Name: FutureGen Conference 2024
Start: 2024-09-03T09:45:00
End: 2024-09-04T12:00:00
Location: Emmanuel College, Cambridge

3 – 4 September 2024 + Add to calendar Conference Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Welcome to the FutureGen Conference 2024!

Many thanks to Carey Olsen for their continued sponsorship, marking the second consecutive year of their generous support.

This year, we're excited to relocate to Emmanuel College, nestled in the heart of Cambridge and conveniently just a 15-minute stroll from the station.

Full Delegate Programme/Schedule including Speaker Biographies:

For more information on the individual sessions, including speaker biographies, please click on the blue arrows below to expand each section (details for delegates on how to book individual sessions are included under each bookable session).

Wifi on the day:

EmmaGuest
Password: Mildmay84

Tuesday 3rd September 2024
Wednesday 4th September 2024

Tuesday 3rd September 2024

9:45am - Arrival and Refreshments

9.45 AM – 10.30 AM
The Old Library

Arrival & Refreshments

45 mins Networking

Please arrive at 9:45 for registration, tea and coffee.

Make your way to the main entrance of Emmanuel College and you will be shown the way to The Old Library.

10:30am - Welcome from Clare Grimes, Chair of AREF's FutureGen Committee

10.30 AM – 10.35 AM

Associate Director, GRE Finance

Clare the Chair of the Association of Real Estate Funds’ FutureGen Committee and sits on the AREF Management Committee.

Clare is an Associate Director for GRE Finance, a principal real estate lender operating across the residential, commercial and development space. Clare heads up deal origination for the business.

Prior to this Clare worked at Octopus Real Estate for seven years playing a key role for the firms’ commercial real estate debt fund.

Clare graduated in 2016 from Loughborough University with a BSc in Sociology and then graduated in 2021 from Henley Business School with a MSc in Real Estate Investment & Finance. She also holds a Diploma in Property Investment from the Investment Property Forum. She is chartered surveyor, holding the MRICS qualification.

10:35am - Keynote Speaker: Mark Davy, Founder & CEO, FutureCity

10.35 AM – 11.20 AM
Queens Building, Lecture Theatre

Founder & CEO , Futurecity

Mark is a recognised thought-leader in urban culture and regeneration, with extensive experience in leading cultural programs and crafting identities for emerging creative districts. His unrivaled expertise in public art and the creative industries, along with his commercial and intellectual knowledge that places him at the forefront of the debate about the changing role and purpose of modern cities, will provide FutureGen members with invaluable insights into recent projects and what to consider for the future.

For more information on FutureCity, please visit their website here.

11:30am - Break-out Session (Group A): Empower & Influence: Mastering Confidence and Leadership

^{11:30am - 12:15pm

Queens Building, Lecture Theatre}
In this 45 minute workshop, led by Amira Mansour, The Communication Expert, delegates will learn how to communicate confidently, influence effectively, and embrace a growth mindset, empowering you to thrive and lead with confidence.

Amira will share tools and frameworks that will help you communicate with confidence whether that's learning how to pushback professionally, feeling confident to network and meet new people or communicate your ideas with conviction.

If you'd like to make contact with Amira before the day, please drop her an email at [email protected].

11:30am - Breakout Session (Group B): Delegate Power Networking

^{11:30am - 12:15pm

Harrods Break-out Room}

Led by members of the FutureGen Committee, join us for a dynamic 45-minute speed networking session to connect, collaborate and meet fellow delegates at the Conference!

12:30pm - Breakout Session (Group B): Empower & Influence: Mastering Confidence and Leadership

^{12:30pm - 1:15pm

Queens Building, Lecture Theatre}
In this 45 minute workshop, led by Amira Mansour, The Communication Expert, delegates will learn how to communicate confidently, influence effectively, and embrace a growth mindset, empowering you to thrive and lead with confidence.

If you'd like to make contact with Amira before the day, please drop her an email at [email protected].

12:30pm - Breakout Session (Group A) - Delegate Power Networking

^{12:30am - 1:15pm

Harrods Break-out room}

Led by the FutureGen Committee, join us for a dynamic 45-minute speed networking session to connect, collaborate and meet fellow delegates at the Conference!

