Construction Productivity Taskforce members

Anthony is always looking to apply his skills as an entrepreneur to find opportunities for us to innovate and grow so that we can help even more business leaders transform their productivity.

Helen joined GPE in 2007 as Project Manager, she was appointed as Director of Projects in 2019. She has a proven track record in the successful delivery of major GPE development projects, including GPE’s single largest mixed-use development at Rathbone Square. Helen holds responsibility for the design and delivery of all projects across GPE’s development, refurbishment and flex working programmes.  She sets GPE’s procurement strategy and ensures capital expenditure and delivery on all projects accords with individual asset business plans across the Group. More recently Helen’s role has been expanded and now includes responsibility for GPE’s Building Surveying and Technical Service teams. Helen has also been appointed as Senior Vice President of British Council for Offices.

Alan leads the Development Delivery team in the design, procurement, construction and handover of commercial office, life science, retail and mixed-use developments in British Land’s portfolio of London campuses and regional development.  Alan is responsible for the coordination of British Land development delivery activities including technical briefing and specification, contractor & consultant selection, project procurement, development H&SE, programme and project management.

Grant Findlay is Executive Managing Director for Buildings at Sir Robert McAlpine, overseeing the successful delivery of projects across commercial, industrial and heritage sectors.

Grant is a chartered engineer with over 30 years’ experience in the engineering and construction industry. He has held project and business leadership positions in consultancy, clients and main contractors. He is passionate about transforming the construction industry to deliver a more sustainable built environment. He has served as a Trustee and Director of the Lean Construction Institute UK, the Career Colleges Trust and the UK Business Council for Sustainable Development.  In 2020 he founded the Construction Data Trust, a not-for-profit which aggregates data to transform project delivery.

James Rowbotham leads the Workplace Development team at Landsec and is Chair of the Construction Productivity Taskforce.  At Landsec he is responsible for the delivery of their central London office development pipeline that includes Thirty High, Victoria (the comprehensive refurbishment of a 1960’s tower), Timber Square, Bankside (the largest hybrid steel and timber commercial development in Europe), 55 Old Broad Street and Hill House in the City of London.  During his time at Landsec he has overseen the completion of a number of large HQ offices such as 21 Moorfields for Deutsche Bank and 1 New Street Square for Deloitte;  mixed use developments such as Lucent, Piccadilly and innovation projects such as The Forge, Southbank.  Prior to Landsec he held development roles at DTZ, Thornfield and Hammerson, working on major schemes across London and the UK including Principal Place, Smithfield Market, and Bishopsgate Goodsyard.

As the leader of the Technical Design Group in SOM's London studio, Phil heads the design and delivery of a broad range of complex landmark projects in the UK and internationally. Over the last two decades, he has championed design and construction innovations that address the challenges of sustainable urban living through key projects.

Furthering SOM’s commitment to accelerate the transition to a net zero carbon built environment, Phil also leads the firm’s research and innovation group in London.

He is an elected member of the RIBA Practice and Policy Board Committee and also sits on the RIBA Housing Expert Advisory Group, which reviews policy and practice issues in the housing sector. He is the co-author of the LETI guide to decarbonising through specification and procurement. As a member of the UK's Construction Productivity Taskforce, he leads the initiative to elevate construction productivity through more informed, strategic, and data-guided design.

Stephen Jeffery is a distinguished construction professional with 28 years of service at Mace, the global delivery consultant and construction expert. He currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer for Construct.

 Stephen has demonstrated exceptional leadership, including 19 years as Mace’s MEP Director and 7 years leading the Group Technical Services (GTS) team. His focus has been on compliance, safety and stakeholder management.

 He has been instrumental in the delivery of major projects such as The Shard, where he managed the procurement and delivery of MEP systems, as well as establishing the Mace Business School 18 years ago, which continues to provide valuable supply chain training.

David joined the construction industry as an undergraduate trainee in 1995.  For 30 years David has worked across a wide variety of contract and product types throughout the UK, delivering for both central and local government and the very best private sector clients. After the acquisition of Bovis by Lendlease in 1999, David progressed to the board level role of Executive General Manager for the UK Regions Construction Business, prior to taking on the role of Managing Director for Construction Europe in 2024.  In 2025 Lendlease sold their construction business. The business rebranded as Bovis, and David now runs this business as Chief Executive Officer.

