Americas

Americas World Regional Board

Chair, Chris Smith MRICS

Chris Smith is Senior Director at CBRE and currently engaged by a global technology account as Global Commercial Lead. A proud RICS Member since 2010, Chris joined the Americas World Regional Board in 2019 as the construction-sector lead. In January 2023 Chris stepped into the role of Chair of the Americas World Regional Board, representing the ~3,000 RICS members in the Americas (across US, Canada and the Caribbean).

Before joining CBRE in 2015, Chris was on secondment from cost consultant Turner & Townsend to the Goldman Sachs corporate real estate division based in New York. In this role, Chris led a team responsible for capital planning, procurement and cost control for projects across the Americas.

In addition to commercial real estate, Chris has experience leading cost management teams in various sectors across the globe, notably the 2012 London Olympic Games, a $3BN diamond mine for Rio Tinto and a $500M, 180-km railway project for Brookfield Rail – the latter two projects both in Western Australia.

Chris is currently based in Tampa, FL, having previously lived in Phoenix, AZ and Toronto, Canada.

Professional Affiliations / Accreditations

Full Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS)
Board Member of RICS Americas World Regional Board, Construction-lead (2019-2023)
Chair, RICS Americas World Regional Board (2023-Present)

Education

Bachelor Degree with Honors from Loughborough University (UK) in Commercial Management and Quantity Surveying

Americas World Regional Board Members

Georgia Bergers, MRICS

Vice President of Marketing, Hammertech

Hailing from Melbourne, Georgia was exposed to the construction industry from a young age as her father was a project manager within the industry. She was drawn to the detail oriented nature of project management and the role of bringing many different disciplines together to create one result. She studied her BSc degree in Project Management at RMIT and started working at The APP Group in 2008. Having a deep passion for regeneration, green spaces and equitable and accessible connectivity within cities, Georgia has worked in Australia, the UK and America on large scale projects from Formula One to the Olympics to multi million pound residential builds and transport hubs. Following a four-year stint at Mace, London, she moved to the United States wanting to marry her dedication to construction with her newfound love of technological solutions. She found that at HammerTech. Georgia uses her extensive experience in construction project management as well as product marketing and business development to ensure HammerTech is visible, engaging and different. The construction industry still has one of the highest fatality rates of all industries and HammerTech is aiming to combat this by ensuring health and safety - both physical and psychological - is at the forefront of every staff members’ mind - and in the palm of their hands. It isn’t a tick-box platform but a unique technology that empowers individuals to take control of safety and site operations and be accountable. HammerTech works with some of the largest construction businesses worldwide and has just expanded into the UK. It aims to help contractors and clients meet the recently passed Building Safety Act 2022 as well as ESG requirements by bringing transparency that makes the entire construction process safer, healthier and more efficient. Georgia is also an RICS World Regional Board Member for the Americas where she champions technology, innovation and programs to improve diversity, equity and inclusion.

Cate Agnew, FRICS

US Head of Real Estate Valuation , NATIXIS

Cate Agnew is the US Head of Real Estate Valuation for Natixis CIB (Groupe BPCE). Her professional and educational background is in finance, valuation, asset management, and risk management. Cate holds the designations of FRICS, CRE, MAI, and HypZert MLV; she is on the Americas World Regional Board of RICS, and serves on multiple boards of directors and advisory boards for PropTech. At Natixis, Cate effected multiple impact technology solutions using existing systems, optimizing business- to-financial-reporting.

Maureen Ehrenberg, FRICS

President of the Commercial Division , SMS Assist

Maureen Ehrenberg, FRICS, CRE, is President of the Commercial Division at SMS Assist, a Lessen Company. She drives business strategy and manages overall resources, partnerships, and operations to provide the most advanced and innovative integrated facilities management operating platform for commercial properties. Formerly CEO and co-founder of Blue Skyre IBE, Ehrenberg is an internationally recognized real estate industry business leader with over 35 years of experience in business process transformation, strategic positioning and operations of large, complex portfolios. Before co-founding BSI, she was the Global Head of Strategic Real Estate Operations for WeWork. Her previous experience also includes being International Director and Global President of JLL Integrated Facilities Management Services, Global Head of Integrated Facility Management at CBRE, Executive Vice President of Grubb & Ellis Company and President and CEO of Grubb and Ellis Management Services, Inc. Ehrenberg was named to the Woman of Influence Hall of Fame by Real Estate Forum/Globe St.

Scott Wilkinson

Director, BTY

Scott is a Director at BTY with 20 years of industry experience and helps lead the Cost Management Division. He brings over two decades of construction industry experience in both consultancy and contracting environments. Scott has been involved on development mandates in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada. His proven leadership abilities have been used to motivate teams and deliver effective, innovative, and value-added solutions to complex business challenges. This skillset includes cost control, construction cost estimation, contingency and escalation rates, tender evaluation, BIM, and project management.

