RICS in South East

Marie Leaphard, FRICS

Partner, Rider Levett Bucknall

Marie serves as the current Chair of the South East Regional Board. She is a Partner at Rider Levett Bucknall and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. As a Partner specialising in Project Management and strategic account management, Marie draws on a wealth of practical experience. Her career journey began as a qualified Joiner by trade, evolved into a Project Quantity Surveyor role for a major contractor, and has culminated in her leadership at Rider Levett Bucknall. With a rich background spanning both public and private sectors, Marie’s true passion lies in driving and delivering value to public sector projects. Her role on the board enables her to bring a fresh perspective shaped by her unique career path. She is deeply committed to inspiring the next generation of professionals and championing recruitment initiatives that foster diversity and inclusivity across the industry.

Professor Samer Bagaeen FRICS

Arcadis

Professor Samer Bagaeen’s breadth of experience lies across local government, academia, and urban planning. He identifies interdisciplinary problems and solutions in the context of climate resilience in roles across multiple sectors. He is a Technical Director with the Environmental Planning team at Arcadis, a Professor of Planning & Resilient Systems, and a Councillor since 2019. Samer set up the Brighton Planning School in 2008 and secured RICS accreditation for it shortly after that. Samer is a Chartered Town Planner, a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a Design Council Expert, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He is a Trustee of the Royal Town Planning Institute and is Chair of the RTPI’s International Committee in 2023. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the BAME Planners Network and a member of the Academic Advisory Group at the Real Estate Data Foundation. He previously worked with the Rockefeller Foundation’s global resilience programme as an Associate Director. In Kent, Samer currently manages Cultural Co-location, a Creative Estuary project funded by the Cultural Development Fund and his team has developed a planning for culture toolkit. He served on the Policy Council at the Town and Country Planning Association from 2010-2020 where he also served as a Trustee for five years. Samer has also worked for the RICS as an officer looking after thought leadership relationships.

Laura Richold, FRICS

Training Director, Connells

Laura is Training Director at a national firm of Chartered Surveyors and has been in her current role since May 2022 following 3 years as Area Director for the London South team. Her passion has always been training and the development and promotion of the next generation of surveyors. Since 2008 Laura has been an APC Assessor and then in 2012 commenced assessing VRS submissions. Laura believes promotion of the profession to a more diverse and extensive range of individuals is paramount to the growth of the RICS, its members, the organisation and public.

Oliver Robinson MRICS

Partner, Batchellor Monkhouse

Oliver is a Partner at Batcheller Monkhouse based in Tunbridge Wells. He has 20 years’ experience acting on behalf of private landowners and farmers in the Southeast region. His areas of expertise incorporate both the valuation of farms and residential property, Estate Management and more recently a keen focus on the promotion and disposal of strategic development land.

Michael Smedley

Head of Estates, Oxfordshire County Council

Michael is a Chartered Surveyor and Chartered Arbitrator with over thirty years of expertise in property, estates, and asset management spanning the public, private, and charitable sectors. Currently serving as Head of Estates at Oxfordshire County Council, Michael has dedicated the majority of their career to the retail sector, where they have led multi-disciplinary teams, managed extensive and complex portfolios, and consistently delivered outcomes that balance financial performance, customer service, and sustainability.

Dan Snape

Associate Director, Watts Group Limited

Dan is an Associate Director and Chartered Building Surveyor at Watts Group Limited. His journey began in 2017 at Arcadis LLP as a Project Manager in the Education sector. In 2020 he transitioned into the Property and Investment sector where he provided a combination of Building Surveying and Project Management across private and public sectors including life sciences, commercial developments, residential, retail, hospitality, industrial and defence. In 2024 he joined Watts Group Limited where he currently provides a variety of professional services for private sector clients operating across multiple sectors. Dan is also a member of the RICS Built Environment Journal Editorial Advisory Group and a qualified APC Assessor on both the Building Surveying and Project Management pathways. Dan is a strong advocate for promoting the industry to young people in education and supporting emerging talent to reach their full career potential.

Pelham Walker

Head of Property & Masterplanning, HS1 Limited

Pelham has been a Chartered Surveyor since qualifying in 1991. He is currently High Speed 1’s Head of Property & Master Planning. Prior to that he worked on HS2 and has held senior positions within the private and public sectors. He joined the South East Board in August 2021.

Ben Walpole MRICS

Chartered Quantity Surveyor and RICS Registered Expert Witness

Ben is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and RICS Registered Expert Witness. Following early career experience in contracting roles and national consultancies, Ben founded Q Two Consulting – a Project Management and Cost Consultancy and now oversees the management of defence, residential and commercial projects. Ben joined the South East Board in December 2025 with a view to enhancing member engagement in the region.

William West