RICS Building Surveying Conference 2026

Helen McKeown MRICS

Director and Co-founder, Axis Surveying Limited

Helen’s current role heading up Building Surveying in the North West also allows her to focus on her favourite topics of technical due diligence (TDD) and dilapidations service lines. With more than 20 years post qualified experience across a broad range of building surveying services, including building pathology and project management. she speaks regularly at conferences on various topics and has developed and delivered internal training courses to enhance and build the skills of building surveying and engineering colleagues. She has delivered TDD and dilapidations instructions for major institutional investors and some of the largest property companies in the world. Working across all sectors in the UK and across Europe, Helen has advised clients on hotels, student accommodation, offices, logistics and retail assets, as well as more esoteric assets such as arenas, pharmaceutical manufacturing, distilleries and life sciences. Helen has previously worked for JLL, Watts and Manchester-centric SME’s. Helen is an active member of the RICS as Chair of the BS&BC PGP and is an APC Assessor for the Building Surveying pathway. Her interests are in promoting diversity, equality and inclusion within the RICS.

James Baker FRICS

Managing Director, Invise Ltd.

James is a Chartered Building Surveyor and Founder of Invise, providing comprehensive building surveying and project management services across the UK. With extensive RICS involvement and leadership roles, he also mentors APC candidates and contributes to industry publications and awards as a judge and editorial advisor.

Trevor Rushton FRICS FCABE ACIArb

Group Chairman, Watts

Trevor Rushton FRICS is Chairman of Watts Group Limited and one of the UK’s leading authorities on building pathology and construction defects. With over 40 years’ experience, he has shaped industry knowledge through his long-standing editorship of the Watts Pocket Handbook and authorship of influential texts including Deleterious and Hazardous Building Materials and Defects in Industrial and Commercial Buildings. A Fellow of the RICS and an experienced Expert Witness, Trevor is regularly appointed in complex defect-related disputes and is a nationally recognised commentator on issues such as RAAC, with appearances on BBC News and Times Radio. His clarity, integrity and deep technical expertise have earned him a reputation as one of the profession’s most trusted voices.

Dr Benjamin Ralph PhD CEng FIFireE FIMechE

Director, Head of Building Safety and Fire, Hollis

Dr Benjamin Ralph is a Director at independent real estate consultancy, Hollis and Head of our Building Safety and Fire Service. A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of both the Institution of Fire Engineers and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, he has over 16 years’ experience in fire science and engineering. Dr Benjamin holds a First-Class MEng in Civil Engineering, a Distinction in PGDip Fire Safety Engineering, and a PhD in Fire Science. He specialises in building safety, interdisciplinary problem-solving, and risk-based design. His work spans strategy development, fire experiments, modelling, and on-site verification. He also contributes to industry standards through his roles with the IMechE Construction Building Services Division and the Building Safety Regulator’s Advisory Committee.

Samantha Organ FRICS

Director / Associate Professor, Black Cat Building Consultancy / University of the West of England

Samantha is a building surveyor, a fellow of the RICS and Associate Member of the ICE. She divides her time between academia and practice, and uses her expertise to provide advice and strategic guidance on sustainability for built assets. As Director for ESG at Black Cat Building Consultancy, she advises a range of clients on ESG, sustainability and carbon reduction across built assets and portfolios. Samantha previously worked for the National Trust, Europe's largest conservation charity as a surveyor and in the directorate to provide national guidance on sustainability for built assets. In academia, Samantha is an Associate Professor for Building Sustainability at the University of the West of England, Bristol where she lectures and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students. Her research primarily focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency in existing buildings. She has written numerous publications for a range of audiences, including academic papers, reports, professional and newspaper articles. Samantha has previously actively involved with the RICS through boards and committees. She mentors early career surveyors including through the Mentoring Partnership.

Siobhan Cross

Partner , Pinsent Masons

Siobhan is a partner in the property group at Pinsent Masons with over 25 years’ experience acting for commercial property clients. Siobhan now specialises in climate and sustainability issues affecting the built environment. She advises real estate clients on current and proposed climate change related regulatory and policy issues, on related strategy and on incorporating the increasing climate and sustainability factors in real estate related due diligence and in development and leasing documents . She sits on the sustainability committees of the IPF and the BPF and was a member of the steering group and the lead legal editor for the Better Building Partnership’s Green Lease Toolkit. She has advised clients on and written and spoken on Energy Performance Certificates and the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard.

