Joanna Ludlam | Carillion Plc
In November 2014, I started my career in FM with Carillion Services on their Graduate scheme. After 2 years of exploring the business, in 5 different roles I chose my career as a Change Manager and was lucky enough to be offered the job I absolutely wanted.
I love being a Change Manager, because it is all about people. It’s about taking people on a journey through a period of change, which can sometimes be exciting, and sometimes be unsettling and it’s my job to ensure that journey is as positive as can be.
The FM industry is ever changing and evolving, and we’re always encouraged to look for ways to improve our business. Alongside my day job, I’m also involved in a return to work project, looking at how we can improve the way we re-induct and continue to engage with people that return to work for us from a period of leave, whether it be Maternity, Paternity, Long Term Sick or a Sabbatical. I believe this will enhance our ability to attract and retain great talent within the industry.
I really enjoy being a mentor to our new graduate cohort. It’s great to be able to offer support and advice, plus share my experience of the scheme. I’d like to expand my mentoring to outside of my workplace and share my experience with secondary school girls who may be thinking about a career in business.
Running keeps me busy during my spare time and I am part of a local running club. Running is great for exercise, but I also use it as a tool to alleviate stress. It is really important to recognise stress in the workplace, and I actively encourage my colleagues to talk about stress and how it can be managed.
Judy Zhu | CBRE
Alison Bowen | Interserve
Alison left school at the age of 16 having completed her GCSE’s and went on to complete a GNVQ in the Built Environment at her local college, opting for a vocation in part because of her dyslexia. Alison had always known that she wanted to enter the Construction industry due to her love of construction sites and cranes. It was during this time that Alison decided that Quantity Surveying was the discipline that she wanted to follow. Following successful completion of her GNVQ, Alison went on to study a BSc (Hons) in Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying at UMIST, graduating in 2002.
Following 4 years, completing her graduate training and working within the Construction Industry, in 2006 Alison joined Interserve as a Quantity Surveyor where she was worked in the Falkland Islands as part of the commercial team on the Defence Estates contract maintaining the Military facilities.
Following her tour, she was promoted to Senior Quantity Surveyor and moved to work on a similar contract in Cyprus where after 6 months she was promoted to Commercial Manager. In 2010, Alison returned to the UK, where after a working briefly for Landmark (an Interserve Joint Venture), she joined the now named Communities Business Unit as a Senior Commercial Manager where she undertook the Commercial Manager role on a number of prestigious PFI and TFM Contracts covering a number of different sectors.
In July 2016, Alison was promoted to Head of Commercial and is the focal point for the commercial function within the Local Authority and Education sector. Managing a team of 3 Commercial Managers and providing commercial support to the relevant Account Directors mitigating risk and maximising opportunities.
Hannah Scott | CBRE
Hannah joined CBRE in April 2015 as a Sustainability Intern from the University of Surrey. During her internship, Hannah worked with key stakeholders to develop a defined set of sustainability standards to be applied across the 41 million square feet of CBRE-managed property in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Whilst completing her internship, Hannah conducted research on sustainability certification systems as part of her postgraduate studies. Her completed thesis was awarded the Roland Clift Prize for Environment and Sustainability. Since September 2015, Hannah has been Sustainability Coordinator for the CBRE EMEA business.
Hannah contributes to CBRE's corporate sustainability strategy for the EMEA region. Having previously worked to develop CBRE’s dedicated sustainability programme for EMEA – CBRE Sustainable Offices – Hannah now works with teams across the region to drive site-specific improvements and continuous regional progression in sustainability and wellbeing performance.
In partnership with CBRE's regional Asset Services business, Hannah advises on sustainable property management and has developed the CBRE Sustainability Toolkit; a custom-built technology solution bringing sustainability to everyday property management activities.
With a keen interest in issues surrounding public health, mental wellbeing, and human sustainability, Hannah has expanded her consulting capabilities during her time at CBRE to provide health and wellbeing consultancy for landlord, occupier and developer clients. Hannah represents CBRE at industry working groups addressing health and wellbeing, including those run by the International WELL Building Institute and BSRIA.
Hannah additionally holds responsibilities for sustainability engagement. Internally, she coordinates various internal events and initiatives each year, and provides support to site teams in hosting events at managed properties. Externally, she contributes to sustainability research and serves as editor of CBRE’s global sustainability blog, The Green Perspective.
Hannah is a WELL Accredited Professional, a BREEAM Associate, and a Practitioner Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA).
Cassandra Wheeldon | WiredScore
Property is fascinating: it is always changing and closely connected to the way people live and work. With the rise of technology, those habits have been transformed dramatically. My great passion is understanding how this sector is evolving and accompany this change.
This is why I chose to join WiredScore last year. WiredScore brings transparency to the market by assessing how well connected commercial buildings are. As the Partnerships Manager at WiredScore, I help our landlord clients to understand how well connected their buildings are and help them improve the digital capabilities of their buildings on an ongoing basis.
Being a member of a small start-up also allows me to get involved with every aspect of the business, to help grow our business. I have for instance created and now run the formal internship programme for two female graduates. I am committed to developing the women under my management to grow their skillsets and confidence. I am a strong advocate of giving constructive and supportive feedback and work to help them cultivate key skills for their professional development.
As a pizza addict, I have recently created a blog about pizza which serves as an excuse to try as many different pizza styles and combinations as possible wherever I am in the world.
