The British Council for Offices (BCO) has appointed Helen Hare, director of projects at GPE, as president with immediate effect. Hare succeeds Peter Crowther, chief executive of Tatton Estate and co-founder of HERE.
Andy McBain, head of future of workspace and design at NatWest Group, takes over from Hare as vice president, and John Wright, director at Stride Treglown, becomes junior vice president.
Hare, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the construction and property industry, started her career as a quantity surveyor and joined GPE as project manager in 2007. She was appointed director of projects in 2019 and is currently responsible for circa £1bn of new development, refurbishment and fit-out work.
Hare said: “This is an incredibly exciting time not just for the BCO, but for the office sector. With our refreshed focus on the whole life cycle, you will hear us reference design, develop and operate much more – building on what we debated at this year’s conference in Milan and the clear evidence that offices matter to us as humans – and the amazing fresh talent we have coming into our sector. Again building on our gallery wall in Milan, which encompassed some of the great work that our membership undertakes, data capture and sharing is high on my agenda for the year ahead.”
McBain added: “I really enjoyed being part of the customer experience research in 2024 and the launch of the new BCO Customer Experience Award is an exciting step, supporting BCO members across the full property lifecycle, from design and development to operation. In addition, seeing the NextGen’s growth over the last 15 years has been amazing. The BCO’s NextGen community continues to expand, flourish and add value across our regional and specialist committees. It has been a great pleasure to work alongside Peter this past year and I look forward to seeing all that Helen will achieve as BCO president.”
Wright said: “The BCO has an important role to play in continuing to drive ESG in offices, and it is great to be part of the team shaping the conversation. Sustainability has evolved massively during my time in the industry, but we must keep challenging, not just in sustainable development and retrofit, but also championing social impact and great placemaking.”
Samantha McClary, chief executive of the BCO, added: “The BCO wouldn’t be what it is without the wonderful members who give up their time to drive our mission forward. Our presidential team commits so much time, effort and passion to making sure that everything the BCO does is for the betterment of this most vital part of our industry. I couldn’t be more grateful to them.
“I am particularly excited to be stepping into my new role as chief executive of the BCO at the same time that Helen steps into the presidential role. We share the same passion for people being the central and most important element in driving our sector forward and I can’t wait to see what we can deliver together. Huge thanks goes to Pete too for being such a strong president, delivering a sell-out conference in Birmingham, and for being so welcoming to this new CEO.”
