currently serves as the Chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, the umbrella organisation of the UK Jewish community. He is also the Chair of the Trust of the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, a trustee of The Gerald & Gail Ronson Family Foundation and an Honorary President of Camp Simcha. He previously served as the Chair of Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS), the Vice-Chair of Jewish Care and Chair of Governors of Kerem School in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Jonathan holds a law degree from the University of Manchester and qualified as a solicitor in 1988.

Tony Gibbon is a founding partner of the real estate advisory practice GM Real Estate, formally known as BH2, the firm generally regarded to be the leading niche operator in the Central London market. His career started in 1981 at Prudential and he co-founded BH2 more than twenty years ago. He is a Trustee of Chickenshed Theatre Trust, the Old Vic Theatre and the Bruno Tampo Foundation. He is Chairman of the Development Board of The Willow Foundation, a member of the Development Board at the Royal Albert Hall and Fund Manager of the Real Estate Fund of Trust for London (formally known as City Parochial Foundation).

A highly experienced real estate executive, John spent 18 years at JLL where he was a member of the UK Board and, amongst other responsibilities, ran their Corporate Services business.

He has worked across the EMEA market in a number of roles, starting with the Tenant Representation team in Paris and latterly becoming Managing Director for JLL Central & Eastern Europe, based in Warsaw.

A proven business leader, his main focus at Instant is growing and developing the business in the UK and EMEA.

Sir Stuart Lipton is a Co-Founder of Chelsfield Partners LLP. Sir. Lipton is a distinguished property developer in London since late 1960's. He was a Founder of Stanhope PLC. He was a Founding Chairman of CABE. He serves as Deputy Chairman of Chelsfield Partners. He has been Non-Executive Director at Investment Property Databank Ltd., since 2009. He is a member of National Theatre Board and a Commissioner of Royal Fine Art Commission. Sir. Lipton is a honorary fellow of Royal Institute of British Architects, and Imperial College.

Tony Travers is Director of LSE London, a research centre at the London School of Economics. He is also a Visiting Professor in the LSE’s Government Department. His key research interests include local and regional government and public service reform.

He is currently an advisor to the House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Select Committee and the Communities and Local Government Select Committee. He has published a number of books on cities and government, including Failure in British Government, The Politics of the Poll Tax (with David Butler and Andrew Adonis), Paying for Health, Education and Housing: How does the Centre Pull the Purse Strings (with Howard Glennerster and John Hills) and The Politics of London: Governing the Ungovernable City.

Zafar Bhunnoo is co-founder and co-CEO of Balance Out Living, a vertically integrated co-living platform with a pipeline of 1,900 homes across the capital. Zafar entered real estate 15 years ago, beginning his career at development manager M3 Consulting before moving on to Blackstone and then Spaces, a ground-breaking co-living developer and operator. As co-founder of Spaces, Zafar was responsible for the creation of a £250m portfolio.

With deep experience across a broad range of purpose-built operational real estate but specialising in co-living, Zafar co-founded Balance Out Living with Sarah Christie, ex-partner and development director at The Collective, in 2020. The company secured Oaktree Capital as its sole funding partner and plans to develop and operate an €1bn pipeline.

Mike is UK editor of Bisnow. Before this, alongside three friends he bought pan-European property mag EuroProperty out of non-existence and re established it before selling the business to PropertyEU. Prior to that he was editor of Property Week, and has also worked for Estates Gazette.

Nick Leslau, 57, BSc (Hons) Est Man, FRICS, is Chairman of Prestbury Investments LLP, Investment Adviser to the Group. He is a Chartered Surveyor who has been Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings Limited since it commenced business in 2000 and Chairman of Prestbury Investments LLP since its establishment in 2006. He was Chief Executive of Burford Holdings Plc for approximately ten years up to 1997 and Group Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Group Plc from 2008. He has sat on many quoted and unquoted company boards including, most recently, Max Property Group Plc, and is a Member of the Bank of England Property Forum.

Mr. Breslauer founded Patron Capital in 1999 and is the Managing Director of Patron Capital Advisers, LLP (and held a similar position in its predecessor vehicles), the investment adviser to the Patron Capital Funds (including Patron Capital Captive Fund, Funds I - V). In addition to his overall leadership responsibility, Mr. Breslauer is primarily responsible for leading the origination efforts of all Patron funds.

