Meet our speakers

Andy Street was elected Mayor of the West Midlands in 2017 and regained his seat in 2021. He is working to deliver his Renewal Plan for the region. His focus is creating new jobs and apprenticeships, delivering better transport and providing more homes – focusing on brownfield sites.

Before becoming Mayor, Andy combined a career at John Lewis, Britain’s most successful workers’ co-operative, with a host of high-profile economic development roles, working with local and national government.  Starting on the John Lewis graduate scheme, Andy rose through the ranks to become managing director, overseeing one of the most successful periods in the company’s history.

Additionally, he has been lead non-executive director for the Department for Communities and Local Government as well as a member of the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Group.

In June 2015, Andy was awarded the CBE for services to the national economy. He was named ‘Most Admired Leader’ by business magazine, Management Today in 2014 and received the ‘President’s award’ from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce for his work in the region. He holds three honorary degrees from Birmingham City University, Aston University and the University of Birmingham.

Simon is the Assistant Director Development within the Planning and Development service area for
Birmingham City Council. As a qualified Architect Simon is Birmingham City Council’s lead design
advisor championing design quality within the built environment.

Having responsibility for ‘Specific Specialist Areas’ such as the City Design Team, City Centre Planning
Management, City Centre Development, Enforcement and Householder Simon encourages and
enables the highest standards of Place Making, Planning, Architecture, Urban Design, Arboriculture,
Historic Conservation and Landscape Design across all new development in the City for the benefit of
all the citizens of Birmingham.

Simon is known for his ability to successfully combine Architecture and Urban Design to create
holistic environments and is responsible for recent Masterplans such as ‘Birmingham Curzon HS2
Masterplan for growth’, ‘Birmingham Smithfield Masterplan’, ‘Langley Sustainable Urban Extension’
and most recently the ‘Rea Valley Urban Quarter Masterplan’.
This includes acting as the focal point on design issues and stimulating design quality through multiagency

project team working and close interaction with external developers, key stakeholders and
partners in relation to the design of new development being promoted and managed through the
Planning and Development Service that reflects the international standing of the City of Birmingham.
Simon is listed in the Birmingham Central University ‘Sphere of Influence’ the 50 top influencers
within the architecture and landscape sector to graduate from the Birmingham School of
Architecture.

Martin is an experienced Director and chartered Engineer with a demonstrable history of delivering quality projects in the construction industry. Skilled in all aspects of Construction, Design Management, Preconstruction, Business Development and Business Improvement.

During his 34 years of diverse experience, Clive has previously been engaged as Façade Technical Director at LABC Warranty & Premier Guarantee, and Technical Director at Saint Gobain and Façade Director at global multidisciplinary engineering consultancy practices CBRE, Ramboll and Gifford.

Clive has extensive technical knowledge and project management delivery experience. Supplying solutions to a wide range of complex projects in both new build and refurbishment sectors, in support of the residential, commercial, education and transportation industries.

Joining our Panel will be Professor Andrew Quinn is Professor of Climate Adaptation, bridging the disciplines of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. His research focuses on the interactions between infrastructure, particularly rail and transport systems, renewable energy and extreme weather events/climate change and how these impact on the resilience of communities and services. Andrew was lead author of the International Union of Railways (UIC) climate change adaptation framework, helping railway organisations globally to improve their preparedness for extreme weather and climate impacts and has presented on the adaptation of transport systems at CoP24 and CoP26.

Andrew is Deputy Director of Education for the College of Engineering & Physical Sciences. The role provides strategic leadership for the College’s education delivery, particularly ensuring excellence through quality assurance and staff development. Andrew works closely with the University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures Institute to encourage and support pedagogic research, staff training and educational enhancement. Andrew’s educational research focuses on how students receive and perceive the feedback they are provided with during their courses in order to assist them in maximising their learning experience.

To help manage risk and provide additional support to its members on insurance matters, FIS has partnered with specialist insurance consultants Construction Shield and AWL Homeproof Limited.  Mark heads up the team at ConstructionShield and has a background in developing insurance products and has previously worked on mutual products with the NFU.