The British Council for Offices (BCO) has appointed Andy McBain, head of branch and workplace design at NatWest Group, as its new president.
McBain succeeds Helen Hare, director of projects at GPE, and will lead the organisation over the coming year alongside vice-president John Wright, director at Stride Treglown, and newly appointed junior vice-president Ben Cross, founder of MORE.
Beth Starling, director at Broadway Malyan, has also joined the BCO presidential team as national NextGen chair, replacing Make Architects’ Oliver Hall.
McBain said “It is a real privilege to become president of the BCO and build on the outstanding work of Helen Hare and the wider membership. The conversations at this year’s Festival of Enlightenment highlighted the pace of change across society and our industry, with growing emphasis on experience, sustainability and the transformative potential of AI in shaping new occupier expectations towards their workplace.
“I look forward to working closely with John, Ben, Beth, Sam and our wider membership across the UK to ensure the BCO continues to lead the sector through its industry-leading research, trusted guidance, the renowned awards programme and over 140 brilliant UK wide events every year.”
Cross added: “The office sector is at an inflection point. How and why people use workplaces is changing quickly, while the expectations placed on buildings continue to rise. The BCO has an important role to play in helping the industry respond to that change and shape the future of the workplace. I’m looking forward to contributing to that as part of the presidential team.”
Samantha McClary, chief executive of the BCO, said: “The presidential team plays an incredibly important, strategic and powerful role at the BCO, and it was particularly encouraging to see more than 20 nominations submitted for the junior vice-president role this year. The nominations showcased just how talented, passionate and purpose-driven the BCO membership is.
“And it is this that makes the BCO so special. I’m very much looking forward to welcoming Ben and Beth into the presidential team and working much closer with Andy as he steps into the presidential role. Huge thanks must also go to Helen Hare for her leadership over the past year, guiding the team and supporting the BCO on its journey of evolution and to Pete Crowther for his four years of dedication to the presidential team.
“As we move into a new presidential year at the BCO, members can expect more focus on delivering content, events and connections that help them design, develop and operate workspaces that work for human beings. Members have been incredibly generous with their feedback over the past 12 to 18 months, and the next year and a half will be focused on delivering on what they want and need from their BCO and I am excited to get cracking on what I know is going to an incredible new chapter for the world of workspace.”