Mr. Breslauer began his career at Lehman Brothers, where he worked for approximately ten years until 1997. At Lehman Brothers, Mr. Breslauer was involved in and led many transactions in the U.S. distressed markets in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, while with Lehman Brothers, he moved to London and assisted in creating and leading the Principal Finance Group to invest in financial institution and property assets and companies, and served as the co-head for the International Mortgage and Real Estate Department until 1997. In 1997, Mr. Breslauer left Lehman Brothers to create and manage an investment fund focusing on smaller European property and property-related opportunities which was a bridge to the ultimate formation of Patron.

Madeleine is the Head of the Commercial Real Estate team at Lloyds. She joined in November 2014 as Head of Institutional, looking after Private Equity, Pension Fund and Sovereign Wealth clients before taking up her current position in August 2017. Her role involves developing and leading the business activity plans for relationships across the Commercial Real Estate market with a specialist team based across 6 UK locations. In 2016 Lloyds lent £8.6 bn into the UK CRE market, delivering €1,547m of debt syndication and Madeleine was key in driving the client franchise which included both leading UK institutions and large global investors.

She previously held the Head of International clients at pbb, where she covered Europe wide real estate financing from 2011-2014. Prior to this, she worked at Westimmo and Eurohypo and started her career on the equity side at Trillium.

Paul is a corporate real estate partner and has extensive experience of portfolio acquisitions or disposals through group company structures often involving multiple jurisdictions; joint ventures including all forms of joint venture vehicles from private companies to all types of partnerships, LLPs and unit trusts and other unincorporated associations; SPV sales and purchases (for example to effect SDLT mitigation schemes); Jersey Property Unit Trusts (JPUTs); sale and leaseback structures; property and asset management agreements and shareholder disputes.

Michelle Senior is Head of Programmes and Application Management at Land Securities, the largest listed commercial property company in the UK by market capitalisation. Landsec buy, sell, manage and develop office, retail, leisure and residential space; owning some of the highest profile buildings in the country.

Through her role as the Head of Programmes and Application Management, Michelle has overall responsibility for planning, directing and coordinating activities pertaining to technology and business unit projects. The role is responsible for managing the team that delivers all internal IT and business change projects as well as managing and supporting the Land Securities portfolio of applications. Prior to Land Securities, Michelle has undertaken consultancy roles initially implementing finance systems and later specialising in project and programme management.

Michelle achieved a BSc degree in Accounting prior to qualifying as a Certified Accountant (ACCA). She has some 15 years' experience in IT.

Pete Finnerty joined MRI Software in 2014 as Commercial Director for EMEA. With over 20 years of enterprise software experience in financial services, Pete has forged relationships with some of the largest financial institutions in the U.K. In more recent years, Pete has become a strong advocate for leveraging technology in the real estate investment sphere. Originally from the U.S., Pete has lived in the U.K. for more than 20 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Charlie Wade is the EMEA Managing Director for VTS, the modern platform for commercial

real estate. The fastest growing technology company in commercial real estate history, it has

over 12 billion sq ft of office, retail and industrial assets combined managed on its platform

globally. Prior to VTS, Charlie spent 10 years at JLL, working in London, New York and Silicon Valley,

leading business development for the West Coast hub of JLL’s International Desk.

Professor Andrew Baum is renowned for his role as Professor of Practice at the University of Oxford, where he led the Future of Real Estate Initiatives at the Saïd Business School, which was launched to research and predict future changes to the industry over the next decade, including the impact of innovation and technology. He has balanced his academic career with several prominent private sector roles including chairman of Property Funds Research, an investment advisory firm and Chairman of Newcore Capital Management, a real estate fund manager as well as leadership roles at CBRE Global Investors, Invesco and Grosvenor. Andrew has recently taken on a role as Strategic Advisor for IMMO Capital.

Jeffrey G. Dishner is a Senior Managing Director at Starwood Capital Group, where he is responsible for overseeing the Firm’s acquisition efforts on a worldwide basis. In this role, Mr. Dishner assists the team in originating, structuring, underwriting and closing investments in all property types. He has also helped drive Starwood Capital’s ongoing expansion of operations in Europe, as compelling investment opportunities in the region continue to increase. Reflecting the success of this effort, Starwood Capital in 2013 was named European Firm of the Year by leading industry publication PERE. Mr. Dishner is a member of the Firm’s Executive and Investment Committees, and also serves on the Investment Committee and board of trustees of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), an affiliate of Starwood Capital that is the largest commercial mortgage REIT in the U.S.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 1994, Mr. Dishner worked in the commercial mortgage finance group at J.P. Morgan & Co., where he focused on whole-loan dispositions and securitizations for various thrift institutions. Before that, Mr. Dishner was a member of the acquisitions group at JMB Realty.

Mr. Dishner received a B.S. degree in economics from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Dartmouth College’s Amos Tuck School, where he serves on the Advisory Board.

Cody Bradshaw is a Managing Director and Head of European Hotels at Starwood Capital Group. In this role, he oversees the Firm’s hospitality acquisition and asset management activities across Europe. His portfolio responsibilities have included numerous North American and European lodging investments, including the Firm’s ownership of Louvre Hotels, the second-largest hotel chain in Europe. He has played a leading role in managing and growing The Principal Hotel Company portfolio that comprises over 40 properties and 6,500 keys across the United Kingdom—highlighted by the brand launch and opening in 2016 of The Principal Manchester, Edinburgh and York.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2011, Mr. Bradshaw served as VP of Acquisitions at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB). Before that, he was the first employee of the Chartres Lodging Group, where he played an integral role in growing the firm over a seven-year period. Mr. Bradshaw began his career at Hyatt Development Corp.

Mr. Bradshaw received a B.S. degree from Cornell University. He co-created the Certified Hotel Asset Manager professional designation program, which launched in 2012, and is the Co-Founder and President of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association of Europe. He is also a member of the International Hotel Investment Council.

Steve Cassidy is Senior Vice President & Managing Director, UK & Ireland, Hilton, and is responsible for the company’s multi-brand portfolio across the British Isles. He joined Hilton’s revenue management team in 2009, moving into hotel operations in September 2011. His remit expanded in 2015 to include all Hilton’s owned and managed properties in UK & Ireland.

Steve’s current position sees him responsible for the operations of hotels ranging from the luxury Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh - the Caledonian and flagship London Hilton on Park Lane to a growing portfolio of value focused Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn properties. In 2016 Steve oversaw the €8m refurbishment of Conrad Dublin, and this year he will welcome Hilton’s first modular built hotel, with the opening of Hampton by Hilton Bristol Airport. He has driven the development of Hilton’s management services in the UK & Ireland, innovating and enhancing Hilton’s proposition to owners.

Steve is Chairman of the Hospitality Guild and a Board Director of the British Hospitality Association.

Jeffrey joined Equinox in August of 2006 as an Executive Vice President and Chief Development

Officer. In such capacity, he oversees all real estate development activities for the Company's brands, domestically and internationally.

Prior to accepting such position, Mr. Weinhaus was a senior partner in Rosen Weinhaus LLP, a

Manhattan-based law firm that specialized in business and real estate law. While at Rosen Weinhaus, in

addition to representing numerous clients on a variety of business and real estate matters, Mr. Weinhaus served as Equinox‘s outside general counsel. After graduating from The University of Michigan in 1987, and The Boston University School of Law in 1991, Mr. Weinhaus practiced law at national firms, Katten Muchin & Rosenman LLP and Sills Cummis & Gross P.C.

Gerard has been involved in hotel real estate since 1988 as an investor and advisor. He has sold over 400 hotels in central London alone since 1988.

In the early 1990’s, Gerard founded the Savills Hotel team and created their healthcare and commercial private finance business. Prior to Savills Gerard headed the Colliers hotels division and was a board member of Christie & Co. During his time at Savills he was also a board member.

In 2006, acting as a principal, Gerard acquired a portfolio of nine QMH hotels for £100 million from Goldman Sachs, simultaneously leased them to the Carlson Rezidor Group, and sold eight of them 6 six months later for a £20m profit. He went on to acquire and own a total of 50 hotels in the following three-year period.

