Ruth Hynes

Global and EMEA Project and Development Services Research Lead
JLL

Ruth Hynes is Senior Director and Global Research Lead for Projects and Development Services at JLL. With deep expertise spanning design strategy, construction trends and the built environment, she shapes and directs JLL's research agenda across the full lifecycle of how places and spaces are conceived, designed and delivered.

Working at the intersection of data and design, Ruth collaborates with JLL's development and design teams worldwide to produce research that informs how buildings and environments are built and experienced. Her work spans workplace design, experience-led design strategies and global construction trends, with a particular focus on data-driven approaches to design, the relationship between physical space and human experience, and emerging trends shaping tomorrow’s built environment.

Adam Scott

Co-Founder
The Experience Foundation

Adam Scott is the leading global advocate for experience- led transformation across cities, campuses, workplaces, and cultural destinations. For over two decades, he has redefined how environments shape human behaviour - empowering governments, developers, brands, and institutions to design not just for function, but for feeling. His work inspires people to think differently, act bravely, and connect more deeply.

He is co- founder of the Experience Foundation, a global network advancing experience-led strategy, and the founding creative force behind FreeState, the original Experience Masterplanners. A trusted partner to future- focused leaders, Adam helps shape environments and systems ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow - whether reimagining an airport or a university, a workplace or a city, a precinct or an entire national strategy.

At the highest levels of influence, Adam helps organisations move beyond traditional silos of planning, architecture, and policy - unlocking the full potential of experience as infrastructure. Guided by his mantra - Plan long term. Start now. Continually improve. - he combines storytelling, systems thinking, and spatial design to help visionaries create places that strengthen civic identity, nurture belonging, and generate long- term social and economic value.

Sowgol Zarinchang

Managing Director
Way of Life

Sowgol is the Managing Director of Way of Life, a top 3 National Built-to-Rent (BTR) platform providing bespoke residential lettings and management to a portfolio of over 2,400 homes across the UK. Sowgol ensures that Way of Life delivers and manages not just homes but communities – spaces designed for modern urban living, shaped by exceptional design, community engagement and superior customer service.

Denz Ibrahim

Head of Futuring & Placemaking
Legal & General

Denz Ibrahim joined Legal & General (L&G) in 2019 as Head of Futuring and Placemaking. With a creative background in design and urbanism, he brings extensive experience in retail, placemaking, and re‑imagining the urban environment for the future. A graduate of the London School of Economics Cities Programme, Denz previously served as Head of Special Projects at Appear Here and later as Head of Placemaking for BNP Paribas Real Estate. At L&G, Denz leads the reinvention of how the business approaches retail - spatially, culturally, and commercially. He champions a cross‑sector, consumer‑centric approach to placemaking, curating environments that reconnect people with places and brands. His work guides the organization's understanding of cultural shifts in how people live, work, and play across its consumer‑facing environments, ensuring the delivery of places that are truly future‑ready. Denz is a member of the L&G Real Estate Equity Senior Leadership Team, a regular contributor to industry journals and media, and a board member of Foundry, the co‑working and business‑support incubator co‑founded by L&G in 2022.

Michelle Laramy

Director, Customer Experience
Canary Wharf Group

Michelle is a distinguished customer experience leader, with over a decade of expertise in crafting and executing strategies that drive value. As Director of Customer Experience at CWG and Non-Executive Director at FGCH. Michelle leads with a focus on attraction and retention of office customers, sponsoring innovative transformational projects that enhance the overall experience for all customers.

Her passion for leadership and inclusion is evident in her mentorship within the KPMG Cross Allyship Programme and is a mentor for the Leaders Plus Network. Michelle also founded ‘Wharf Connect,’ a network dedicated to cultivating and supporting the next generation of leaders in Canary Wharf.

Previously, as Head of Customer Experience at The Crown Estate, she successfully led customer strategies for its £14 billion UK real estate portfolio, consistently delivering value through enhanced customer engagement. Her previous roles at Santander further underscores her commitment to advancing customer-centric strategies across industries.