1:30pm - Lunch

1.30 PM – 2.25 PM
Old Library

Lunch

Join us for a buffet lunch in The Old Library.

2:30pm - Fireside Chat with Adrian Benedict, Fidelity International

2.30 PM – 3.30 PM

60 mins Mandatory Seminar

In this Fireside Chat where Will Lawrence, Senior Associate at CMS and member of AREF's FutureGen Committee will interview Adrian Benedict, Head of Real Estate Solutions at Fidelity International. Adrian will talk about his career highlights in real estate, including lessons learned along the way, his thoughts on leadership, and where the industry goes next.

Head of Real Estate Solutions, Fidelity

Adrian is the current Chair of the Association of Real Estate Funds, and previously Chaired the AREF Corporate Governance Committee.

Adrian currently holds the position of Head of Real Estate Solutions at Fidelity International. He is responsible for delivering new client solutions, innovation and overall business development activities. Adrian has been advising and working within the real estate industry for more than two decades.

Having originally trained as a Civil Engineer he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PWC before joining UBS Investment Bank. During this latter role he specialised in providing M&A, IPO and debt advice for listed property companies across the globe. For the latter half of his career, Adrian has worked in real estate asset management roles covering capital raising, fund structuring and debt financing. He is a passionate advocate for real assets and the important role it can play as part of a long term savings solution but also how the industry can improve to deliver its benefits to a wider client audience

3:30pm - Break

^{3:30pm - 3:55pm

The Old Library}

Join us for refreshments of coffee & tea & sliced cakes

4:00pm - Panel Discussion: Impact Investing and Real Estate

4.00 PM – 5.00 PM
The Queens Building, Lecture Theatre

Moderated by Frankie Demetriades of abrdn, our panelists, Vivienne King of Impactful Places; Jessica Pilz of Fiera Real Estate UK; and Yan Chan of Bridges Fund Management, will delve into what we mean by impact investing within the real estate sector, the different forms of impact that can be targeted and how it can be measured.

ESG Manager, Abrdn

Frankie is Vice-chair of AREF's FutureGen Committee.

Frankie joined Abrdn in July 2023 as a Real Estate ESG Manager working across the European funds, with a particular focus on decarbonisation.

Frankie started her career at Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) where she trained as a chartered surveyor before specialising in sustainability and setting up the LSH sustainability team. Following LSH, Frankie joined Fiera Real Estate as an Associate Director within the ESG team where she was primarily responsible for leading and implementing the UK ESG strategy.

Frankie holds an MSt in sustainability in the Built Environment from the University of Cambridge, an MSC in Real Estate from the London South Bank University and a BA (Hons) in History from the University of London

Associate and Impact Lead, Bridges Fund Management

Yan Chan is an Associate and Impact Lead at Bridges Fund Management, a pioneering private equity impact investor dedicated to fostering a more inclusive and sustainable economy. In her role, Yan spearheads the firm's impact measurement and management initiatives across both private equity and real estate strategies, ensuring that best practice is properly implemented and communicated to relevant stakeholders.

As a value-add real estate investor, Bridges develops properties with a focus on creating positive social and environmental outcomes. Since joining Bridges, Yan has been instrumental in developing tools and methodologies that enable the holistic management of the portfolio’s impact, addressing key areas such as decarbonization, occupier well-being, and ESG best practice.

Prior to joining Bridges, Yan was a strategy consultant by background, with experience living and working in the US, France, and Hong Kong.

Founder & Managing Director, Impactful Places

Vivienne is founder and managing director of Impactful Places and was previously head of real estate social impact at The Good Economy, a leading social impact consultancy.

Vivienne is an accomplished business leader with more than 30 years’ senior experience in the real estate industry and has taken a leading role in integrating ESG into business delivery as a strategic imperative.

As a member of the senior executive team at the Crown Estate, she led sustainability between 2007-2016, building its sustainability strategies and breaking new ground with its total contribution measurement methodology; and as chief executive of Revo, Vivienne drove publication of its social value framework. As chief executive of London’s West End Soho Housing Association, she has first-hand experience of social value creation on real-world outcomes in urban environments and as a co founder and former chair of Real Estate Balance, has been championing equality diversity and inclusion within a business, as well as within communities.

