News

🌟 Exciting News! 🌟

I am thrilled to announce that I will be serving as a #judge at the prestigious Property Week Awards 2024! It's an honour to be part of a panel that recognises excellence and innovation in the #property industry.

This role offers me a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the cutting-edge developments and outstanding achievements of professionals who are shaping the future of real estate.

A big thank you to #PropertyWeek for this opportunity. I look forward to contributing to this esteemed event at Grosvenor House on 3 July 2024 and celebrating the remarkable contributions within our industry.

Yesterday, I was confronted with a stark reality 😲 🤯

The UK has more cases of cancer than the EU but fewer cancer professionals to tackle it. This sobering fact underscores the urgency of our situation, but amidst the challenges, there are finally practical solutions.

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of the Cancer Workforce Fund by European Cancer Community Foundation. Collaborating with Board Member Julie Fitzsimmins, I've had the privilege to bring this initiative to the Square Mile as part of Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli's Connect to Prosper programme.

🇬🇧🇮🇹 Thrilled to announce my participation in the inaugural UK-Italy Young Leaders Programme 2024 which commenced yesterday in the beautiful surroundings of Her Majesty’s Ambassador’s Residence (Villa Wolkonsky Ambascita Britannica) in 

#Rome ! Selected based on achievements in my field(s), I'm excited to be part of this pioneering cohort of British-Italian young leaders.

The UK-Italy Young Leaders Programme, which is part of an important new bilateral initiative signed by our respective Prime Ministers, aims to foster lasting connections and collaboration between the two nations. Under the esteemed patronage of the Italian Ambassador to the UK Inigo Lambertini and UK Ambassador to Italy Ed Llewellyn, I will be part of ten leading professionals under 40 from diverse backgrounds and fields.

I am personally looking forward to returning to 

#Italy following much time spent there as a teenager and in my twenties with the opportunity to participate in & engage in speaker sessions, expert meetings, group discussions, and networking events. Additionally, I'll be involved in shaping the program's future, from contributing to the selection of future candidates to serving as an ambassador.

I’m also eager to contribute to this meaningful dialogue (despite my rusty Italian!) and to establish lasting connections!

Cin Cin to a brighter future and hopefully brighter skies like this one! 

Honoured to present and lead Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli’s Life Sciences programme in front of a full Mansion House crowd of businesses in and around the City, universities, livery companies, the Aldermanic Court and the Common Councillors of the City of London.

The programme aims to bring together more thought leaders from the #lifesciences world and the #cityoflondon to help us define our role and support UK in delivering a world-leading Life Sciences sector.

After 18 months of hard work, tons of preparation, we finally did it...

We launched Constructing Science in July 2023!

Congratulations to all the entrants for the London SME Business Awards 2024 last night organised by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Proud to judge and present the City of London GOLD WINNER award 

Speaking at Level39 at the event 'Innovation Through Collaboration: How Canada & the UK are Championing the Life Sciences’ organised by the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce.

The event explored how #Canada and the #UK are building ecosystems, looking at collaborative R&D partnerships and cross border investment strategies to accelerate growth and innovation.

Excellent roundtable at the Houses of Parliament organised by Shadow Minister for Small Business and Investment Rushanara Ali where we discussed Labour’s recently published Plan for Small Businesses: https://lnkd.in/eHXfAVVG

As Policy Lead for SMEs for the City of London Corporation it was interesting to give my views on the plan and also hear from Executives from leading organisations such as NatWest, British Business Bank, UK Finance, Andreessen Horowitz, TheCityUK, Aquis Exchange, Starling Bank, Octopus Investments, CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and others.

Thank you BE News for quoting me on your publication of the Built Environment Entrepreneurs roundtable at MIPIM last month.

“[…] construction has massive skills gaps right now and I don’t know how that is going to be solved because it goes back to government, to GCSEs, even to 13-year-olds. And no matter what certain lobbying institutions do in my industry, the government hasn’t created a dedicated GCSE. No one is listening to this."

Many organisations are taking matters into their own hands (including my own, EEDN) via a variety of means including creating innovative #apprenticeship programmes.

My point was that we shouldn’t have to, given the importance of the construction industry to the future of every single country and especially the UK.

Nuff said for now...

Invited to be a panelist at the Construction News webinar in partnership with Property Week on developing and delivering UK life science and innovation projects now and in the future.

Delighted to be appointed as an Advisory Committee member of the new City of London Chamber launched this month by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

As well as some of the largest organisations in the world, the City of London is home to 24,000 SMEs and is a key part of London’s Central Business District and the UK’s economy, generating nearly £70bn in economic output annually.

The Chamber is a business group within the LCCI, to convene, support and champion businesses within the Square Mile and will provide the forum for businesses to network and campaign on key issues.

Looking forward to representing the City of London Corporation on this committee and especially further supporting the 98% of SMEs in this unique space!

