Update from Justin Young, RICS CEO – January 2025

As we step into a new year, I can now officially welcome RICS’ 143rd President Justin Sullivan FRICS. During his presidency, Justin will prioritise initiatives that promote education, enhance professional standards, and foster collaboration among local boards to create specialised and engaging events. He will be joined in the presidential team by President Elect Nick Maclean FRICS, and Senior Vice President Maureen Ehrenberg FRICS, whose experience and leadership will prove invaluable.

Welcome, also, to the new members of Governing Council (GC), who were elected by you last year. I’m grateful to them and to all the members of GC for their enthusiasm and unwavering commitment to developing RICS and the profession. You can find out more about the Governing Council and the crucial role that they play for RICS here. I look forward to working alongside them for the year ahead.

Another development that will help set a new tone for 2025 is the completion of our revitalised London headquarters and state-of-the-art members’ hub. These upgrades reflect our goal of delivering the best service to you, whilst becoming a world-class organisation. Whether you regularly work in London or are visiting the city, you will be welcomed enthusiastically to our brand-new Members Lounge at HQ in the heart of Westminster. There you can take advantage of new modern workspaces complete with conference and seminar rooms, private working booths, collaboration zones, and complimentary tea and coffee in a relaxed cafe style seating area, while the library also remains available. The new spaces are free to visit without pre-booking - members should simply register with reception on arrival. This all follows last year’s reopening of The Hub cafe downstairs at HQ, and the arrival of ‘Searcys Bar and Brasserie at Surveyors House’, next door to RICS. RICS members are entitled to a discount at all eight Searcys venues in London, as well as discounts for events and meetings held at Surveyors House. RICS is well and truly open for members, and I hope that you find a useful and inspiring place to work and connect at our Great George Street base.

As we look ahead, a key focus for us this year is strengthening our member-centric approach. Your feedback, including insights from the UK-wide Shaping the Future events, has been invaluable in setting our priorities. Delivering greater value for you, wherever you are, is paramount to us. This includes dedicating more resources to support members locally and continuing to grow RICS Matrics - a community for the next generation of surveying professionals. Following the progress made in 2024, including the launch of Matrics in the UAE, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, we are targeting expansion into other geographies. RICS Matrics remains a vital part of our work, helping to connect professionals, share knowledge, and nurture the talent that will lead the future of our industry.

As part of our efforts to serve you locally, in 2024 we welcomed more than 30,000 people to RICS events, including our first virtual global sustainability conference, the Built Environment European Summit in Bilbao and the return of our Africa Conference in Johannesburg. Alongside these conferences, we have welcomed many of you at regional events, including our awards ceremonies, roadshows and CPD sessions, and in the coming year there will be many more opportunities to advance your professional development and deliberate important issues at our upcoming range of events.

Finally, I’m pleased to share our Diversity, equity and inclusion progress report 2024. I encourage you to read the report to discover the progress that has been made, and gain a better understanding of the part you can play in building a more inclusive profession.