UK & Ireland World Regional Board

Stephen Ashworth FRICS

Stephen J. Ashworth is Chairman and CEO, joint founder and the major shareholder of Hurstwood Holdings, Arrowmere Capital, Crystal Holdings and Queens Square Capital. With nearly 40 years’ experience working in the commercial and residential property sector with a successful proven track record. Stephen was appointed as Chair of the RICS North West regional board in August 2018, a member of the UK & Ireland World Regional Board and is also a registered mentor for the organisation. Stephen is also involved in a number of charitable organisations and is a Trustee of Destination Florida Children’s Charity.

James Ginley FRICS

James joined e.surv in 2021, as Director of Technical Surveying, from Legal & General where he managed their lending portfolio, having previously held the role of Technical Director at Legal & General Surveying Services. He is a Fellow of the RICS and a member of the Equity Release Council Committee. James is an author of RICS guidance on valuation of new build properties and a regular commentator on the housing market and valuation practices.

Ronan O'Hara FRICS

Ronan is a senior property professional specialising in complex investment initiatives, sustainable development, strategic asset management and leading change. He is Chief Executive for Crown Estate Scotland, a new public corporation focused on delivering investment in property, natural resources, and people to create lasting value for Scotland. In addition, he holds the position of Trustee with the Chartered Institute of Housing and Non-Executive Director with social housing provider Acis Group Ltd. His career has included senior appointments at the University of Cambridge, Northern Ireland’s Strategic Investment Board (SIB), English Heritage, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Circle Housing Group, amongst others. He holds degrees in Business and Finance, Building Surveying and Environmental Sciences from the Queens University Belfast, the Open University Business School and London Southbank University. As a Chartered Surveyor, he has been privileged to lead major investment programmes, manage and maintain priceless historic estates, deliver digital transformation and drive innovation and growth through some of the UK’s largest and most progressive public sector organisations. He is particularly interested in promoting the value and benefit of non-cognate routes to membership, diversity equality and inclusion and sustainable development.

Sarah Chaudhry MBA FRICS

As member of the UK & Ireland world regional board, Sarah hopes to create a more inclusive profession and represent the UK’s growing minority community, local government and registered providers. Having 25 years corporate real estate experience, Sarah is Director of Surveyor Store Ltd. Sarah is Chair on a charities development board, and an experienced non-Executive Director who has worked for Registered Providers, Local Government and Consultancy. Sarah is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a Management Consultant Surveyor and holds an MBA in Construction and Real Estate and a Post Graduate Diploma in Project Management.

William Leschallas MRICS FAAV FHEA PGCAP PGCMR

William is Staff Governor, Head of Employability and Professional Engagement, Senior Lecturer, and Programme Lead for undergraduate Rural Land Management and Real Estate programmes at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU). He was previously head of the Real Estate and Land Management department. He was a member of the QAA advisory group for Land, Construction, Real Estate and Surveying, reviewing the Subject Benchmark Statement, published in 2024. He joined the RAU in 2018, having spent over 30 years in professional practice. He was a director at Jackson-Stops, and his experience includes rural business, sales, lettings, planning and development, valuation and marketing. William qualified as surveyor in 1989 through the rural pathway, and is a Fellow of the Association of Agricultural Valuers and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has a passion for education and encouraging more people from all backgrounds to join the exciting world of property, and believes that the relevance of the countryside and built environment to the sustainability agenda has never been greater. His charitable work has included a 10-year trusteeship of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum.

Matthew Talliss FRICS

Matthew is a chartered quantity surveyor; his role is the global service director for cost and commercial management for Arcadis in the mobility business unit. He has worked within the infrastructure industry for 17 years across major UK infrastructure, including legacy programmes in aviation, highways and rail sectors. He is a fellow of RICS, a member of the RICS education accreditation team and has been nominated three times for RICS Mentor of the Year. Matthew is a passionate advocate for promoting the profession working with Ahead partnership previously, volunteering at schools in Birmingham and founded an international RICS chartership programme in the Philippines to support colleagues becoming chartered surveyors. As a member of the UK & Ireland World Regional Board Matthew wants to drive positive sustainability change within the industry, champion for how we digitilise solutions and promote the profession for all.

Tracey Hartley MRICS

Over 25 years of experience in residential property investment and asset management across Estate, Block, and BTR sectors. Proven senior leadership in strategy and operations. 10 years in fund management and operations at Grainger. Former head of Residential at The Howard de Walden Estate, JLL – The Crown Estate, and COO at Cortland EU. Influential roles in industry initiatives, including: Government PRS Taskforce; Chair of the BPF Residential Management Committee; BPF Living Sectors Board member; Co-chair of the ARL Policy & Research Committee.

