This is a list of the most influential women in UK Property as published in Estates Gazette including the ‘Queen of Tech’, the head of the largest letting agency and the CEO of the biggest organisation in healthcare.
By Maggie Kivlin 2016 Spring Intern
#1 Juliette Morgan, partner, Cushman & Wakefield, and founder, PiLabs
In a sector as fast moving as tech, Morgan remains a constant beacon of authority- because she is prepared to move at the same pace as the world in which she operates. Never afraid to adapt, innovate or drive change, Morgan’s nickname, The Queen of Tech, could not be more fitting. She has a substantial audience and wields her influence effortlessly by doing, not preaching.
#2 Alison Platt, chief executive, Countrywide
Former air stewardess Platt is flying high at the helm of Britain’s biggest estate agent. Countrywide, also the nation’s largest lettings agent and biggest mortgage broker, recorded a 20% rise in income to £702.2m in February 2015, following its first year as a publicly listed company, while profit grew 63% to a record $102.4m. Platt’s prowess also led to the swift reversal of a profit warning last November and a profit upgrade in early 2016.
#3 Melanie Leech, chief executive, British Property Federation
Leech represents the biggest names in the property industry. Investment banks, institutional investors and professional firms are also members of the lobby group, which is leading the charge to improve government taxes and policy. With her background as the director general of the Food and Drink Federation, Leech has the track record of implementing change.
#4 Helen Gordon, chief executive, Grainger
The former global head of real estate asset management at Royal Bank of Scotland took up the role as chief executive of listed residential landlord Grainger in January this year. She is shifting the focus of the 104-year-old company away from regulated tenancies toward the burgeoning PRS, with a target to develop and buy £850m of PRS assets over the next four years.
#5 Sadie Morgan, director, dRMM
When you are told that you should get to know someone because “they’ll be running the world one day” you sit up and take notice. Morgan could well be that woman. Founding director of architectural firm dRMM, design chair of HS2 and a member of Lord Adonis’s National Infrastructure Commission, Morgan has a starring role in the transformation of the UK.
#6 Elaine Hewitt, chief executive, NHS Property Services
Hewitt took responsibility for 4,000 buildings belonging to the NHS, with an estimated value of £3bn, in February 2015. By October, NHS Property Services had made 150 disposals, netting £100m in capital proceeds. But with pressure to drive efficiencies and reduce costs, and every pound saved returned to the cash-strapped NHS, is there a risk that assets are sold for less than their market value in a bid for quick wins? No chance, says Hewitt. Given her impressive track record as group property director at BT, it is likely that NHS estates are in a safe pair of hands. The National Health Services in 2015-16 employed around 1.6 million people with a combined budget of £136.7 billion.
#7 Lynda Shillaw, divisional chief executive, Manchester Airports Group
Shillaw is currently leading the £1b redevelopment of Manchester International Airport, where Chinese investors have been circling since President Xi Jinping’s visit last summer. The former director of real estate at Aberdeen Asset Management is also leading the £800m regeneration of Airport City Manchester, in partnership with Beijing Construction Engineering Group, Carillon and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.
Read the full article here: www.egi.co.uk/news/eg-power-list/
