Almost six months after stepping down as chief executive of Homes England and more than 20 years working in the public sector, Nick Walkley is moving to the private sector.
He is joining Avison Young in a newly created role that Avison Young hopes will help it develop into a “sophisticated strategic adviser” to the built environment.
Walkley takes up the position of principal and president of UK strategic advisory in early September.
From public to private
Nick Walkley, CV
- 2008-2012 – chief executive, Barnet council
- 2012-2017 – chief executive, Haringey council
- 2017-2021 – chief executive Homes England (formerly Homes & Communities Agency)
Reporting to Jason Sibthorpe, principal and president of Avison Young UK, Walkley will be responsible for strengthening and expanding Avison Young’s strategic advisory and consulting capabilities and will be tasked with using his extensive experience of delivering large-scale regeneration and transformation projects to help the business to unlock major infrastructure, investment and development opportunities for its clients across the UK.
Walkley said he hopes the new role will enable him to bring leadership across all functions of the business and bring together consulting, planning and investment to grow the UK business.
“Having worked in the public sector for a significant part of my career, this is a wonderful opportunity to apply my experience to a broader portfolio of clients and support the business in delivering world-class solutions,” he said.
AY said Walkley was ideally placed to support it in “delivering complex strategic advisory, investment and ESG-based solutions, particularly in such areas as capital projects, infrastructure delivery and town and city regeneration to support our communities”.
Sibthorpe added: “I’m delighted that Nick will be joining us at such a pivotal time for the UK economy as we look to build back better, deliver industry-wide transformational change and help achieve the government’s ambitious net zero targets.
“His record of building enduring relationships with clients and delivering leading public-private partnerships speaks for itself. This is all about where regeneration and placemaking meets investment and I have no doubt Nick’s unique talents will significantly enhance our full service offering to clients across both the public and private sectors.”
Sibthorpe said the appointment is an “exciting strategic development” for the business enabling it in its mission to be seen “as a sophisticated strategic adviser”.
He added that Walkley’s years of leadership experience will also see him play a development and mentoring role within the AY business.
Prior to taking up the role at AY, however, Walkley has been drafted in by former deputy cabinet secretary and now director of policy and corporate affairs at the Premier League, Helen McNamara to help advise on bringing football stadia back into use.
He is working with the Premier League as a strategic consultant talking to government and club chief executives on how to safely reopen football grounds, bringing them back to full capacity and re-energising local economies.
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