The Team
The GRE team possess strong Property and FM experience each having operated in customer, contracting and consulting capacities ranging from Board level to operational roles.
GRE ensures the team alternates between interim and consulting assignments – we believe this ensures customers benefit from a multitude of perspectives and latest industry thinking whilst ensuring the support provided is practical. As a team, we have experience in all principal business sectors and this breadth of team experience enables GRE to tailor skills and resources to customer objectives and role requirements.
Anne Simmons
BSc (Hons) MIWFM MIoD
Director
Anne originally qualified as a Building Surveyor but her interestinthethenemergingprofessionofFacilities Management (“FM”) has led her career.
With her passion for FM, Anne has worked for a diverse range of FMorganisationsand she is well versed in the development of strategic facilities management solutions as well as their practical implementation. Anne possesses experience of both hard and soft FM services in a wide range of business sectors within single buildings and national portfolios, the largest property portfolio being twomillionsquaremetres.
In recent years, Anne’s interim procurement assignments have included both Head of Procurement and EMEA Chief Procurement Officer roles;intheserolesshewasresponsible for some £750m of Property & FM related procurement spend including £100m of indirect expenditure. Anne has also consulted in a variety of FM projects including development of FM strategies,procurementprojectsanddiagnosticreviews.
An ambition to own a consultancy practice resulted in Anne’s formation of Global Real Estate Limited in 2004.
Warren O’Leary
BSc (Hons) RICS MCIPS MIoD
Director
Warren joined Global Real Estate as a Director in late 2010. Originally qualifying as a Quantity Surveyor, Warren is a seasoned facilities management professional, with a particular expertise in procurement, and has over twenty years’ experience in the profession holding Board positions in the UK and internationally.
Prior to joining Global Real Estate, Warren has worked for a number of FM organisations including a strategic property and facilities management consultancy where, as Director, he was responsible for strategic property advice which included acquisitions and disposal of property, project and refurbishment work,estatemanagementandfacilitiesmanagementand has continued to evolve in his career in these capacities.
Most notably, Warren was Director of Purchasing & Facilities of a £580 million turnover serviced accommodation Company with UK and global procurement and operational delivery responsibility for property brokers and agents, construction companies, IT, telecommunications, and furniture and equipment, property, estate and facilities management, office services, churn and change management This role included sourcing local and international markets, establishing global framework agreements, introducing incentivised contracting mechanisms for capital expenditure and operational costs, developing performance measurements and continuous improvement mechanisms for over 150 serviced office centres with a c. £90m goods and services spend.
Warren is a strategic operator and highly astute commercially with a demonstrable track record in delivering property and facilities management solutions. He uses innovative solutions to challenge conventional commercial and operational practices.
Helen Holden
BSc (Hons) MSc MBA
Consultant
Originally qualifying as a Chemical Engineer, Helen worked in the oil and gas industry for a number of years both in the UK and overseas before transitioning into Facilities Management.
Having worked in FM roles within both public and private sectors, Helen’s experience covers both operational compliance roles as well as procurement of soft FM services across single site and national portfolios, with more recent experience in procurement within the EMEA region. Helen joined GRE in 2014.
Mitch Layng
I Eng FCIBSE MIET
Senior Consultant
Mitch has a unique experience of building services design and operation, stretching over 35 years, in both public and private sectors.
Following a number of years with specialist consultants and local authorities undertaking design of building services for a variety of property sectors, Mitch moved to property operations joining a large insurance company as technical FM manager, responsible for managing a number of maintenance contracts, as well as project managing developments and refurbishments.
Further experience was gained in the FM world through working for a large FM consultancy, where he was responsible for managing the FM contracts for HM Customs and Excise within the London area. It was here that Mitch gained the qualifications of lead auditor and NEBOSH.
Mitch then worked for a major property investment company, as part of team responsible for managing the UK property portfolios, including offices, shopping centres, retail and industrial parks. This role entailed ensuring compliance related to technical FM, managing refurbishments and plant replacement projects, as well as putting in place maintenance strategies and managing service providers to ensure optimum property performance to satisfy investor and occupier requirements.
Absorbing responsibility for energy management in the same organisation, Mitch was responsible for achieving significant reductions in energy and carbon emissions, and winning CIBSE building performance awards three years running, and being awarded energy manager of the year by the Energy Managers Association in 2016.
Mitch is active in a number of property industry groups, including BSRIA where he was non-executive director for three years, and for whom he has edited and contributed to a number of technical publications.
Gareth Hollyman
BSc MIWFM
Senior Consultant
Originally qualifying and working as energy consultant engineer, Gareth has worked in the FM market for over 25 years, as a consultant, service provider, client and managing agent.
Key career highlights were developing an FM business within a national hard services provider, increasing annual turnover by more than five times in six years, including PFI projects, as well as re-structuring the FM service delivery in a large UK managing agent, through significant growth and a merger. The contribution to business unit profit more than doubled, improved client retention achieved, service delivery transformed, and awards received for an innovative training initiative with the BIFM.
