CE Midlands Construction Summit 2023

Mark your calendars for the highly anticipated CE Midlands Construction Summit on October 18th. This event promises to be an enriching experience with a lineup of distinguished keynote speakers: Nusrat Ghani MP, (Construction Minister) and Dame Judith Hackitt. The summit will be held at the Holte Suite, Villa Park Stadium in Birmingham.

The summit will delve into crucial topics that are shaping the construction industry today. Building safety, a paramount concern, will be explored in-depth, addressing the latest regulations, practices, and advancements in ensuring safe and resilient structures. The urgent need to combat the climate crisis will also take center stage, emphasizing sustainable construction practices and innovative solutions for a greener future.

Additionally, the summit will shed light on the importance of future skills in the industry, exploring emerging trends, technological advancements, and the evolving role of professionals in an ever-changing landscape. Smart construction, another focal point, will showcase how digitalization, automation, and data-driven approaches are revolutionizing the way we design, build, and manage projects.

This event presents an opportunity to gain valuable insights, engage in thought-provoking discussions, and network with industry leaders, experts, and fellow professionals. Don’t miss out on the CE Midlands Construction Summit, as it promises to be a pivotal event in shaping the future of the construction industry.

Nusrat Ghani MP

Dame Judith Hackitt

Fergus Harradence

Agenda

8.30am Registration & Networking

9.30am Welcome: Uma Shanker, Chair CE Midlands

9.40am Keynote Address: Nusrat Ghani MP, Minister of State at the Department for Business & Trade

10.00am Building Safety: : Chaired by Kevin Blunden, Acivico

Keynote Address: Dame Judith Hackitt

An insurance perspective: Tracy Keep from Gallagher and Chris Doran of Weightmans

Panel session with Dame Judith Hackitt, Chris Doran, Kevin Blunden & Tracy Keep

11.00am Tea/Coffee & Networking

11.30am Climate Crisis: Chaired by Mark Wakeford

Keynote Address: Fergus Harradence, Department for Business & Trade

Disruptive Sustainability: Georgia Elliott-Smith, Element 4

Re-purposing buildings: Stuart Smith, Morgan Sindall

Timber in Construction: David Hopkins, Timber Development UK

Future Homes Standard: David Adams, Future Homes Hub

Panel session with Fergus Harradence, Georgia Elliott-Smith, Stuart Smith, David Hopkins & David Adams

1.30pm Lunch & Networking

2.30pm Future Skills: Chaired by Cem Budak

Keynote Address: Wendy Osborn, Engagement Director England, CITB

Specific requirements for offsite construction: Gaynor Tennent, Offsite Alliance

Presentation from Marina Robertson, Acivico

Panel: Wendy Osborn, Gaynor Tennent and Marina Robertson

3.45pm Final Thoughts: Uma Shanker

4pm Depart

Exhibit at the Summit

We are offering space on the day to exhibit at £250 + VAT.

All interested parties please contact tom.carpenter@cemidlands.org

This event is kindly sponsored by Confederation of Timber Industries (CTI) and Acivico Group

The CE Midlands Summit is Partnered with:

OTHER SPEAKERS

Stuart Smith, Morgan Sindall

Stuart has been Senior Business Development Manager at Morgan Sindall since 2021. Based out of the Nottingham office he is responsible for ensuring the Midlands Area develop a sustainable pipeline of opportunities with clients and consultants who are culturally aligned with the values and procurement strategy of the company. In addition to winning new business he also supports a suite of frameworks across the region that service a wide variety of public sector clients enabling them to streamline their procurement process, whilst maximising their budget and integrating their carbon / net zero goals.

Graduating with a Civil Engineering degree, Stuart has held a number of operational positions over the last 25 years and was part of the management team that successfully delivered the Space Centre in Leicester. He is passionate about developing the next generation of talent and has been a student mentor for the University of Birmingham since 2020. Stuart also sits on the College of Science & Engineering Industry Advisory Board for the University of Derby, which promotes links with the sector whilst ensuring that course syllabus’s remain relevant to the changing needs of an evolving industry.

In 2023 Stuart was appointed to join the Constructing Excellence Midlands Board which is is a progressive membership organisation committed to improving business performance by driving innovation and best practise in the construction industry.

Cem Budak

Cem Budak is a director and leads Arup’s business in the Midlands.

He specialises in growing diverse businesses and teams, and delivering large-scale, complex infrastructure and cities projects. With more than 25 years’ experience, he has worked across Europe, Africa, Asia and the USA on projects spanning several industries, including rail, highways, renewable energy, cities and property.

In his role, he leads almost 1,000 engineers, planners and specialists across two offices in the Midlands, Birmingham and Nottingham. As a project director, he has worked with clients from bidding to conception, design and construction stages.

Before his current role, he was based in Istanbul, leading Arup’s rail business in Europe and leading Arup’s Infrastructure and Cities Group in Türkiye. He led teams not only to deliver defined projects but also to create projects that would help enable sustainable city growth.

Wendy Osborn, CITB

The Construction Industry Training Board exists to support the construction industry to recruit and retain a skill and competent workforce. The organisation supports construction companies through grants and funding, helps them to recruit apprentices and new trainees and plays a leading role in setting standards. Wendy is the Head of Engagement and leads a team that give hands on support to companies in England.

Prior to joining CITB Wendy spent many years working in Higher Education with a particular focus on widening participation and higher and degree apprenticeships and vocational degrees.

David Hopkins, Timber Development UK

A passionate campaigner for the decarbonisation of construction and the built environment for over 20 years, David Hopkins speaks on behalf of the £10bn UK Timber industry as head of Timber Development UK.

David is a former environment journalist and has worked for the Times, Guardian, Independent and BBC, as well as editing a number of trade & industry titles focused on utility and environmental markets. His first paid editorial work was writing bad jokes for “Roy Hudd’s News Huddlines” on Radio 4.

Alongside his duties with Timber Development UK, David sits on the Government’s Timber in Construction Working Group, is a director of the Confederation of Timber Industries and is a former board member of the Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA).

David co-founded Carbon Communications International in 2002, a clean-technology and environmental industries consultancy working with the London Stock Exchange and the World Bank. He is also a founding non-executive director of the low-carbon community charity Carbon-Leapfrog which provides pro-bono professional services for social enterprise.

In 2021, David launched the Tropical Timber Accord at COP26 with a coalition of tropical country partners to tackle illegal deforestation.

Georgia Elliott-Smith, Element 4

An environmental engineer, Chartered Environmentalist, and former UNESCO Special Junior Envoy for Youth & the Environment, Georgia started her career as one of UK construction’s first Environment Managers. Founder and Managing Director of sustainability consultancy Element Four, Georgia now works with organisations such as Amnesty International, Patrizia, Grosvenor, and the Bank of England delivering her “disruptive sustainability” approach – a combination of best practice and activism that drives meaningful change in industry.

Georgia is a Trustee of One YMCA Development Company and sits on the steering committee of She Changes Climate, a global campaign for promotion of women in climate negotiations and solutions. In 2021, Georgia successfully challenged the UK government in the High Court over the UK Emissions Trading Scheme’s failure to uphold the Paris Agreement. She is an Extinction Rebellion activist and contributor to leading technical committees including the UK Green Building Council and London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI).

She has spoken at TEDxUCL, New York Times Climate Forward Conversations, Cambridge University Zero Festival, and BBC Women’s Hour explaining how audiences can move from anxiety and procrastination to positive action at scale and pace.