RICS Governing Council

Vanessa Curtis is a Fellow of the RICS and a Senior Director at CBRE with 16 years of industry experience working with corporate occupiers of real estate.  Currently she advises clients in the Technology, Media and Telecoms sectors on portfolio strategy, portfolio transformation and risk mitigation.  Vanessa also Chairs CBRE’s Ability Network and sits on CBRE’s UK DEI Steer Co.

Vanessa is passionate about all things DEI, outside of work she is Founder and Chair of AbilityRE, a non-profit organisation set up to drive awareness & inclusion and generate opportunities within the real estate and built environment sectors for people with disability, neurodiversity, mental ill-health, and long-term health conditions.  She is also the CoreNet Global UK Chapter DEI Ambassador and involved in the RICS working groups on DEI.

Outside of work, Vanessa enjoys sport, coaches kids and ladies football, has two children and two dogs and a snake!

Johanna is a Chartered Surveyor and Registered Valuer. She has over 27 years’ experience working in Oxford, Birmingham, London and Dublin. She returned to Dublin in 2005 and worked for Cushman & Wakefield until July 2023. She was Deputy Head of the Valuation & Advisory team where she was responsible for building their Irish fund valuation business. In addition she advised banks and other financial institutions and corporates.

Johanna was heavily involved with the graduate training programme within Cushman & Wakefield, she is an APC Assessor and is a supporter of on-going professional development and often delivers CPD for the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland. During 2022/23 Johanna delivered a number of modules to both the Property Economics and Auctioneering students in TU Dublin. Johanna has beeninvolved as a mentor with both SCSI and IMI.

Having served on the Board of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland for 2 years, Johanna took on the role of President of SCSI in May 2019, and served her term until August 2020. She continues to be involved in SCSI as a member of the Sustainability Working Group and is on the RICS Ireland Board.

Andrew has been a partner within Knight Frank’s Valuation & Advisory business based in London, since 2007.  His main area of responsibility is within valuation quality and risk, both in the UK and globally. Andrew is an RICS Registered Valuer with extensive professional experience of property valuation, particularly within the living space sector. In addition to the UK, Andrew has considerable experience of valuation practice across Europe and internationally.

In 2022, Andrew was appointed by Governing Council to Chair the Knowledge & Practice Steering Group, which advised on the formation of the new Knowledge & Practice Committee, one of the recommendations of the Bichard Report. Previously, Andrew has chaired a number of RICS initiatives relating to Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Andrew holds a BSc Estate Management from the University of Greenwich and an MBA from Bayes Business School, City University of London.  He has a passion for the future of his profession shared by many RICS members.

As a Senior Director Research & Valuation Management, Birgit is responsible for the coordination and reporting of external valuations for the real estate assets and funds of Corestate Capital Group. For this, she collaborates with the Group's Asset Management, Fund and Portfolio Management, Risk Management, Controlling and Accounting teams. She is also responsible for the regular reporting to investors on current market developments.

Birgit has over 20 years of experience in real estate valuation and strategic management consulting. She is experienced in the valuation of international commercial and residential portfolios and single assets for national and international investors, such as institutional funds, banks, project developers for purchasing, accounting, or financing purposes. She gained her experience at various international real estate consultancies, including JLL, Cushman & Wakefield and Roedl & Partner.

David qualified as a chartered surveyor in Dublin, Ireland in 1994 under the mentorship of John Oliver Costello at Costello Commercial.  He has over fifteen years of industry experience in office agency, shopping centre asset management and commercial property valuations in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.  During this time, he worked with several leading real estate firms such as JLL and Colliers International and other firms which have since been subsumed into international firms such as CBRE and Deloitte.

In 2011 David became a full-time academic at the University College of Estate Management (UCEM) specialising in property investment, valuation, property asset management and property agency in the commercial property sector. He is the programme leader for the MSc Real Estate.  He is a knowledge expert at UCEM on the subject of ‘Ethics’ and a member of the institution’s EDI and apprenticeships working groups.  UCEM is the leading provider of supported online education for the built environment.

