Nominations and Remuneration Committee

The main purposes of the Nominations and Remuneration Committee are: to oversee the election, appointment and succession planning process for all governance bodies, the President and the Chief Executive; to oversee the performance evaluation process for all governance bodies; to set the remuneration policy for RICS employees at all levels and approve the annual budget available for salary review; to determine and review the remuneration strategy for senior employees of RICS; and to set the total remuneration for the Chief Executive, Non-Executives, the Standards & Regulation Board and Regulatory Tribunal Members, and review the remuneration of the Executive Team and other senior employees.

Meet the committee

Harriet Kemp

Independent Chair

Harriet is a senior human resources professional with a deep specialism in remuneration. Her experience has been gained across a number of different sectors and she has worked extensively internationally, as well as living in both the US and Switzerland. She has held a number of Reward Director roles for FTSE companies, advised Boards and Remuneration Committees and lead large-scale reward and change projects. For the last few years, Harriet has been building a portfolio of roles. She sits on the School Teachers’ Review Body, an independent body which makes recommendations to the Government on teachers’ pay, provides consultancy advice on reward to both private companies and plcs and is a Trustee of a charity which works with victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse.

NRC Committee membership

Martin Samworth

Chair of RICS Board and RICS Member, RICS

Martin has experience in real estate and the built environment spanning nearly 40 years, working in the UK and in broad international roles, leading cultural change and successful business transformations. Martin has worked at the highest levels across all real estate sectors with developers, investors and occupiers, and has leadership and management experience of both the markets side of the industry and the professional and advisory side – this including Valuations, Property Management, Facilities Management and Construction. This experience has covered the running of large multifaceted organisations through to specialist start-ups. He has a passion for attracting new and diverse talent into the profession, as well as promoting leadership that supports progression for everyone within the industry, and sat on the advisory council for Real Estate Balance Limited (REBL), the real estate member body campaigning for diversity and inclusion. Martin started his real estate career at CBRE as a graduate and assistant surveyor in Investment, before qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor. While working at CBRE until 2020, Martin held positions including Head of Investment and Managing Director of Commercial Markets, Managing Director of the UK business, and CEO and then Chairman of CBRE’s Advisory Business across APAC and EMEA. Following his retirement from CBRE at the end of 2020, Martin has taken up a small number of Chair and NED roles in Proptech, Exec Search, and property investment and development companies.

Ben Chaston

RICS Member

Ben is a Fellow of the RICS, having joined in 1996, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He lived in Asia (in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai) for over twenty-five years working in senior leadership roles in the real estate and infrastructure sectors before recently relocating to the Middle East. During his career Ben has advised global blue chip clients, investors and developers on all aspects of their projects and property portfolios. He has a particular interest in the growth and motivation of diverse teams operating in complex international environments. Ben has an MSc in Construction Law & Arbitration from King’s College, London, and an MBA.

Fiona Griffiths

Independent

Fiona’s career spans financial services, strategy consulting and executive search, with over 20 years at Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA), most recently as global head of research. Based in both Tokyo and London, Fiona worked on a range of board and senior executive search assignments in consumer goods, financial services and the public sector. She acted as chief of staff in London for six years before assuming responsibility for research globally. Fiona retired from the business in 2018 to pursue a portfolio career but continues her relationship with RRA as a client feedback consultant. Before her career in executive search, Fiona worked as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company in London and for Hay Management Consultants in Hong Kong. She started her career in investment banking with Kleinwort Benson. Fiona’s experience extends to advising companies on organisational effectiveness, succession planning, and leadership transformation. She has worked extensively in the area of skills development, training, and coaching, including for London Business School. Fiona served as a board member of the Independent Monitoring Board for HM Prison, Wandsworth for three years, and joined the Nominations and Remuneration Committee of RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) in 2021. Fiona received her first class BA in French and German from the University of Bath and her MBA from INSEAD. She holds a Diploma in Arts Management from Birkbeck College and ILM Level 7 Coaching Certificate. She is a member of the BPS Register of Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU) and NEO PR-I certified.

Katie Smith

RICS Member

Katie is a Chartered Surveyor specialising in corporate real estate and commercial estates management. She is Head of Operational Estates Management at Enfield Council overseeing a portfolio of 400 sites. This follows 8 years at REED recruitment where she managed the property portfolio and delivered multiple multi-site roll-outs for the DWP and DVSA. She holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Leicester (History and Ancient History), a Masters degree from Durham University (Management) and an MBA from the University College of Estate Management (Construction and Real Estate), is a Chartered Manager and MRICS.

Ashley Hook

RICS Member

Ashley is Chief Executive at MHS Homes Group which owns 10,000 affordable homes in the Thames Estuary. He has been a RICS member and has worked in the regeneration and housing sector for over 35 years. Ashley has extensive boardroom experience and is a Chartered Director. Ashley is also trustee of the BRE Trust and chairs the BRE Remuneration Committee.

Nick Crofts

Independent

Nick Crofts is an NED and CEO. He served for three terms as president of the Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest member-owned retail business, spending six years on the Co-op’s Nominations Committee. Nick is passionate about the diversity of Boards and was able to meaningfully diversify the Co-op’s governance structures. He is Group Chair of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, Manchester’s largest provider of social housing and CEO of the Co-op Foundation, a national grant making charity.

Mary Robertson

Independent

Mary is International Head of Reward at DLA Piper LLP. She has over 30 years’ experience of advising and operating within blue chip organizations (including easyJet, Prudential, PZ Cussons, Telefonica, and TUI Travel), start-ups across a range of sectors (Including pharmaceutical, financial services, and entertainment) and private equity backed companies.