Jay Ridings MRICS

Senior Director, Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT) Ltd

Jay Ridings is a Senior Director and a chartered building surveyor (MRICS) and leads the technical due diligence service line, as well as contributing to the TFT leadership groups for fund monitoring and fire safety. Jay has a keen interest in developing and improving TFT’s reporting, adopting the latest technology to communicate survey findings, streamlining the TDD process to assist transactions and providing holistic, commercial advice, integrating all of TFT’s specialisms. Jay has many years of experience having worked for JLL and Watts in London before moving to Bristol. He is on the RICS Built Environment Journal editorial panel and has spoken regularly for the RICS on technical due diligence in commercial property, the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) and dilapidations. Jay is also a RICS APC Assessor and has recently joined the RICS’ global sector advisory group for building.

Claire Hood MRICS

Director, Savills

Carolina Lopato Ricorico MRICS

Senior Project Manager, HartDixon

Carolina is a building consultant with over 10 years of experience, backed by a strong background in engineering and building surveying. She has delivered a wide range of complex projects across the UK and currently works as a Senior Project Manager, leading multidisciplinary teams on programmes involving refurbishment, compliance, asset improvement, and building lifecycle optimisation. Committed to advancing gender equity, diversity and inclusion in the built environment, Carolina serves as an Ambassador for the RICS and mentor, where she actively promotes equal access to careers in surveying and champions underrepresented voices across the profession. Carolina has been shortlisted on multiple occasions for industry awards recognising excellence and commitment. Several of her projects have received public recognition, including commendations from the Mayor of London and His Majesty King Charles III. With a passion for advancing industry standards and supporting the next generation of surveyors, Carolina brings a thoughtful, innovative, people-centred approach to shaping the future of the built environment.

Tim Hillier

Partner , Trowers & Hamlins LLP

Irene F Moore LLB

Partner & Party Walls and Neighbourly Matters Surveyor, Fetto Moore & Co

Irene Moore is a Partner at Fetto Moore & Co, Party Wall Surveyors, with over 18 years’ specialist experience in the application of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and the wider field of neighbourly matters. Her practice includes complex dispute resolution and the negotiation of Access Agreements, including scaffolding licences, crane oversails and rights of entry on constrained and high-value sites. She advises a broad client base ranging from private homeowners to major developers and institutional landowners, providing strategic, commercially focused advice on technically challenging projects. Her client portfolio includes The Crown Estate, The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, LocatED (Department for Education), HMRC, Greggs, and Lazari, among others. Irene is a Fellow of the Pyramus & Thisbe Society, where she sits on several committees contributing to governance, education and the long-term development of the profession. She was closely involved in the recent Fourth Edition of The Party Wall Act Explained, a leading commentary on the Act widely regarded as essential reading for practising and aspiring surveyors, as well as members of the public. Holding a Law degree, Irene brings a strong legal and contractual perspective to her work, underpinned by extensive experience across the construction and built environment sectors. Beyond professional practice, she is actively engaged in governance and social impact. She serves as a Regulatory Committee Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and is a Director and Board Member of the Bethnal Green Business Development Centre. She is also the Founder and CEO of The Lorna Legacy, a UK-registered charity dedicated to collecting and distributing pre-loved children’s books to orphanages and underprivileged communities in Uganda.

Rob Elder

Agent, Greater London, Bank of England

Rob became our Agent for Greater London in May 2018. Rob joined us in 1998, and for twelve years supported the Monetary Policy Committee as an economist and then senior manager. Between 2010 and 2012 he represented the UK on the board of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. When he returned he worked in our press office, and most recently, supported our Financial Policy Committee by running a team monitoring developments in the UK banking sector. Between 1990 and 1998 Rob worked as an economist and forecaster at HM Treasury, British Telecom and Manchester University. He also taught English in Japan for a year. Rob studied economics at Manchester University (first degree) and Warwick University (master’s degree). He was born in Northampton, grew up in Birmingham, and now lives in Hackney in north east London.

Dawn Williams FRICS MCABE

Director and Chartered Building Surveyor, Eos Surveying

Marianne Suhr MRICS

Chartered Building Surveyor, The Old House Consultancy

Marianne is a Chartered Building Surveyor, writer and broadcaster specialising in the repair and retrofit of historic buildings. She has repaired and adapted four houses of her own, and used the experience gained to set up ‘The Old House Consultancy’. Her practice focuses on domestic projects, sensitively repairing and adapting houses in the Oxfordshire area and focusing on timber frames, lime mortars and plasters, and energy efficiency. Marianne lectures extensively on building repair and runs courses for builders, homeowners and professionals. She is a senior lecturer at the Cultural Heritage Institute where she teaches practical building conservation on their MSc course. She is the co-founder of the Building Conservation Summer School which is now in its 19th year. She was co-author of the ‘Old House Handbook’ and ‘Old House Eco Handbook’. She is joint convenor of the Historic Windows Forum, and in the process of establishing The Old Window Consultancy, which provides practical advice on balancing conservation with retrofit.

Jordanne Dunn MRICS

Savills UK

Apprentice of the Year

Angela Gregson

Partner, RWK Goodman