He is an APC assessor/chair for both the RICS and SCSI (Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland) and a member of the ‘Education and CPD’ standing committee at the SCSI.

Between 2017-2020 he was an External Examiner for the BSc Auctioneering, Valuation & Estate Agency degree programme at the Technological University Dublin and an External Adviser for the BSc (Hons) Real Estate and MSc Real Estate at Liverpool John Moores University in 2022.

David regularly runs a series of ‘Introduction to Office Investment’ webinars at Bayfield Training in which he and industry guest speakers review office investment dynamics in cities such as Budapest, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Lyon and Paris.  He has also provided webinars for the École Supérieure des Professions Immobilières (ESPI), France and Northern Business School (NBS), Germany in 2021/2022.

Gordon is a Chartered Land Surveyor with over 30 year’s professional experience of Hydrographic and Land surveying and associated spatial data management. He is director of Venture Geomatics Limited a technical consultancy based in the United Kingdom providing support to the energy, engineering and telecoms sectors.

After graduating from the University of Glasgow he worked on projects worldwide becoming the global group Chief Surveyor of a large international survey company, before, in 2006, setting up an independent consultancy which continues today. His work involves many elements of spatial data across land, coastal and marine areas and Gordon is active in promoting and expanding the awareness and importance of marine natural capital and the blue economy.

Gordon is a vice chair of FIG Commission 4 – Hydrography; is an FIG member of the FIG/IHO/ICA International Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers (IBSC) which oversees the Standards at an international level, an external examiner and industry advisor to several UK tertiary educational institutions and he is a board member and Fellow of the Hydrographic Society of UK & Ireland and is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Navigation.

William James (‘Bill’) Jones qualified as a Chartered Valuation Surveyor in 1986 whilst working in private practice in Liverpool, England. He joined Shell in a Corporate Real Estate role in 2002 and through Shell, he came to work and live permanently in Singapore. In March 2008, he became the inaugural RICS Singapore Working Group Chair and Singapore representative on the RICS Asia Board. He was appointed full-time RICS Managing Director for the SE-Asia World Region in October 2011, and later became the RICS Director of Standards for the Asia-Pacific Region.

He became an RICS Fellow in 2012 and continues to work in the property industry in Singapore where he has held a number of global Real Estate positions during the past 7 years. Indeed, he is currently the Global Corporate Real Estate & Workplace Manager for Maxeon Solar Technologies, based in Singapore.

He continues his involvement with RICS as an APC Assessor, Licensed Assessor Trainer and APC Auditor for SE-Asia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. He is also the author of the book ‘’The History of Chartered Surveyors in Singapore 1868-1968’’ published in May 2023.

He was elected to RICS Governing Council from 1 January 2020 (ASEAN seat) and was re-elected to Governing Council from 1 July 2023 to serve the Asia-Pacific region.

Kenneth is the Chairman of Rider Levett Bucknall North Asia Region and is also one of the ten Global Board Directors of the group.  He has over 37 year experience in the quantity surveying field.  He has been involved in different types of projects in both public and private sectors in Hong Kong, and projects in Macau, Mainland China and a few other countries involving international clients and consultants.  He specializes in holistic cost management and quantity surveying skills including cost planning, value engineering, procurement strategy and dispute resolution.

Kenneth has been a former Board Member of RICS Asia Pacific World Regional Board from 2017 to 2023, a former Chairman of the Asia QS Professional Group Board of the RICS from 2012 to 2016 and also a former Chairman of the RICS Hong Kong Board from 2011 to 2013.

Steven has been a member of Governing Council since July 2023.

Steven has worked in the built environment for more than 25 years and, for the last ten years in academia developing and delivering RICS accredited programmes.

As well as being a chartered surveyor Steven is qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Building. He holds degrees in Land Economics, Law, Local Economic Development and in Oil & Gas Law and has published around the area of land use in the oil and gas industry.

