Property Appointments: WSP|Parsons Brinckerhoff; HCA; RICS

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff has appointed three senior transport specialists to its development team in Birmingham.

James Llewellyn joins the firm as technical director, bringing with him 20 years’ experience as a transport planner. He has worked for a wide range of UK public sector clients – both local authorities and central government – on transport policy, strategy and business case advisory projects.

Paul Byron also joins as technical director, bringing almost three decades of experience to the role. He has been in transport modelling and appraisal for the majority of that time, and specialises in strategic transportation projects, advising both public and private sector clients in the UK and overseas. He has recently been engaged in the Highways England Smart Motorways Programme and Midlands Connect.

The third appointment is Andrew Nixon, who joins as a principal engineer with a decade of experience as an infrastructure designer and project manager. Nixon has worked for an array of clients both public and private sector, working on major development infrastructure schemes on both Highways England’s and Local Authority highway network.

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Nick Walkley, chief executive, HCA The Homes and Communities Agency has announced Nick Walkley (left) as its chief executive and accounting officer.

The appointment follows a Government review of the HCA aimed at helping to improve its efficiency and provide greater focus to its housebuilding work.

It found that the agency’s development and finance expertise was highly valued by local partners and recommended that it be clearer about its role beyond the direct delivery of its own programme targets, in particular the support it can provide to local partners to drive up housing supply and promote home ownership.

Walkley joins the agency with years of experience of providing strong leadership and delivering housing and regeneration schemes. He has been chief executive of Haringey Council for the past four years, having previously been chief executive of Barnet Council.    

Sir Edward Lister, HCA chairman, said: “I am delighted to have found someone with Nick’s impressive leadership track record and passion for transforming housing delivery. He is experienced in commercial partnerships, highly innovate and has a strong reputation for delivery. I look forward to him joining the HCA to ensure we lead the Government’s drive to increase the scale and pace of delivery and promote new approaches to housebuilding.”

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Stewart Sherman-KahnRICS professional, Stewart Sherman-Kahn has been appointed board member of Midlands-based networking group OpenLand.

OpenLand, which provides networking for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-professionals working in the real estate, property and construction sectors, strives to bring together people in order to promote diversity, encourage inclusivity and celebrate the contribution made by LGBT people to the various sectors.

Sherman-Kahn (pictured), a member of RICS West Midlands regional board, has long campaigned for greater diversity in the profession. Following the launch of the Inclusive Employer Quality Mark (IEQM) – a voluntary standard designed to help firms in the profession gain a competitive advantage and a diverse workforce – two years ago, he has been instrumental in the changes the surveying profession has made to make it more diverse and inclusive.

Speaking on his appointment, he said: “I am honoured to have been appointed to the board of OpenLand. I hope that while serving on this board alongside the RICS West Midlands board I will be able to raise the profile of both organisations. Groups for LGBT property professionals outside London have been sadly lacking and I hope that the programme of events will help plug that gap.”

Paul Barker, partner at Higgs & Sons and co-chair of OpenLand, said: “My co-chair Rob Hudson (Group FD at St. Modwen) and I are thrilled both that OpenLand is being supported by the RICS and to welcome Stewart as a member of our board.  

“OpenLand’s aim is to bring people together from across the real estate, property and construction sectors to promote diversity, encourage inclusivity and celebrate the contribution made by LGBT people to our sectors in the Midlands.

“We believe that having the confidence to be yourself at work is essential to a successful and productive career. The more visible senior role models in the profession who identify as LGBT, the better it will be in encouraging people to be themselves.”

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