Gareth’s key strengths are in team building and change management, utilising innovation and technology to improve effectiveness in service delivery in partnership with the full supply chain.
Harnessing his experience across the FM market Gareth is focused in assisting customers in reviewing their current operating model, identifying opportunity for improvement and executing the accompanying programme.
Julian Willis
UWE Postgraduate Certificate in Management (CMS), C&G L4 Security and Risk Management
Senior Consultant
Following nearly a decade of service in the Royal Air Force (1985-1994), Julian has worked for a number national and international capital equipment manufacturer and soft service brands over the last 25 years. He honed his services knowledge and skills originally in a range of business development and strategic account management roles before taking up more operationally biased positions.
Julian has a detailed and practical knowledge of developing, designing, and operating services contracts across a broad range of vertical markets including cleaning, security, and M&E sectors.
In recent years Julian has utilised his leadership and management experience working in the FM sector to deliver large and complex mobilisation and transformation programmes.
Working for GRE since spring 2019 Julian has led a number of strategic and critical client programmes within the property management sector including two national multi-property mobilisation programmes one of which has successfully mobilised despite the Covid-19 restrictions.
Belinda Fordham
Senior Consultant
Belinda has worked in the FM sector for over 30 years.
Having led the one of the first major outsourcing contracts for IBM UK in the 1990’s Belinda developed a passion for FM and through career progression has held Director level roles in corporate, real estate and, service provider multi-nationals.
Over the course of Belinda’s career, she has built and led award winning teams and was a Finalist for BIFM FM of the Year Award.
Belinda’s areas of expertise include portfolio and estate strategy and rationalisation, relocation and refurbishment management including on-boarding on new developments, project management of CAT A/B snagging and HV/LV upgrade projects, FM mobilisation and operations, and compliance management.
Belinda joined GRE in 2018 to mobilise a first generation Total Facilities Management (“TFM”) contract that was procured by GRE; the mobilisation covered over 2,500 properties within the M25 and a formalised FM service to be set up from a greenfield position. This interim GRE commission was extended into compliance management, with a particular focus on asbestos management, and subsequently into a contract remediation role for a non-performing out-sourced financial services contract.
John Wheatman
BEng(Hons) CEng MIET MCIBSE
Associate
John is a chartered engineer working as a multi-skilled consultant with over 30 years’ experience in estates, facilities, maintenance and operational management.
John’s interim and consulting roles have been in both the private and public sector, including manufacturing, social housing, health, construction and property development. He has extensive experience in managing teams and co-ordinating experts as a client leader across operational and capital delivery programmes; John has a dynamic and enterprising approach to supervision and problem.
Matthew Punshon
BSc (Hons) Est Man MRICS
Associate
Originally a chartered surveyor, Matthew qualified with Richard Ellis International Property Consultants (now CBRE).
One of Matthew’s most notable achievements followed his secondment to Goldman Sachs where he co-ordinated six separate shareholders to successfully win the largest single UK PFI property service contract – the outsourcing of the whole Department of Work & Pension Estate. This success led to the formation of Trillium, the UK’s largest specialist property outsourcer. As communications director and operations director, Matthew developed a new type of property business, with both facilities and asset management, based on a customer service culture in an industry where ‘service’ is considered an irritation! On acquisition by Land Securities PLC, Matthew created one of the first fully serviced ‘managed office’ products whereby landlords took the full risk of providing property to businesses on a large scale – achieving 8% enhanced returns plus the highest customer satisfaction scores achieved in the Land Securities portfolio.
Today, Matthew specialises in making property work for organisations– operationally, financially and culturally – with a passion for service to both internal and external customers and an even greater passion for assisting non-profit organisations use their property portfolios more effectively.
Matthew is deputy chair of trustees for ‘Ambitious About Autism’ and is a member of the Scrutiny and Audit Committee.
Jonathan Williams
BSc (Hons)BArch RIBA
Associate
In the 20 years since obtaining his RIBA status, Jonathan has worked nationally and internationally for a range of multi-national private architectural practices and a multi-disciplinary property consultancy. A detailed and practical knowledge of design and construction has been strengthened by his expansion into project and facilities management (1993-94).
Jonathan is also a property developer and, as such, has a complete understanding of the gamut of commercial issues underpinning the successful delivery of the built form. His management skills reflect this and are a unique selling point that differentiates the professional service provided by him to his growing number of loyal customers.
An in-depth understanding of development viability and its bearing on the design and delivery of efficient buildings has helped Jonathan to establish his position in the niche role of ‘surrogate employer’ on a number of its customers’ building contracts. This is particularly welcomed by his overseas customers, who rely on a ‘root-and-branch’ service, ranging from the professional team’s appointment, through site acquisition and brief formulation, to the identification of an end-user.