Steven has been active within the RICS in various roles before coming to the Governing Council and has a particular interest in the global expansion of RICS and the development of educational pathways to membership internationally.

Alexia has 30 years’ global experience in construction cost management, based in the United States. Having started her career in estimating and project controls at KTI Corporation, she transitioned to valuation and real estate roles at Deloitte and risk modelling at Faithful+Gould, then spent 15 years as an external auditor. She is a sole-trader management consultant, professor, and researcher.

Alexia has published several technical books, and over 100 papers and presentations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics, master’s degree in Civil (Structural) Engineering, and PhD in Strategy, Project, and Programme Management. Alexia is a Fellow of the RICS, AACE International, ICEC, and the Guild of Project Controls. She was previously Chair of ICEC and President of AACE International. She is an accomplished ultramarathon-distance open-water swimmer and an on-skates referee for women’s flat track roller derby, in her spare time.

Jonathan is a Chartered Surveyor and RICS Registered Valuer with over 20 year’s extensive professional experience in residential survey and valuation. Formerly, employed as area and regional surveyor with e.surv, Valunation and Broadbent and Co. He is Technical Director for Syderek Survey Solutions and The Moving Portal and non-executive director of Paisley Surveyors consultancy based in the United Kingdom. His main area of responsibility is within survey and valuation risk and compliance.

Jonathan is passionate about promoting sustainability and ED&I within the property industry.

Jonathan holds a BSc in Urban Land Economics from Sheffield Hallam University and sits as Co-optee on his Local authority scrutiny panel for Economy and Neighbourhoods, as well as being a SAVA assessor alongside holding various charitable trustee roles.

Uche is the Chief Valuation Officer, Cayman Islands Government, responsible for formulating and implementing Real Estate policies and procedures. Previously, employed as the Business Development Manager for the Caribbean Region with DDL, a full-service real estate practice based in the Cayman Islands. Uche has over 25 years real estate experience gained in the UK and Caribbean within the private and public sector.

He serves as the RICS Cayman Chapter Chair, is a member of the RICS Caribbean Advisory Group and previously served on the RICS Americas World Region Board. He is a Fellow of RICS, a registered valuer, a Licensed Assessor Trainer and an APC Assessor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Estate Management, a Masters degree in Property Valuation and Law and a post-graduate diploma in Business Systems Analysis and Design from the City University Business School in London, England.

Sunny is a dedicated member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), having demonstrated unwavering commitment to the profession for over a decade. With a Bachelor's degree in Building Surveying, he became a chartered surveyor in 2021, marking a significant milestone in his career.

Over the course of his career, Sunny has accumulated over 8 years of experience in the residential and commercial sectors within the UK. Initially, worked as a Client-side Project Manager for Registered Providers, overseeing the procurement of affordable housing stock, and working on large-scale estate regeneration projects ranging from £10-30 million. Sunny showcased his project management skills and ability to successfully navigate complex projects by collaborating with various disciplines and prominent housebuilders. He also served as a Building Surveyor and Project Manager during his time at BNP Paribas Real Estate, further displaying his versatility and expertise in the field.

Whilst at BNP Paribas Real Estate Sunny also co-chaired the Multicultural Network within the BNP Paribas UK group. This employee network, boasting over 800+ members, became a vessel for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, resonating with Sunny's core values of fostering an inclusive workplace culture.

In September 2023, Sunny transitioned to Hart Dixon, specialising in construction delivery for fit-out and refurbishment projects in the commercial and high-end residential sectors as a senior surveyor. His involvement in high-value projects, some exceeding £80 million, illustrates his adeptness in project management, contract administration for CAT B refurbishments, and risk and stakeholder management. Sunny is also on the path to becoming an RICS Assessor for Project Management, reflecting his continual pursuit of professional development.