Neil Pennell is Head of Design Innovation & Property Solutions at Landsec, one of the UK’s leading property companies. His role is to drive the design and development of innovative, environmentally sustainable and technically excellent buildings.  

Neil is a senior thought leader specialising in technical and innovative solutions to decarbonise Landsec’s current and future portfolio.  

He is charged with providing strategic advice to the business on sustainable building design, smart building technology and innovative procurement and construction processes to ensure Landsec retains its leadership position in the real estate sector.  

This involves a wide remit to drive innovation and the application of new technology, including; Net Zero Carbon buildings, AI, advanced building analytics, IoT, BIM, P-DfMA, modern methods of construction, smart building and Prop Tech solutions. 

Neil sits on the Board of the British Council of Offices (BCO) and chairs the Technical Affairs Committee which is responsible for producing the BCO’s industry leading technical publications. He is also chair of the Buildings Clients Group, and a member of the Construction Productivity Task Force. 

Richard is a chartered quantity surveyor by background and has over 40 years’ experience in the UK and Global construction market where he was responsible for the successful delivery of numerous high-profile projects.

Richard joined Derwent London in 2010 is the Director of Development, where he leads the Development Team across design, planning, development and project management. In addition, Richard sits on the Executive Committee and has overseen the successful delivery of major projects including 80 Charlotte Street, Brunel Building and Soho Place, he continues to focus on delivering high-quality, design-led commercial developments in Central London. Richard is also chair of Estates at Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Katy assumed her current role with Skanska UK in  
May 2023, following a construction career spanning more than 35 years.  

She has a wide breadth of experience across the building, infrastructure and service sectors, including defence, transportation, education, commercial office, light industrial and healthcare. 

Katy joined Skanska in 2003 in a senior commercial position on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Main Building project, and then the redevelopment of Barts and The Royal London Hospitals. 

Following roles in our telecoms utilities and facilities services businesses, Katy joined Skanska UK’s Executive Management Team in 2017. Her responsibilities covered the building business and building services operation, which delivers facilities management and mechanical, electrical and public health engineering. 

A highly respected figure in UK construction, Katy sits on the industry-level Construction Productivity Taskforce. She was also a member of the Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture board, overseeing the delivery of the London tunnels section of High Speed 2.  

A passionate advocate for greater inclusivity within construction, Katy chaired the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) for eight years and has been executive sponsor of Skanska UK’s Womxn’s and Pride LGBTQ+ employee networks. 

Katy’s love of all things equestrian has been a constant theme throughout her life, and she shares her passion for the outdoors with her husband and two step children.

Matt is a chartered civil & structural engineer by background and has over 20 years’ experience in the central London commercial office market. Having spent his early career working in construction, delivering major infrastructure projects and completing structural engineering design of contemporary office buildings, he then moved into Project Management. He joined Derwent London in 2014 and has delivered schemes including White Collar Factory, Brunel, Featherstone, and Baker St. Matt became Head of Project Management in January 2023 and is responsible for maintaining the project management group’s focus on project delivery, construction innovation, productivity and risk management.

A highly respected figure within the construction industry, Neil joined Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM) in the role of CEO in February 2024. Founded in 1869, SRM has delivered numerous landmark construction projects across the UK, including the original Wembley Stadium, the Dorchester Hotel, the Eden Project, the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower (aka Big Ben), and the £1.5bn Broadgate Framework for British Land.  

Neil was previously Chief Executive of Lendlease Europe. Having joined the construction industry as a project manager, Neil went on to qualify in law, returning to the industry as a senior lawyer in 1999. He went on to hold a number of leadership roles, including five years in Australia with Lendlease’s global leadership team, before returning to London to head up the European construction business.

Peter has more than 30 years construction industry experience having worked across the building, civil engineering, central government, and R&D sectors and in senior roles within the commercial office, defence, healthcare, education and custodial sectors.  These roles have included business & team leadership, operations management, design management and research. He is a Visiting Professor in Construction Operational Excellence at the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering at Loughborough University and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

A recognised advocate for innovation and digital transformation driven by a desire to promote productivity improvement and operational excellence through the wider use of project and production controls, productivity measurement, digital technology and data analytics.