Delighted to have been appointed as the Policy Lead for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for the City of London Corporation yesterday after a stringent application process.⁣
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SMEs make up over 98% of all businesses within the Square Mile and are a significant contributor to the wider UK economy and within the City, driving growth and employment. ⁣
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I will act as senior spokesperson and, amongst other responsibilities, support the Policy Chair, in the formation and delivery of the Corporation’s policy goals in relation to SMEs.⁣
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The Corporation has been working on this area for a while and have already implemented successful initiatives such as the Small Business Research + Enterprise Centre. I am therefore looking forward to building on our offering so that businesses can thrive for years to come.⁣
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Now more than ever, SMEs need a helping hand to navigate increasing uncertainty, but one thing is for certain, I am determined to make that happen.⁣

Delighted to be speaking for EG amongst the great and the great of real estate at MIPIM this year.

A trip to Cannes to share my and EEDN’s thoughts on how the real estate and construction sector can meet the demands of the booming life sciences sector. My business partners, Tes Adamou and Elad Levin, and I have created a superb design and project management consultancy over the last few years that allows our clients to do exactly this.

In fact, I was so excited at being asked by EG that I forgot to tell my dad who found out via their weekly newsletter (photo, below!). He has lived and breathed the Estates Gazette, as it was previously called, since well before I was born and remember him cutting out articles for me to read on a monthly basis when I was young. I think he wanted me to go into real estate!

Hear the podcast here:

www.eg.co.uk/eg-events/eg-at-mipim-2023-podcasts

It was a great privilege to hear Sir James Wates, Chair of Wates Group, challenging the construction industry to have the courage for #totaldisruption so that we can… well… be better.

For me, #better has always meant total collaboration from all angles including from government, industries, organisations and individuals. I also believe that the planning, finance and insurance industries are going to be crucial to whether we as an industry will be better. This is definitely the case in relation to our climate change and sustainability goals.

My question to Sir James, which according to him was a good one (but remains unanswered), was how we distinguish between the problems faced by larger organisations and those of SMEs so that we can drive the latter to be better as well. Given that most SMEs are focused more on survival, they will not only need more of a helping hand but a different type of help in order to be better. What the type may be, generally, remains unanswered in my opinion.

Right now, it seems we are hoping that sorting out the larger organisations will automatically trickle down to the smaller ones but I believe more thought needs to go into our bottom-up strategies.

Whatever the answer, this was a great event organised by the The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and attended by both established stars including CEO Caroline Gumble.

Looking forward to continuing the conversation!

What a night for the #BPICAwards22 at Canary Wharf and I am very much looking forward to being one of the judges.

It's only been a year since their first ever awards ceremony and since then the BPIC Network has grown to over 8000 members with over 40 organisations involved.

That is a testament to their drive and determination led by Amos Simbo.

BPIC is all about making the construction industry #strongertogether which gives me and my own business EEDN encouragement for the future.

You have already had the Lord Mayor round to your office, met the King, influenced the industry and have 500 people showing up tonight. It's almost scary to see what’s next for you in 2023.

Just glad to be a part of the journey.

Intense morning in November 2022 as a guest speaker at the ’London Public Sector – Meet the Supplier’ event as part of my role as Policy Lead for SMEs for the City of London Corporation.

The event was also in partnership with MSDUK  Metropolitan Police, and Westminster City Council and held in our Small Business Research + Enterprise Centre.

It brought together growth-oriented and innovative Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs) working in various categories from Construction to Corporate Services with Buyers and Procurement teams from the three public-sector organizations.

I personally enjoyed the pitches from the potential suppliers who also had an opportunity to hear information from the hosts.

Today was only one of the ways in which the larger organisations can ensure a sustainable future for SMEs by providing access to talent, innovation, and growth with their business partners.

This event and future initiatives like this are therefore not just the right thing to do - they make good business sense.

Delighted to be appointed to the Board of Trustees at YMCA London City and North which operates in six London boroughs including the City of London.

Speaking to the current Board, you can see that this organisation is going places and I am particularly looking forward to using my industry expertise to help build brighter futures for hard-to-reach young people in their communities.

Thank you to CEO Gillian Bowen and the organisation for making me feel welcome!

What a privilege being invited to attend the National Thanksgiving Service at St Paul’s followed by a reception to celebrate Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee at Guildhall.⁣

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The queen couldn’t make it in person in the end but didn’t stop us meeting the whole crew from Prince Charles and William to Bojo and Kier.⁣

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This was a truly wonderful occasion and one which makes me proud to play a part in this country’s future.⁣

Honoured to be invited to the London Government Association dinner at Mansion House.

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Great to hear from many leaders from all London boroughs including Mayor of London, @sadiq khan and Chair of London Councils, Georgia Gould and our very own Lord Mayor Vincent Keaveny. Some powerful speeches about how crucial London will be in getting the UK through these turbulent times.

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One of the highlights of my night was meeting this young man Hamza Taouzzale, the first Muslim and youngest ever Lord Mayor of Westminster City Council.⁣

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I can’t remember what I was doing at 22 years old but I certainly wasn’t as dedicated and inspiring as this!⁣

I was elected in March 2022 as an independent Common Councillor in the City of London elections for the Ward of Cripplegate.

In 2021, I organised the Constructors 30-30 challenge challenge on behalf of the The Worshipful Company of Constructors to mark #25yearsofCRASH.