Beyond his professional realm, Sunny is a passionate advocate for inclusivity and youth empowerment. He serves as a STEM and RICS Inspire Ambassador, encouraging schoolchildren to explore careers in surveying. Additionally, Sunny supports a housing charity for homeless youth, actively engaging in fundraising initiatives.

As a member of the Governing Council, Sunny aims to promote robust engagement across all communities, supporting ongoing improvements within RICS. Throughout his term, collaboration with the president and other council members to leverage his expertise and passion is at the forefront, aiming to foster positive change within the organisation, especially in the realms of technology, sustainability, diversity, and inclusion in the property industry.

Michael leads the Asia Pacific Forensic practice of Control Risks, a global specialist risk consultancy that helps to create secure, compliant and resilient organisations. He has a unique blend of expertise in valuation techniques and arbitration law. With a diverse background spanning North America, Europe, the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, and now Asia Pacific, Michael possesses a deep understanding of cultural nuances, particularly in the realm of disputes.

Throughout his impressive career, Michael has honed his skills as a forensic accountant, assisting clients in navigating complex and sensitive situations involving theft, fraud, bribery, money laundering, corruption, and regulatory breaches. His extensive experience, exceeding 25 years, has solidified his reputation as a global leader in dispute resolution across commercial, investor-state (BIT) or state-on-state matters, utilizing various platforms such as arbitration, litigation, and mediation. Michael's primary focus lies in establishing factual foundations, allowing disputing parties to base their negotiations on agreed-upon evidence. Additionally, he provides expert guidance to clients regarding potential dispute outcomes, sometimes acting as a jointly appointed expert. Furthermore, he lends his expertise to judges and arbitrators, aiding their understanding of accounting, valuation, and regulatory issues that arise in disputes, either as an expert witness or tribunal member.

Recognized and respected by his peers, Michael has served as an APC assessor almost since his admission to membership of RICS. He has also held the position of honorary treasurer at the European branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and he currently serves as a board member of its Singapore branch. As a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA), Certified Fraud Examiner, and Financial Forensic Professional (SG), Michael brings a wealth of experience to the Governing Council of RICS.

Blane is a chartered FRICS Quantity Surveyor and a chartered member of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors. He is the Founder and Managing Director of surveying practice Pride Consulting IMS Limited. His work involves independent monitoring surveying, acting as professional advisor to numerous banks and financial institutions.

He is at the forefront of the Independent Monitoring Surveying (IMS) profession, having supported RICS in the potential establishment of an IMS pathway, volunteering his time and expertise to support the review and development of new pathways and competencies.

After graduating from the University of Reading with a BSc Hons Degree in surveying he has gone on to hold Executive Board Positions in numerous surveying practices including founding his own firm, which is still active today. He is a huge advocate for the future of the profession and the next generation of surveyors, acting as an industry ambassador speaking at schools and universities on the surveying profession.

In 2019, Blane won the honour and accolade of RICS Matrics Surveyor of the Year Award.

Blane also holds a current position as RICS UK delegate on The European Council of Construction Economics (CEEC).

As Chief Executive, Simon oversees the Lothbury Investment Management team, business operations and management functions. Simon is a member of the LIM Board and the LIM Risk Committee.

Simon also has executive responsibility for all LIM funds, although each fund has an independent Board that is responsible for corporate governance and approval of the fund’s annual investment strategy.

Simon has 40 years’ experience in both direct and indirect property investment. He was previously a Director with NatWest Investment Management and Gartmore Investment Management. He is responsible for developing the LIM core/active investment strategy to provide investors with exposure to the UK and European property through the launch of Lothbury Property Trust in 2000, the European Property Fund in 2006 and the Secure Income Fund in 2011.

Simon is a past chair of the RICS London branch and Director of The Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF).

Chris Seymour has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry and over 14 years based in the Middle East working in most of the major cities in the region.

Currently leading the strategy and investment of the Mott MacDonald Group in ME Africa and South Asia, Chris is the former managing director of the company’s 1300 strong Middle East operation and Chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) MENA World Regional Board 2020 – 2023.