Lourdes Madigasekera-Elliott

Public Health Strategic Lead
East Sussex County Council

Lourdes Madigasekera-Elliott is the Public Health Strategic Lead for Creating Healthy Places at East Sussex County Council, specialising in integrating health into spatial planning and sustainable development. She leads on embedding a "whole systems approach" to improve wider health determinants, covering health impact assessments and infrastructure.

Howard Dawber OBE

Deputy Mayor, Business & Growth
Greater London Authority

Howard was appointed Deputy Mayor for Business and Chair of London and Partners in December 2023.
 
Before joining the Mayor’s team, Howard worked in business for thirty years, spending 17 years as Managing Director for Strategy of the Canary Wharf Group. At Canary Wharf, Howard was involved in the development of the Elizabeth Line and supporting the 2012 Olympic Bid and Olympic Legacy as well as commercial inward investment projects in tech, health and life sciences, and financial services.
 
He has been an active member of business organisations including Business LDN, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, TheCityUK and the London Property Alliance. 
 
He is a trustee of “The Line” art walk along the River Lea. Formerly Chair of the East End Community Foundation (2013-2022) he is now a patron of the charity, and a patron and former Vice-President of UK Youth. 
 
Howard was Chair of the Business Advisory Board for the University of East London School of Business and Law and has been a visiting lecturer at the School.
 
Howard was a Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party and is the Chair of Labour Friends of Bangladesh and Labour Friends of USA.
 
He lives in London and is married with a daughter. 

Lucy Thomas

Marketing Director
Landsec

With nearly two decades of experience in the real estate industry, Lucy Thomas has built a career at the intersection of development, operations and place‑based marketing. She has held key roles across some of the sector’s most influential organisations, including Westfield, British Land, Lendlease and HB Reavis, working across major retail, mixed‑use and workplace destinations.

Lucy is now B2B Marketing Director at Landsec, where she leads all Central London marketing activity. Her work focuses on creating meaningful, resonant connections between people and the places they interact with every day - shaping how businesses experience the city and how Landsec’s portfolio comes to life for its customers.

Passionate and endlessly curious about cities, urban culture and the emotional, physical and nostalgic bonds people form with place, Lucy is driven by a desire to elevate daily moments into memorable ones. She brings a strategic yet human‑centred perspective to understanding the touchpoints that influence enjoyment, belonging and the texture of everyday life.

Phil Ryan

Director – City Futures, Global Insight
JLL

Jake Hughes

Founding Partner & Chairman
Hunter

Jake is Founding Partner and Chairman of Hunter, bringing over three decades of experience shaping brands and places that put people first. He has played a leading role in building some of the UK’s most recognisable brands, including The White Company, Hotel Chocolat, and Berkeley Group, and continues to guide the studio’s creative and strategic vision. Driven by a passion for understanding what makes people connect with brands, places, and each other, Jake champions a human-centred approach to design and strategy. His focus on empathy, clarity, and collaboration ensures that every project Hunter delivers is both meaningful and commercially effective.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-hughes-b12a781b/

Tony Fox

Creative Director
Hunter

Tony is the Creative Director at Hunter, bringing over 25 years of experience creating award-winning brands, campaigns, and experiences across sectors including property, lifestyle, finance, and culture. His work spans strategy, identity, and integrated design, building brands that are as commercially effective as they are creatively distinctive. Before joining Hunter, Tony led creative direction at leading agencies including FutureBrand, Bluemarlin, and Yellow, and ran his own studio, Fox Collective. His portfolio includes iconic global brands such as Virgin, Barclays, Bentley, BBC, Nokia, UEFA, and Colgate. A natural creative leader, Tony is known for fusing strategic clarity with bold visual thinking and crafting brand systems that engage audiences and deliver measurable business. impact.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyfoxdesigner/