Chris Oglesby was appointed CEO of Bruntwood in 1999 and has overseen the growth of the business to one that owns over £1bn of commercial property across the city regions of Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Leeds with a further £1bn development pipeline across all four cities. Bruntwood was founded on a belief that its success comes from the success of its colleagues, customers and the communities in which it operates.

Simon joined Aviva in January 2022 to help establish Aviva Capital Partners as a new business within the group, investing the Aviva’s proprietary balance capital into projects and infrastructure in the UK.

Simon brings nearly 30 years of expertise in funding and delivering major projects in the UK, with considerable experience in forming and managing joint venture partnerships and strategic alliances. His background covers funding and financing of large-scale real estate and infrastructure projects, as well as executive leadership.

During his 8 years as CEO of a large privately owned development and investment business, Simon led the delivery of over £1bn of large-scale regional regeneration projects, including a 300-acre multi-phase, mixed-use development to the east of Leeds (Thorpe Park), a new 25-acre living and working community with curated public realm in Salford (Middlewood Locks) and a new digital campus for Sheffield City Centre.

Simon has a substantial track record in working in partnership with local, regional and national government and has worked extensively with international partners from the US, Singapore and the Far East.

Alongside his role with Aviva, Simon is also a board member of the Stockport Mayoral Development Corporation, the UK’s first town-centre focused MDC.

Paul Smith is a director in the UK real estate asset management team of Barings, one of the world’s largest diversified real estate investment managers.

He oversees the full breadth of asset management activities, leading major development, refurbishment, and repositioning projects across the UK. His recent work includes transforming best‑in‑class office assets such as 25 Moorgate in the City of London and the Davidson Building in London’s West End, as well as delivering large, prime logistics schemes at Omega West in Warrington and Momentum in Rainham.

Matthew Forward is the Senior Investment Manager of Real Estate at Nest, where he is responsible for overseeing the scheme's growing real estate portfolio. He joined Nest in 2025 and previously spent 10 years at LaSalle Investment Management as Portfolio Manager. He has a BSC Hons in Business Administration BBA from University of Bath and is a CFA charterholder.

Laura Kurt is Managing Director at Fusion Group, one of the UK’s leading student accommodation developers. Since joining in 2019, she has led on brand strategy, ESG, and marketing, and now drives the development of Fusion’s product offering, overseeing operations and asset management across its growing portfolio. Laura has played a key role in shaping Fusion’s wellbeing-focused approach and has led initiatives such as its supplier framework and social impact campaigns.

Katie Whipp is a recognised leader in real estate innovation, operating at the intersection of technology, sustainability, and commercial performance. As Chief Business Officer at re:sustain—an award-winning energy optimisation platform—she leads commercial growth, go-to-market execution, and operational delivery, ensuring science-led innovation delivers measurable impact across global property portfolios.

With 15+ years in proptech, ESG, and commercial real estate, Katie combines startup agility with deep corporate insight, having held senior roles at CBRE and Cluttons. At Deepki, she built and led the UK business from inception—scaling to 4,000+ assets, growing a 45-person team, and securing the company’s first global partnership with CBRE, inc. expansion to the US and APAC. Under her leadership, Deepki UK won Proptech of the Year 2023 at the Property Week Awards.

Driven by a belief that technology should solve real problems—not create new ones—Katie focuses on innovation that delivers tangible, enduring value for the people and systems shaping the built world.

Alongside her role at re:sustain, she is a Non-Executive Director at Trustek and Board Advisor to MeterZ, mentors emerging leaders at City, University of London, and is completing an Executive MBA at Imperial College London, where she was awarded the Inspiring Women Scholarship for leadership and industry impact.

Peter Graham is a Tax Partner at RSM, based in the Manchester office, specialising in capital tax reliefs.

He also operates nationally as RSM’s tax lead for real estate and construction, an industry he is passionate about due to the people and complex challenges involved in constructing a property. He loves nothing more than putting on his hard hat, high-vis jacket and steel-toe-capped boots to visit a client’s latest construction project.

With over 20 years of experience, Peter advises businesses on ways to optimise their overall tax position. His area of expertise is delivering tax savings to clients who incur capital expenditure on acquisition, construction, extension and refurbishment of commercial properties.