Mark Devlin FRICS

Marks introduction to the Residential Surveying and Valuation industry dates back over the past 12 years when was appointed Managing Director of Colleys Residential Survey and Valuation Services in 2012, and has continued to support RICS through his board appointments at RICS Scotland and his recent term as Chair of RICS in Scotland. Now the Managing Director of Client Services in Lloyds Banking Group his career is now focussed in the regulated space supporting business and commercial clients. Mark remains a strong supporter of RICS and is keen to ensure that the membership of the institution is represented and continues to offer opportunities to create an inclusive and diverse organisation that truly represents the country it serves.

Bradley Webster MRICS

Bradley Webster is the Managing Partner at Baily Garner. Bradley became a Chartered Building Surveyor in 2010 and, then in 2016, became Baily Garner's youngest Equity Partner. His experience includes managing new build, refurbishment, and regeneration projects across residential, commercial, and education sectors. Before becoming Managing Partner, Bradley served as Director of Transformation, driving strategic initiatives, implementing innovative processes, and enhancing operational efficiency. Bradley plays an active role in training and mentoring junior staff. He is significantly involved in APC training and serves as an APC Assessor for the RICS.

Matthew Wallace BSc (Hons) MBA DipProjMan FRICS

Matthew Wallace is Director of Estates and Building Services at Leicester City Council, where he leads a diverse portfolio encompassing strategic asset management, regeneration, property development, capital projects, facilities management and corporate estate services. A former Partner at EC Harris and Arcadis and Fellow of RICS, Matthew has extensive experience across both the private and public sectors, delivering complex property, construction and regeneration programmes aswell as transactions that support economic growth, social value and sustainable communities. Matthew has a long-standing commitment to professional leadership and member engagement. He previously served as National Chair of RICS matrics, championing the development of the next generation of surveying professionals, and subsequently represented the profession internationally through his service on the RICS Governing Council. His professional interests include transactions, urban regeneration, public sector transformation, housing delivery, strategic estate management and the evolving role the built environment plays creating inclusive and resilient places. As a member of the UK & Ireland World Regional Board, Matthew is committed to supporting RICS members, promoting professional excellence and ensuring the institution remains relevant, trusted and influential across the built and natural environment.

Nigel Cook MRICS

Senior Partner, Stace LLP

Nigel is a Senior Partner at Stace LLP with 30 years experience in delivering project management, development monitoring & advisory, commercial management and contracts consultancy across the UK, Europe and Asia Pacific. Nigel’s experience includes long term secondments into the Royal Bank of Scotland and Jaguar Land Rover, notably delivering JLR’s 1m sq ft engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton that won the RICS National Regeneration Award in 2014. His experience also includes eight years living abroad in Taiwan R.O.C. and Japan delivering complex professional contracts consultancy services for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, most notably for five years on a 345km high speed rail project, that exported Japanese ‘bullet train’ technology, as well as on other large regional infrastructure projects. Since his return to the UK and Stace LLP, Nigel focuses on project management and development/fund monitoring, as well as being an active member of a local Community Development Trust. Nigel will draw on his organisational breadth, international experience, governance responsibility and local community leadership to contribute balanced, informed, and forward-looking judgement to the World Regional Board.

Theo Till MRICS

Managing Director, Wheeldon Brothers 1867 Ltd

Theo Till is Managing Director of Wheeldon Brothers 1867 Ltd, the strategic land promotion business of Wheeldon Brothers 1867 Ltd. He is a Chartered Planning and Development Surveyor with extensive experience in the active promotion, delivery and disposal of residential development land across England. Alongside his professional career, Theo has held several roles within RICS. He previously served as the UK Chair of RICS Matrics, working closely with the RICS Executive and providing leadership across governance, finance, strategy and operations, whilst overseeing a network of almost 30 local groups across the UK. He has also served on the RICS Land and Natural Resources Professional Group Panel and continues to support candidates as an APC Counsellor. Having worked closely with RICS Members throughout his time with RICS Matrics, Theo is passionate about ensuring that Member voices continue to inform the future direction of the profession and looks forward to supporting Member engagement through his role on the UK & Ireland World Regional Board. Theo is a Visiting Fellow at Nottingham Trent University and a Trustee of the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation.

Simon Radford FRICS

Chartered Surveyor

Simon is a Chartered Surveyor and senior real estate investment professional with more than three decades of leadership experience in the UK property and financial services sectors. After early roles within the NatWest Group, he went on to lead major real estate investment businesses at CBRE and KBC Bank before co-founding Lothbury Investment Management in 2010. Under his leadership, Lothbury grew into one of the UK’s leading property investment managers, overseeing more than £2bn in assets for a global investor base. Nomura Real Estate acquired a majority stake in the business in 2018, and Simon exited fully in 2023. Since exiting the business, he has built a portfolio career of governance and advisor roles, including serving as an immediate past member of the Governing Council of the RICS and advising organisations in residential development, investment, and property technology. He also contributes to higher education as a member of the College Advisory Board at Ustinov College, Durham University.