In 2009 he founded GNP, a brokerage business specialising in hotel and serviced apartments, which has transacted on 2,000 serviced apartments, and sold more than £2b hotel assets. Notable deals include:

Ham Yard Theatre, Soho, W1

Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London, SE

South Place Hotel, London, EC2M

Park Plaza County Hall, London, SE1

Hampton by Hilton, London Waterloo, SE1

The Collective, Baltimore Wharf, E14

Hotel Novotel London, Canary Wharf, E14

Park Plaza London Riverbank, SE1

Park Inn Thurrock Hotel, RM16

Park Inn, Northampton, NN1

Princes Square, W2

Canopy Queensbridge House, EC4

Wild in the Strand

Bow Street Magistrates Court, WC2

In 2012, with £2 million seed equity, Gerard created an investment and asset management business, C1 Capital. Today C1 Capital owns three hotels and has grown the initial £2 million seed money to £12 million of equity. In September of this year, it acquired it’s third hotel, a 145-bed room Park Inn Hotel in the city of Northampton. In addition, with third party agreements, this business manages 1,700 hotel rooms across the UK, with a capital value in excess of £350m.

Ian graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1981 with a degree in Land Economy. Ian was in the banking industry for over 32 years having previously worked for Bank of America, UBS, NatWest and Bankers Trust/Deutsche, always focusing on the real estate industry. Ian joined Credit Suisse First Boston in 1999 to establish the Real Estate Group, and became Managing Director and Chairman of the European Real Estate Investment Banking.

Ian is a member of Redevco’s Advisory Board, the Senior Independent Director for Shurgard Self Storage, and a Non Executive Director for Town Centre Securities Plc. He is a Senior Adviser to both Eastdil Secured and Anschutz Entertainment Group. He is the Immediate Past President of the Cambridge University Land Society and a Senior Advisor to two new Businesses, Work Life and Elysian Residences. He is a Trustee of the Saracens Multi Academy Trust. He chaired the Princes Regeneration Trust for 11 years and was a Trustee of the Princes Foundation. Ian is a former Crown Estate Commissioner, former Senior Independent Director of Secure Income REIT,a past President of the British Property Federation, past Chairman of the Investment Property Forum, a Fellow of the RICS and for 10 years chaired the Bank of England Commercial Property Forum. Ian was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in HM Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours List.

Helen Gordon is Chief Executive of Grainger plc the UK’s largest listed residential

landlord.

Helen was appointed Chief Executive of Grainger in January 2016 from RBS where

she had been Global Head of Real Estate Asset Management since October 2011.

Prior to that Helen was Director of Legal and General Property, responsible for the

Main Life Fund and c.8 smaller Funds, and Group Property Director of Railtrack and

Managing Director of John Laing Developments.

She has represented various business on London First since 1998. Helen is Senior

Independent Director on the Board of Derwent London and is currently Vice Chair

and a Board Director of the European Public Real Estate Association. Helen is Past

President of the British Property Federation and was a member of the Government’s

Urban Centre Recovery Taskforce for post Covid recovery. Helen has held a

number of non-exec positions and Government appointments including the Board of

Covent Garden Market Authority and Board of British Waterways.

Bill joined Legal & General in 2007 and is responsible for transforming its UK property fund management business into a global real assets platform. Operating in both the direct investment and lending markets, today it actively invests and manages over £35bn of assets across real estate, infrastructure and corporate and alternative debt. Bill continues to play an active role in several influential government and industry committees around responsible investing, infrastructure, urban regeneration and housing. He is a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and is on the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) Governance Board. Bill is also Chair of the Property Industry Alliance (PIA), which brings together the UK’s leading property bodies to give them a stronger collective voice on issues such as policy, research and best practice. Prior to joining Legal & General, Bill was CEO at RREEF UK (the Real Estate Fund Management business of DWS) and Head of Research and Deputy Managing Director at Schroder Property Investment Management.

Mat Oakley is head of Savills' UK and European commercial property research department. He leads a team of researchers who cover all aspects of commercial property research in all key markets throughout the UK and Europe.

He has been researching, discussing, observing and occasionally forecasting correctly the property trends in London since the late 1980’s. Over that time he has worked on wide variety of iconic London projects including Crossrail, Battersea Power Station, Wembley Stadium and Kings Cross. Much of Mat’s time is spent on selling London’s strengths to a global occupier and investor audience, while worrying about factors that might inhibit its growth, significance, and attraction as a place to live, work and invest in.