Randal Dawson, FRICS

Executive Vice President, CBRE

I am a seasoned expert in real estate valuations, tax appeals and counselling with more than 30 years of experience. My background includes valuations of all types of commercial and special-use properties, with an emphasis on industrial, retail, multifamily properties, hospitals, healthcare facilities, readapted uses of real estate, highest and best use studies, feasibility studies and real estate valuations. I have prepared and reviewed valuation and feasibility studies throughout the country for litigation support, ad valorem, condemnation, trust and estate matters, family law, financial reporting, conventional financing, bond financing, fair rental studies, data centers, movie studios, telecommunications and insurance purposes. As a qualified expert witness, I have testified numerous times in federal, state, and local jurisdictions around the country. Litigation cases have included insurance claims, shareholder disputes, bankruptcy, tax appeal, divorce, IRS tax disputes, and condemnation, diminution in value related to historical preservation easements and conservation easements. I am a Co-National Litigation Practice Leader and I lead the Consulting Practice for CBRE, Inc. Midwest Region, and hold the CRE designation from the Counselors of Real Estate, the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute, the FRICS designation from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, and the NACD Directorship Certification from the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Sarah Jancot

Investment Manager, NBIM

Sarah Jancot is Investment Manager of Logistics Real Estate at NBIM, Norway’s oil fund. The $1.4 tr fund is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds and is broadly invested across countries, sectors and currencies. The fund owns direct real estate investments worth more than $30 billion, totalling approximately 800 assets across 13 countries. NBIM’s unlisted logistics portfolio consists of approximately 135 million square feet of warehouses across 12 countries. Her current role covers strategy, transactions and asset management. Prior to joining the team in 2016, Sarah served in transactions roles in London and Paris, with a main focus on the office market. Over her career, Sarah has been involved in over $10bn of completed transactions. Sarah holds a Master of science in Management from ESSEC Business School and is a Columbia Business School alumni. She is a member of the RICS Americas World Regional Board and serves on the Board of Green City Challenge, a NYC-based not-for-profit.

Charlotte Timms, MRICS

Vice President of Workplace Strategy, Colliers

Charlotte is a Vice President of Workplace Strategy at Colliers. She is passionate about enabling people to work at the best wherever they are and believes that the physical environment (home or the office) has a vital role to play in that. She works with companies in a variety of industries, rationalize and improve their real estate offering and in turn work place experience. Charlotte currently sits on the Board for RICS in the Americas and is a member of the DEI working group. Prior to colliers she led tenant advisory at a fast growth tech start-up in the flexible space and previously worked for Deloitte real estate in London. She originally qualified as a surveyor in London and has since relocated to the US.

Robert Herman, MRICS

CEO, REscan

Dr. Robert Herman MRICS is passionate about the promise of proptech. After an 11-year tenure in commercial real estate, he launched out on his own to join the digital disruption of real estate with a start-up in Silicon Valley. As the Co-founder and CEO of REscan, he relies on his experience in acquisition, development, asset management and operations to develop tech solutions to solve the challenges of managing commercial real estate. He lives in San Francisco.

Alexandra Faciu, FRICS

Real Estate Executive

Alexandra Faciu MRICS, Advisor, Investment Management and Board Member, RICS Americas World Regional Board Alexandra is a purpose-driven leader with a keen interest in sustainability, circular economy, governance, team leadership, Next Gen, diversity and cultural richness. With a career spanning more than 25 years, Alexandra is a real estate executive with expertise in investment management (strategy & value creation, investment, asset business plans, valuation, operations, tactical execution, reporting). She has implemented several asset value creation and portfolio optimization strategies, including turnarounds and transformations in the past 10 years. Throughout her career, Alexandra was involved in projects in Canada and internationally, which allowed her to acquire experience in all asset classes (commercial property & infrastructure).

Mark Vollmer, FRICS

FRICS is Senior Director and Head of Technical Services , NYL Inverstors

Mark Vollmer, FRICS is Senior Director and Head of Technical Services at New York Life Real Estate Investors, where he oversees architectural, engineering and valuation services for NYL’s $60 billion real estate portfolio of debt and equity. Mr. Vollmer has more than 35 years in real estate experience, specializing in the hospitality sector, and has valued properties throughout the United States and in more than 30 countries including the Caribbean, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. He earned a BA from Haverford College and an MBA from New York University. Mark also holds the MAI and CRE designations and served as President of the New York Metropolitan Chapter of the Appraisal Institute.

Nevin Sood, FRICS

Global Lead, Apple

Nevin has 30 years of experience from working as an Engineer in the semiconductor microchip industry, Advisory & Consulting specializing in Whole Life Asset Management and Carbon Reduction across multiple sectors; with a career change to serve in the British Army in Military Intelligence then UK Special Forces. He is a Fellow of the RICS, Chartered Building Engineer, Fellow of CABE, Chartered Energy Manager, and a Fellow of the RSA.

Shardon V. B. Haye MRICS MJIQS MCIArb

Managing Director, CPM Consultants Ltd

Shardon Haye is the Managing Director of CPM Consultants Ltd, a Chartered Quantity Surveying practice in Kingston, Jamaica. With over 25 years of experience in Quantity Surveying and Cost Management services, Shardon has navigated a diverse professional journey. His expertise spans Consultancy practices, private developers, and public sector agencies across Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Kingdom. His primary focus lies in property development, with experience in various sectors including commercial, civic, education, military and aviation industries. Shardon holds a BSc. (Hons.) in Quantity Surveying from the University of Reading and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Arbitration from Robert Gordon University. As a member of RICS since 2006, he brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. Additionally, Shardon is a professional member of the Jamaican Institute of Quantity Surveyors (JIQS) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). His commitment to service extends beyond the professional realm; he previously held a Queen’s Commission at the rank of Captain serving with the 1 Engineer Regiment (JDF) and served as a former part-time lecturer at the University of Technology, Jamaica.