Lucy Cooper | Interserve Construction
I started my career in construction after leaving school 18 years ago as a trainee design engineer. After having children I moved into marketing and enjoyed the challenges this has brought, learning and developing new skills. Over the years my career path has changed, but I’ve always remained within the industry and I am now Communications and Social Value Advisor for Interserve Construction.
Since joining Interserve three years ago I have worked closely with the team in Yorkshire to develop their communications and social value activities. I now look after the regional communications and manage the social value activities, to maximise the outcomes for local communities. This includes engagement with local schools and colleges, working with apprentices, facilitating site visits and workshops and arranging events and fundraising activities.
Rosanna Lawn | YOO
Rosanna joined YOO in August 2017 and is working towards her chartered qualification, having already completed a year on the graduate scheme at Cushman & Wakefield, which commenced September 2016. During her time at Cushman & Wakefield she was exposed to a number of different services including Retail and Leisure agency, advising on both landlord and tenant side, and Global Occupier Services working on Cushman's largest account, Vodafone.
More recently Rosanna focuses on residential projects. YOO is a predominantly residentially focussed global brand and Rosanna was approached in June 2017 by the Founder and Chairman, John Hitchcox, to come on board to assist with the start up of a new business - YOO living. Focussing on small scale residential investments and developments in prime central London. Starting from the grass roots, Rosanna has worked to set up the business, create contacts and prepare the business plan for the years ahead.
Rosanna has always advocated her profession, currently head of university engagement for RICS Matrics London, leading the organisation of events to deliver interesting topics to university students, as well as speaking to various schools and university students regarding a career in property. Rosanna has a deep interest in assisting others with their career, further demonstrated during her BSc Real Estate course, where she took on the role of President of University of Westminster property society. Rosanna was also nominated and competed in the Women In Property National Student award and graduated with first class honours and highest grade overall.
Rosanna has most recently co-founded CREation, a networking organisation for those who are at the start of their career in property - fun, free and for all. CREation aims to provide a platform for knowledge and connections to grow between the early careers cohort, regardless of what area of the industry they are in.
Georgina Demetri | London Underground
I joined Transport for London in 2013 as a Project Management Apprentice and completed a two year scheme, which consisted of four six-month placements around the organisation. The placements included two multimillion pound projects, Bond Street Station Upgrade and the ‘Fit for the Future’ project, which was part of the Station Works Improvement Programme. During this time I also achieved a Level 4 Diploma equivalent to the Association of Project Managers - Project Management qualification. Through this scheme I contributed to different areas of the business, and different stages of the project lifecycle; it provided me with an opportunity to build strong networks as well as hone my problem solving and team working skills. Currently I work as an Assistance Project Manager within the Renewals and Enhancements Department. I project manage three Mid-Tunnel Ventilation Shaft (MTVS) projects with a mechanical and electrical focus, and a combined EFC of £7.2m. I lead our in-house, multi-disciplinary design team, and coordinate works with our Principal Contractor on site to provide increased cooling benefits to the Jubilee Line. This is achieved by installing new ventilation systems that allow trains to run more frequently. The MTVS upgrade projects act as an enabler for the World Class Capacity Upgrade Programme, a major programme for London Underground and a key target of the Mayor’s Transport Plan, improving public transport for the population of Greater London.
Hazel Richards | CBRE Ltd
I am a Project Manager working in CBRE’s New Build Offices team, offering advice from project inception through to completion. My projects are predominantly commercial office developments, working with clients from one off owner occupiers to large scale developments. I work hard to become a trusted advisor for my clients, utilising the extensive knowledge within CBRE to provide world class service and advice.
Having come through the CBRE graduate scheme, I am a huge advocate for the next generation of talent coming into the business. I run the graduate recruitment within our department alongside the company’s Next Generation team. I am working hard to improve visibility of our service line amongst Universities, to increase the number of high quality applicants we receive. I also actively promote our internship scheme which is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain experience within the industry whilst they are at university.
Rachel Beckett | Roadrunners Group
I have worked in the transport industry initially as a graduate trainee and then as a team leader for a coaching operation. Throughout this I have been surrounded by a male dominated environment and the challenge of encouraging women into a sector that is actually very flexible and empowering for women.
I have now moved up the next level to Operations manager in the private hire sector which is even more male dominated and want to see more women (we currently only have 3 female drivers) join us. My role is to help improve drivers quality and recruitment numbers and I hope to progress to a senior management role here in 5 years. I also hope to grow my car base from 200 - 600 over the next years!
Sophia Nesro | ISG
Sophia is currently providing corporate real estate consultancy services to ISG - a global construction and fit out company focusing on the commercial sector. The role involves advising and liaising with key stakeholders, acquiring new offices, disposing of complex estates, advising on landlord and tenant matters, as well as implementing asset management strategies across the company's global footprint to increase efficiencies and reduce occupational costs where possible.
She is also an advisory board member of the British Property Federation's Futures Group, the UK trade association for residential and commercial real estate companies. As Engagement Officer, she assists the Board with engaging professionals with less than 10 years’ experience in the sector and contributing to representing the voices of the youth in industry discussions and amongst government policy advisors.
In addition to the BPF, Sophia also sits on the advisory board of DiverseCity Surveyors, a network aimed at engaging and supporting BME professionals in the property and construction sector with official support from the RICS. Her original appointment came after being a co-founding member of CBRE's Multi-Cultural Network, the first of its kind in the industry and one of the contributing diversity strategies towards the company being the first real estate firm to achieve the National Equality Standard's official accreditation.