Global Head of ESG , Fiera Real Estate

Jess joined Fiera Real Estate (“FRE”) in early 2020 to lead the firm’s ESG strategies across its investments, developments and operations. Before joining FRE, Jessica started her career in 2010 at the Public Investment Corporation Real Estate Asset Managers (PICREAM) in South Africa managing a portfolio of retail assets located in underserviced townships. She then joined IPD (now MSCI Real Estate), where she led their global sustainability benchmarking initiatives. In 2014, she joined GVA (now Avison Young) as an Associate Director within their Sustainability Consultancy team. Jessica later moved to the Commercial Real Estate Credit team at Royal Bank of Scotland (now NatWest Group) where she was responsible for setting up processes to take into account environmental and sustainability risks when assessing commercial lending propositions.

4:55pm - Wrap-up and final words

5.00pm - Break/freshen-up

A chance to freshen up. Meet just inside the main entrance of Emmanuel College, near the Porters Lodge, at 5.45pm

5:45pm - Meet at Porter's Lodge

6.00pm - Punting

6.00 PM – 7.15 PM
Quayside, Off Bridge Street, Cambridge

Join us for chauffeured punting on the river, with Cambridge Punters.

The check-in desk is located on Quayside, just off Bridge Street, it is approximately a 12-minute walk from Emmanuel College.

The AREF Team will supply drinks for your punting trip.

7:30pm - 9:00pm - Dinner at Parker's Tavern

7.30 PM – 9.00 PM
Parker's Tavern, 52-42 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1AD

Join us for dinner at Parker's Tavern.

Menu:

Starter:

Caprese salad

Main:

Oven-roasted Norfolk lemon and herb chicken

Vegan/veg option: Stuffed bell peppers

Dessert:

White chocolate mousse

Vegan option: Vegan choc mousse.

To be served with half a bottle of wine per person and mineral water. Soft drinks will be available at the bar for free. All other drinks can be purchased at the delegates own expense from the bar.

Wednesday 4th September 2024

8:15 - 9:15am - Breakfast

8.15 AM – 9.15 AM
The Dining Room

Breakfast is open from 8:15am until 9:15am.

All delegates must check out of their room before 9am.

Please can all delegates take their bags/luggage with them to the site visits, there will be a space to leave their bags during the site visit.

Check-out by 9am

9:45am - Meet at Porter's Lodge (leave for site visit 10:00am)

Please can all delegates take their bags/luggage with them to the site visits, there will be a space to leave their bags during the site visit.

10:30am - Site visit 1 (bookable session): The Old Swiss - Cambridge’s New Quarter for Innovation - click to view more

10.30 AM – 11.30 AM

Step into the future at The Old Swiss, where history meets innovation in the heart of Cambridge. This unique site visit will take you through the transformation of the iconic Swiss Laundry warehouses and Tannery into 50,000 sqft of cutting-edge R&D and office space.

Once a South Cambridge landmark for over a century, this space has been re-imagined by a talented team of local designers. The classic red brickwork, a nod to its storied past, now blends seamlessly with state-of-the-art materials to create a dynamic environment for info-driven businesses.

Located in the CB1 area, The Old Swiss is more than just a workspace—it’s a tech hub that honours its heritage while embracing the future. From its beginnings as a tannery in 1887 to its long life as a laundry, this site has been a cornerstone of Cambridge’s evolution. Today, it stands as a beacon for innovation, offering high-spec workplaces that inspire creativity and collaboration.

Don’t miss this opportunity to explore Cambridge’s newest quarter for innovation!

Refreshments will be served after the site visit at The Hotel Ibis, next to Cambridge Rail Station.

^{To book your site visit, please:

- Login and visit your 'My Bookings' page by clicking here.

- Select your FutureGen Conference booking.

- Click the 'My Sessions' button.

- Tick the box of the sessions you'd like to book & then Save/Book button.}

10:30am - Site Visit 2 (bookable session): CB1 Development, Cambridge - click to read more

Join us on this exclusive site visit to CB1, the transformative development revitalising the Station Road area in Cambridge.

