Estates Gazette uploads the key Midlands Engine individuals whose details should be in every property professional’s contacts database. By Mark Simmons
Sir John Peace
Chair, Midlands Engine and Midlands Connect
Knighted in 2011 for services to business and the voluntary sector, Peace’s Midlands credentials include his current role as Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire and a former stint as East Midlands ambassador for Business in the Community, as well as his ties with education establishments in Nottingham (see Q&A, p17). Whether a chair with a skew towards the East Midlands was intended or merely fortuitous, either way it will play well with those concerned about Birmingham having undue influence in the Midlands Engine. Peace’s business contacts are first rate and the current chairman of both FTSE 100 retailer Burberry and Standard Chartered bank has a reputation as a persuasive broker. While he may therefore excel at managing the internal politics that could otherwise easily stall the Midlands Engine, his ability to project outwards to a wider audience is less certain.
Ian Curryer
Chief executive, Nottingham City Council
Like Birmingham’s council leader John Clancy (see p16), Curryer has a background in education. In his post as chief executive since 2012, Curryer has kept a low profile. This may turn out to be a shrewd political tactic in an authority that has sometimes been distracted by internal power plays at the expense of external engagement. Indeed, one of Curryer’s biggest challenges is guiding the East Midlands’ largest local authority through a currently stalled devolution process at the same time as ensuring it gains a place at the helm of the Midlands Engine.
Martin Reeves
Chief executive, Coventry City Council
When a chief executive was needed for the embryonic West Midlands Combined Authority earlier this year, Reeves was an obvious fit for the job. A solid champion of the region since he took the hot seat at Coventry City Council in 2009, he has rocketed up Local Government Chronicle’s power 100 list, from 32nd in 2014 to 16th last year – for comparison, soon-to-retire Sir Howard Bernstein came 5th and Sajid Javid (see p16) came 30th. Seen locally as accessible and bright – he has a PhD in applied economics – Reeves could well rise to much greater prominence via the Midlands Engine.
Birmingham power trio
Mark Rogers (chief executive), John Clancy (leader), Waheed Nazir (acting director, economic strategy), Birmingham City Council
It is difficult to separate this triumvirate. Individually they command respect in their spheres of influence and together they are a force to be reckoned with. Rogers and Nazir have circumnavigated the choppy political waters caused by changes of leadership and party control, not to mention Sir Bob Kerslake’s damning 2014 report into the local authority. Clancy is the politician who has so far provided an added pillar of stability since he ousted his predecessor, Sir Albert Bore, just 10 months ago. His more distant style may not have won him as many friends in the property sector, but that may be no bad thing, given Kerslake’s particular criticism of Bore’s micromanagement. It is inconceivable that Birmingham will not play a leading role in the life of the Midlands Engine, however hard the critics howl. Expect at least one of these three to be in the cockpit before too long.
Sajid Javid
Secretary of state, CLG and cabinet lead, Midlands Engine, MP (Con) for Bromsgrove
The son of a bus driver, born in the North West and raised in Bristol, Javid won his Midlands parliamentary seat in 2010. A former managing director at Deutsche Bank, Javid has a thorough understanding of business needs, and his ability to sell the Midlands to a global audience may be one of his greatest strengths. However, he came under fire earlier this year when, in his previous role as business secretary, he was accused of spending too much time abroad when business crises broke in the UK.
Andy Street
Birmingham mayoral candidate (Con)
Last month, Street – one of the Midlands’ best ambassadors – stepped up a gear by throwing his hat in the ring for the role of Birmingham mayor. At the same time the dynamic managing director of John Lewis stepped down as chair of Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP where he will be sorely missed. His thorough and analytical style have won him friends among those he has worked closely with.
Mike Lyons
Programme director, HS2
After an initial frosty reception in the West Midlands, and in Birmingham in particular, HS2 Limited has gradually been winning hearts and minds in the region. Lyons’ open and enthusiastic approach is likely to have had much to do with that. An experienced pair of hands, he joined the high-speed brigade two years ago after successfully masterminding major projects for Network Rail including heavy rail network improvements in London ahead of the 2012 Olympics. Now responsible for the two West Midlands HS2 stations, Lyons intuitively understands what will – and what won’t – work.
Laura Shoaf
Managing director, Transport for West Midlands
Never mind the Byzantine complexity of transport governance in the West Midlands, just keep an eye – and an ear – on this fast-talking New Yorker who was appointed to her newly created role this summer. Resident in the UK for a decade and a half, much of that time in the Midlands, Shoaf has a varied CV including a stint as a consultant at Bilfinger GVA and an innate understanding of what makes the region tick. If anyone can join some of the few dots between the East and West Midlands transport systems, Shoaf is probably the person to do it.
Rising stars
Who are the property professionals who could be influential in future Midlands Engine real estate transactions?
Stephanie Eastwood
Age: 25
Job title: senior planner
Employer: Bilfinger GVA, Birmingham
In between picking up gongs from the RTPI (Regional Planner of the Year) and Bilfinger GVA (Graduate of the Year), Stephanie has made an impression on key clients including Birmingham City University, Hortons’ Estates and the Ministry of Justice.
Lorna Devane-Porter
Age: 30
Job title: associate director, national land and development agency
Employer: CBRE, Birmingham
A finalist in last year’s Birmingham Young Professional of the Year, Lorna sits on the Urban Land Institute’s young leaders committee for Birmingham. She moved from property management to development; clients include St Modwen, David Wilson Homes and Industrial Securities. Lorna attends university graduate fairs to raise awareness of surveying as a career.
Laura Jardine
Age: 26
Job title: surveyor, commercial agency
Employer: Innes England, Nottingham
Having gained a wealth of experience working for surveying firms in London, Laura returned to the Midlands to finish off her APC with Innes England. Since qualifying last year, she has been handling acquisitions and disposals for clients including Nottingham City Council and M7 Real Estate, as well as being an active committee member of the Women’s Real Estate Network.
May Dudley
Age: 29
Job title: senior surveyor, valuation team
Employer: Bruton Knowles, Birmingham
Originally unable to qualify as a result of the economic downturn, May made her own luck by moving to Turkey to work for a property company before moving back to the UK to gain experience with Punch Taverns. She was promoted this summer, just a year after gaining her APC at Bruton Knowles, and now advises firms such as Lloyds, HSBC and NatWest.