Chris is also an independent advisor on the Investment Committee of ENBD Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and is an active member of the IPFA. Having spent many years in PFI and PPP procurement practising in both UK, Europe and Middle East he also advises many clients on strategy, risk, commercial and technical advice for large public-sector investments.

A familiar face at conferences and industry events, Chris was awarded Construction Executive of the Year in 2020 by Construction Week magazine.

Justin is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with more than 35 years of experience and standing in the construction industry since founding Adair in 1994. Justin is immediate past Chair of the Construction Industry Council (CIC), a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and immediate past Chair of the International Cost Management Standards Coalition (ICMS). Justin is also an Independent Member of Council for Buckinghamshire New University. Justin is also RICS representative on the CEEC council.

Justin specialises in contract management, project management, quantity surveying and project monitoring for construction and infrastructure projects in the UK and internationally, including Gibraltar, Sudan, the Cayman Islands and the UAE.

He acts as an expert witness for construction claims, adjudications, arbitrations and civil proceedings in court and has given evidence in the UK Technology and Construction Court on a number of occasions and as recently as January 2023. He has acted as expert and single joint expert on over 200 matters and is renowned for his skill and expertise in construction disputes, including giving oral evidence in court and in arbitration proceedings.

Justin has chaired and spoken at many conferences for the RICS, CEEC and the CIC and is skilled at organising and facilitating networking clubs and events. 

Nicholas Maclean is a Fellow member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is currently RICS Senior Vice-President. He has previously served as a member then interim Chair of the RICS Governing Council, and as an interim RICS Board Member and Chair of RICS Membership Services Committee. Prior to taking up his previous position on Governing Council he was a member, then Chair, of the RICS MENA Market Advisory Panel.

Nicholas Maclean lives and works in the United Arab Emirates and is Co-Chairman & Managing Director of CBRE Middle East Region which he established in 2005. This Region encompasses his firm’s operations across Middle East and North Africa. He serves as a member of the International Advisory Board of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.

He is a GlobalScot; the Scottish Government’s Trade & Investment Envoy to the United Arab Emirates; and received the First Ministers award for Services to Trade and Bilateral Relations in 2023. He is also a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and whilst in the UK, a member of the Institute of Revenue, Rating & Valuation and is the former chair of the Lillian Sutton (SoC) Charitable Trust. He holds the Reserve Decoration and in 2017 was named by Arabian Business as one of the 100 most influential people in the UAE and in 2023 as one of the Top 100 Executives in UAE.

Liz has had a somewhat unusual career which has spanned both the public and private sectors. She spent her early career in Government in the Ministry of Defence, eventually becoming a key player in the creation of QinetiQ plc in 2001. She then moved into the private sector, becoming Chief Executive of the British Property Federation where she played a significant role in the creation of the UK’s Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) structure. She was awarded a CBE in 2008 for services to the property industry. 

Liz now has a non-executive portfolio career primarily focussed on real estate including NED roles at Howard de Walden Estates, Greencore Homes, AEW UK REIT and the Connected Places Catapult. She is Chairman of the GLA’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation and of the University of Cambridge Property Board. She is  also chair of  the Churches Conservation Trust, a secular organisation looking after 358 redundant Church of England churches, and of Real Estate Balance, a campaigning organisation working to improve diversity and inclusion in the real estate industry.

Gurpreet has pursued a portfolio career since 2014, with non executive roles in Higher Education, multi-academy trusts, financial services (including advising government on access to dormant assets), infrastructure and health.

He is currently Chair at the University of Derby and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Birmingham, with previous experience as a regulator of Higher Education in England as a Board Member with the Office for Students.  He also has extensive experience as an independent Board Member with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (also sitting on the Defence wide Audit and Risk assurance committee) and with the London Legacy Development Corporation.

Gurpreet’s prior executive career was in financial risk management and investment banking global operations, with senior leadership positions at Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse from 2006 to 2014.