Ultimately, Sophia is a passionate consultant and has been active in the industry since the age of 18. She loves bringing edge and creativity to a slightly dated industry and always encourages young professionals to be just that - young. She believes that 'professional' does not have to reflect being rigid and caged in expression. Quite to the contrary, in everything she does her ultimate aim is to celebrate difference and individuality in this sector she highly values, whilst also providing exceptional real estate services that positively impact the lives of businesses and individuals
Yodaly Sierra-Rubio | CBRE Ltd
I consider myself an Energy & Finance Strategist, with two masters degrees (Distinctions in both), one in Finance & international business and another in Energy and Economics. I have 4 years of experience in the energy industry and 3 in the financial sector. Because of this unique background I am currently the Energy Finance & Business Development Manager for EMEA at CBRE, and also the youngest Associate Professor at City University of London.
My passion is sharing knowledge, this is why I’ve spoken at more than 15 conferences worldwide, including COP21 (Paris), European Commission Energy Sustainability Week 2015 (Brussels), Energy Systems Conference (London), ESTA (London), All-Energy 2016 (Glasgow), WEEC (Washington D.C.), The Uncommon Good 2017 (Kuala Lumpur). I am the current advisor board member for Electrify Europe, former Vice–Chair of the YPN Energy Institute and committee member for the UK Association of Energy Engineers.
I am proud of my desire to help South America become the greenest region in the world, of being shortlisted for the Energy Institute’s Young Energy Professional of the Year Award 2017, and of my salsa dancing skills.
Harri John | Cushman & Wakefield
Harri is a Graduate Surveyor at Cushman & Wakefield, and Co-Founder of networking organisation CREation, which provides free networking and educational events for those at the start of their careers in the property industry. She is an advocate and role model for women in the industry.
Harri joined Cushman & Wakefield in September 2016 and is currently working towards becoming a Chartered Surveyor. Throughout the graduate programme she has been exposed to a wide variety of clients and sectors, including Healthcare Valuation & Advisory, Global Occupier Services, and Strategic and Development Consulting. The work Harri has undertaken within these teams includes providing strategic transaction and portfolio advice to clients such as Sky, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), and new international container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE). She has also coordinated the valuation of large national healthcare portfolios including Impact Healthcare REIT.
Coming from a family with no contacts in the property industry, Harri recognised the difficulties people can face entering the industry. She has championed her profession, speaking to school and university students about careers in property through the RICS Matrics School and University sub-committee, helping to increase visibility, diversity and accessibility of the profession to young people. She is an enthusiastic advocate for people starting out in the industry, and co-founded CREation to ensure that everyone, no matter their background, has equal access to educational networking events and the chance to build their professional networks from the very start of their career.
In 2015, while studying BSc Real Estate Management at Oxford Brookes University, Harri won the Women in Property ‘National Student Award’. Since winning the award Harri has remained heavily involved in the organisation, acting as a committee member for the South East branch and helping to coordinate the 2018 Women in Property Student Awards.
Sophie Angus | CBRE Ltd
Sophie grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne and at the age of 18 went to the University of Leeds to study a BSc in Geography & Geology, graduating in 2013. Alongside her studies, she worked for a Leeds based events company arranging large scale events for students and young people in Leeds.
Seeking something new but wanting to maintain a people facing role, Sophie moved to London, to work in the residential property sector. Spending 12 months working in the property industry in London cemented her love for this sector, and seeking a more diverse career she moved back to Newcastle to undertake an MSc in Real Estate at Northumbria University. In 2015 Sophie Graduated with a first-class honors degree, also winning an award for her dissertation, ‘Commercial property tax in the UK: business rates and rating appeals’, which has since been turned into an academic paper and published in the Journal of Property Investment and Finance for the research it yielded.
Following her graduation, Sophie secured a place in the Leeds Office of CBRE on the Graduate program in 2015, starting off with 7 months in the Valuation department, before moving to a permanent role in the National Industrial and Logistics team in March 2016.
Sophie qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 2017 and works closely with a range of clients, including Northern Gas Networks, Peel Logistics, Schlumberger, CBRE Global Investors, Buccleuch and St Modwens providing advice and support on acquisitions, disposals as well as current and future development schemes.
Diane Gleeson | Sodexo
My career in the FM industry began 3 years ago when I joined Sodexo as an administrative to support the security service line in the UK & Ireland. At the time, I had taken a leap of faith and moved away from a comfortable, yet unfulfilling career in retail and accepted a job where I had no experience. Thankfully, my new manager saw something in me that she believed would benefit her team. Sodexo’s focus on improving the quality of life for its employees as well as its customers resonated with me and I knew I’d made the right decision.
My new role propelled me onto a fast-paced learning curve and I was quickly identified as harvesting potential to expand within the business. In the first 9 months, I was promoted to Security Coordinator where I could expand my impact even further. My success in the role was recognised on a national level and I was awarded Sodexo’s Rising Star in 2016. Beginning my fourth year with Sodexo, I have progressed further, now providing project management support to implement a global soft service initiative across the region, including security, cleaning, waste and horticultural services. I have also developed my passion for making a difference to people’s lives by being an active member of our internal diversity and inclusion workstreams. My current role is an important step in further expanding my FM knowledge and raising my profile to achieve my goal of progressing to increasingly more senior roles in the business, while improving the day-to-day lives of my colleagues and customers alike.