CB1 is a modern mixed use urban community that blends commercial workplaces and sustainability with the elegance and charm of the city. Brookgate has led the award-winning regeneration which includes state-of-the-art offices attracting top global brands, alongside homes, a hotel, student accommodation, shops and restaurants as well as the UK’s largest cycle park.

Led by Simon Wallis of Brookgate, learn about the history of the development and how CB1 has become the city’s Central Business District over the past 15 years.

This site visit will include light refreshments at the hotel Ibis, part of CB1.

12:00 - Conference ends

We wish you a safe trip home.

Feedback is important to us and helps shape the event next year. Please complete the feedback form which will be emailed to you on the Wednesday afternoon.

Download Programme Flyer as a PDF

Date & Time:

Start: Tuesday 3rd September 2024 at 10:30am
Finish: Wednesday 4th September 2024 at 12:00pm

Venue:

Emmanuel College
University of Cambridge
St Andrew's Street
Cambridge
CB2 3AP

It is a 15-minute walk from Cambridge Station.

To Book:

Ticket bookings are now closed. If you would like to attend but do not yet have a ticket, please contact us at: [email protected].

Tickets:

AREF Members Ticket Costs:
- Early Bird: £240.00 + VAT. AVAILABLE UNTIL MIDNIGHT FRIDAY 26TH JULY 2024
- Standard: £290.00 + VAT
Non-Member Ticket Costs:
- Early Bird: £300 + VAT. AVAILABLE UNTIL MIDNIGHT FRIDAY 26TH JULY 2024
- Standard: £350.00 + VAT

^{Ticket Information:}

^{AREF Members should note:}

^{If you work for an AREF member firm (click here to check our member list), you are eligible for a log-in to this website and entitled to discounted tickets to the conference. If you do not yet have a log-in, please email us at [email protected]. This includes all AREF members: Fund Members, Affiliate Members, Associate Members and Investor Members. A reminder that Investor Membership is free (view more information on our membership here, or email us at [email protected] for further information).}
^{Early Bird Discount Offer:}^{For a limited time only, until Friday 26th February 2024 tickets can be purchased at the early bird price. After this date, tickets will revert to the standard price below.}
^{AREF members can pay for tickets by credit card or invoice. If paying by invoice, please note that bookings will not be confirmed until payment is received.}
^{Tickets can be purchased on behalf of someone else, however, the booker needs to work for an AREF member firm and will need a log-in to this website (email us to organise your log-in).}
^{For AREF members wishing to buy multiple tickets for their team, please email us at [email protected], indicating:}
- ^{how many tickets you would like to purchase;}
- ^{full name of all delegates;}
- ^{email address for each delegate;}
- ^{dietary and access requirements for all delegates.}
- ^{invoice name and address.}
^{Non-members should use our non-member payment link to book and pay for tickets. Tickets can be paid by credit card when booking. A receipt confirmation will be sent to you.}

A glimpse of the Conference last year:

Take a look at write-up and video from the 2023 Conference here.

Social media:

We would be very grateful for any social media posts you can make regarding the conference on the lead-up to it and during the conference itself, using the hashtag #AREFFGenConf24.

Please ensure you follow us:

LinkedIn page - link.

Twitter page - link.

Enquiries:

Please email us at [email protected] for any enquiries relating to this event.

Sponsor:

Proudly sponsored by:

^{Terms & Conditions:}

^{Places are not confirmed until full payment is received.}
^{Payment can be made by credit card or invoice. If paying by invoice, an invoice will be raised and emailed to the booking contact (please allow 2-3 weeks to receive your invoice).}
^{All payments must be received by 2nd August 2024.}
^{Changes to your booking - If you wish to make any changes to your booking, please email us on [email protected].}
^{If a cancellation is made less than 2 weeks before the event, fees are non-refundable.}
^{Dietary requirements need to be supplied to us by 2nd August 2024.}
^{AREF reserves the right to cancel the event at any time for any material reason. AREF shall refund any fees paid, however, we will not be held liable for any damages or losses sustained in any way, arising out of the cancellation of the event.}

*FutureGen = staff in the first 10 years of their career and/or not in a senior management position.

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