Doga Tasli | G4S FM
After I completed my bachelor's degree BEng (Hons) Architectural Environment Engineering followed by masters of MSc Renewable Energy and Architecture at the University of Nottingham, I got accepted to a Graduate Facilities Program within G4S Facilities Management. Out of 87 people only 2 is selected and the rotational program started between 4 cities Newbury, Wootton Bassett, Birmingham and Oxford. I've worked for pharmaceutical offices, elementary schools and NHS hospitals both in Hard FM and Soft FM. For mobilization of the brand new contracts I visited Northern Ireland as business trip and tupe in members are being trained in DVLA offices and Her Majesty’s courts for facilities management services.
Previously I worked in a world-wide construction project designed to supply water under the Mediterranean Sea from “Anamur Turkey Dam” to a re-constructed “Gecitkoy Cyprus Dam”. I had my summer internship in Cyprus phase of the project and collected summer term data about compression of soil from different points of each improving part of dam height. I wrote laboratory reports and analyzed the taken values in order to show formal engineers to decide if the new layer is successful. Yearly data is investigated and during summer placement, control measures for the project are settled as the only woman engineer in the Cyprus part of the project.
I’ve worked in a Renewable Energy construction project, as group of five people we built a 240W wind turbine for an off-grid farm in Nottinghamshire. I have worked in electrical part, generator making and cost/benefit analysis of the project. Had a wonderful time management within the tasks with finishing an efficiently working small wind turbine in five working days effort without having previous practical knowledge.
Rachel Morris | Derby Cathedral
Born and educated in Derby I have worked all over the UK but was happy to return to my home town and keen to promote this wonderful city and its people.
After school I trained as an Occupational Therapist but then spent 15 years in management in the licensed retail trade running hotels, bars and restaurants. After taking redundancy I had a complete career change and moved into the homeless sector where my passion was supporting all types of people but particularly teenagers. During this time I chaired various groups in order to try and assist those in most need including the Derby Street Drinkers Intervention Panel and the Derby Hostel Liaison Group. I was happy in this role working for YMCA Derbyshire and wasn’t looking for a new job when I saw a tweet advertising my current role at Derby Cathedral. Growing up in Derby the Cathedral has always been important to me as a beacon and symbol of the city. Therefore I was delighted to be offered this role where I am responsible for all aspects of ensuring Derby Cathedral is accessible to all and preserved in its glory for generations to come.
Divorced, I live in Derby with my son Jethro an excellent salesman and my daughter Jodie who is in bank management. My other passion is Derby County Football Club where I work as carer for young footballers who become part of our family and learn independent living skills while living with us.
I support many local charities and was a trustee at Midlands Community Finance for 9 years working to prevent financial exclusion through ethical personal lending and small business loans. I am also a trustee at Direct Help and Advice where housing and legal advice is provided free to those at risk of homelessness.
Sahar Rezazadeh | CBRE
Sahar Rezazadeh is a chartered surveyor in the retail team, offering advisory and transactions services retailers on their store portfolios. This includes new entrants to the U.K. and London market with a focus on fashion and lifestyle brands. In a short space of time and since joining the retail sector, she has successfully placed retailers in prominent locations throughout the capital.
As a real estate advisor to retailers, she works with notable UK and global brands. These include Deciem, Mikimoto, Kit & Ace, Victoria’s Secret, Tesla, Armani, Versace, LVMH brands, The East India Company and Raw Press among many others. In previous roles, she has advised landlords, investors as well as financial and public bodies to include Aberdeen Asset Management, Legal & General, Hammerson, Brockton Capital, Milligan Retail, LaSalle Investment Management, HSBC, Santander, The Ministry of Defence, the Welsh Government and the Greater London Authority.
As an enthusiastic advocate, Sahar has championed causes and charities for over 10 years. In 2014, she co-founded F5 which has acted as an advisor to policy makers. A former finalist of the Network of Aspiring Women Young Entrepreneurs, and in 2014/15 Sahar won RICS Young Surveyor of the Year Award in the Commercial category.
Hannah Jones | Cushman and Wakefield
I am an Associate at Cushman and Wakefield, specialising in Occupier Management.
My academic background started at Lancaster University with a BBa in Management. I later specialised in Property, completing an MSc in Real Estate Management.
This educational foundation allowed me to access a career in property, joining DTZ’s (now Cushman and Wakefield) Graduate Programme in 2007. After two years of vocational training and study, I was successful in obtaining my professional qualification and became a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2009.
The variety of experience provided as part of the Graduate Programme allowed me to specialise in an area of property in which I saw my future career – Occupier Management. In this role, I progressed quickly from surveyor to Senior Surveyor and on to Associate.
My key remit is to develop strategy and manage national portfolios on behalf of her large corporate occupier clients. I currently hold a coordinating role as Account Manager for Royal Mail, responsible for delivery of a wide variety of property services across their substantial national portfolio.
Janvi Patel | Halebury
I am the Chairwoman and Co-Founder of Halebury, a pioneering multimillion pound organisation within the NewLaw space. Halebury has a legal team of over 30 senior in-house lawyers and a client base which includes Pearson, Expedia, BT and Virgin Media. Halebury is highly ranked for legal advice within the Telecoms, Media and Technology and Sports sectors, as evidenced by their coverage in the industry-renowned Legal 500.
In addition to managing Halebury, I work to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and lawyers via my work as a Founding Committee Member of the Cherie Blair Foundation Mentoring Programme and as a regular speaker regarding female founders and women in leadership. I am currently working on a Review of Modern Employment Practices with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regarding the future of work. I am also a board member of Practical Law’s In-house Consultation Board, an advisor to the Children of War Foundation, a contributor for Huffington Post and I seek to inspire greater social and economic mobility within the profession via supporting organisations such as Speakers for Schools.
I am also married to a fellow entrepreneur and a mother to three young children (8, 6 and 6).