1. What’s the next big innovation or development in the built environment that you’re most looking forward to?
I think many people will gravitate toward AI when asked this question, and while there’s no doubt it will absolutely reshape how we design, manage and transact real estate, for me, the bigger long-term innovation now sits around cleaner, embedded energy within the built environment.
If you look at the natural resources available to us – solar, wind, hydro – they’re abundant. What’s taken time isn’t the science behind renewable energy; it’s the investment and infrastructure required to harness them properly. Real estate sits at the centre of that transition because buildings are among the world’s biggest energy consumers.
At the other end of the spectrum sit interim technologies reliant on finite extractive materials. Battery storage, for example, still depends heavily on lithium, which raises its own sustainability questions. By contrast, renewable generation (particularly solar) feels like a structural solution and long-term pathway towards a low carbon built environment.
What fascinates me is how quickly progress accelerates once capital flows. When it comes to innovation, human ingenuity hasn’t suddenly changed in recent years – it’s the speed of trial and error that’s improved. Invest consistently, and innovation compounds.
If I were starting my career again, that’s where I’d focus – how buildings generate, store and consume clean energy; because I believe that over the long journey of the built environment, that shift will be every bit as significant as the digital revolution.
2. What have younger team members pushed you to rethink?
Reverse mentoring has probably been one of the most valuable leadership tools I’ve experienced. Creating space for younger colleagues to challenge how we think, and listening properly to their feedback, has been hugely instructive for me.
Sometimes it’s the small things. I remember a number of years ago, we held an under 25s feedback session and one of the questions that arose from that was why we still had fax numbers on business cards. It sounds minor, but it symbolised something bigger – legacy behaviours that nobody had stopped to rethink.
Technology has been the most obvious area. My generation didn’t grow up digitally native and younger colleagues have pushed me to engage with new platforms and tools. But the bigger learning has been cultural. Younger professionals have very different lived experiences – student debt, housing affordability, global mobility – and that shapes how they view careers. Expectations around flexibility are higher and experiences often rank alongside progression. That requires adaptation. Leadership has to stay connected and relevant.
On a different note, I have children in their twenties, which definitely helps. I like to think it keeps me ‘culturally current’ – thanks to my daughter, I’m a big fan of singer, Olivia Rodrigo! It’s a small thing, but staying connected to younger generations both inside and outside the workplace really matters.
3. What’s changed in how you recruit compared to five years ago?
Recruitment today looks very different to when I started and even compared to five years ago.
Historically, the industry recruited from a narrow talent pool – similar universities, similar backgrounds and often similar profiles. That model isn’t sustainable if you want a diverse, resilient business.
We now hire across multiple pathways: graduates, master’s students, apprentices and career changers. Bringing in people who might never traditionally have entered the sector has strengthened both our culture and performance as a business.
It does require a more tailored approach. Apprentices, for example, need different development structures than postgraduates, and understanding those nuances is key.
Like many organisations, we have placed renewed emphasis on in-person collaboration, especially for early career development, onboarding and team cohesion, and it has made a material difference to our success as a business.
Through all of this, one constant remains: there’s no substitute for hard work – sustainable careers and partnerships are still built on commitment, contribution and graft.
4. At a time when overseas capital remains central to UK real estate, the global mood is shifting towards protectionism and political fragmentation. Do you see this as a temporary disconnect, or a structural challenge for long-term growth in the market?
I see it as more structural than cyclical, though cycles still play a role.
I built my career during the high watermark of globalisation, when capital moved freely and international investment into real estate accelerated. The global financial crisis marked the first major shift, and the last decade has added further friction – geopolitical tension, trade protectionism and domestic political realignment.
That said, global capital isn’t disappearing. It has simply become more selective.
London remains one of the world’s pre-eminent safe-haven markets. Rule of law, transparency, liquidity and institutional depth continues to attract overseas investment, especially during periods of uncertainty.
What has changed is velocity. Capital moves faster, sentiment shifts quicker and cycles feel sharper. Newmark’s global platform sharpens that visibility – you watch flows adjust in real time.
Global investors still require diversification. Gateway cities with deep, transparent markets, like London, remain structurally important.
So, while the geopolitical backdrop is more complex than it was 20 years ago, I don’t see overseas capital retreating from UK real estate. If anything, uncertainty elsewhere tends to reinforce the UK’s long-standing appeal.
