Tech Network Steering Group

Dan is founder of ‘Alpha Property Insight’ and ‘LIQUID Real Estate Innovation’ which help the property sector to understand, embrace and benefit from new ways of thinking and technology.

Dan spent his career working across the built environment and has held senior roles in some of the world’s leading data organisations such as Ordnance Survey, IPD (part of MSCI) and was Director of Data and information products for RICS where he also led the organisations ‘PropTech’ activity. Dan has been an active advocate for digital transformation across the built environment.

​Dan is on the BPF Technology and Innovation Working Group, the steering committee for MIPIM PropTech, on the RICS data handling professional statement working group and is founder of the not-for-profit ‘Real Estate Data Foundation’, helping the sector benefit from data.

Jonathan joined Legal & General in 2012.  As Head of Technology and Change he is responsible for transforming the Real Assets operating model. Jonathan takes the needs of the business and its investors to formulate an operating environment that will constantly improve and support business processes, often requiring the deployment new technologies into the business.

Jonathan is currently an active member of the British Property Federation Innovation Council, Building Owners Group for the Centre for Digitally Built Britain, WiredScore Smart Building Advisory Group and is a member of the Real Estate Investment Management Technology Roundtable, a group which seeks to advance technology strategies and innovation across the peer group within the UK.

Jonathan graduated from the University of Huddersfield in 2003 and holds a (MSc) in Management Science and a Diploma in Business Analysis.

Tim is the Director of Property Science Innovation at Rightmove combining data, technology and analytics to develop unique insight and drive property decision making.  Prior to this, Tim ran Rightmove’s Lettings and Overseas businesses.

Before joining Rightmove in 2010, Tim worked in investment banking and strategy consulting, advising on business, investment and financing strategies.

Tim holds an MBA from the Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Isabelle is the business and innovation Lead for Geovation, Ordnance Survey’s innovation hub, working with proptech and geotech start-ups to deliver sustainable innovation. She brings a wealth of experience as an architect with an MBA from the prestigious London Business School. After working for the biggest architectural firms in UK, France and Italy, she has set up and ran a few companies including an architectural practice and a social impact tech start up. She has also been on the board of a listed company accompanying it through a complicated M&A deal. She now focuses on enabling tech-startup deliver impact.

Jamie is the CEO of VU.CITY, the business passionate about making the best possible cities for all.  Jamie has been in the company since October 2017 and is still loving every minute of it.

A previous Chairman of the charity HemiHelp and a current trustee of Contact, Jamie knows the difference that well run charities can make to their beneficiaries and is very excited about supporting LandAid.

Sammy Pahal is the Managing Director of the UK PropTech Association, a not-for-profit organisation set up to drive digital transformation of the UK property industry and help create a conducive environment for innovation.

Sammy previously worked for Ordnance Survey, Great Britain’s National Mapping Agency, and has a background in Psychology.

She joined UKPA when it was first set up in 2017 and has taken it through it’s evolution including a re-launch in 2019, which led to the association growing from 50 members to now over 850 members, from across PropTech and real estate.

Rishi is a Senior Digital and Design Advisor at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. He focuses on working with a range of teams to leverage data-driven methods and user-centred design to ensure delivery of government ambitions are aligned with end-user needs and keep pace with societal and wider market changes.

Rishi previously worked as a PropTech Policy Lead which saw the largest government backed PropTech Innovation Fund be launched, supporting the adoption of modern technology to modernise and improve public service delivery. He is passionate about improving public services using data and innovation through forming public and private partnerships to deliver against common goals.

Catherine has been at Vodafone UK for 9 years and as Head of Sustainable Business, is responsible for helping the company to live its purpose, to connect for a better future.  Focussing on closing the digital divide, Catherine and her team have led programmes helping to connect over 750,000 people during the pandemic.  In June 2021, Vodafone announced a pledge to connect a further 1 million digitally excluded people, through initiatives driven by Catherine and her team.

Passionate about the force for good that big corporates can be, while also doing business responsibly and caring for our wonderful planet, Catherine is also a huge supporter of collaboration, and is delighted to join the Tech Network Steering Group.

Valentina is Managing Partner at Reach UK, a real estate technology scale up program created by Second Century Ventures, helping technology companies launch into the real estate vertical and adjacent markets.  Valentina has over 20 years of experience working in venture capital, private equity and investment banking and gained solid real estate industry knowledge during that time working across EMEA region.

Valentina is the Founding Partner of OPREIM, the investment management business launched to invest in emerging property operators and incubate platforms in operational real estate. Before launching this business Valentina spent 20 years in real estate private equity, investment banking and venture capital working in the past for businesses such as Stonehage Fleming, MGPA, UBS Investment Bank, and Second Century Ventures.

Valentina holds an MBA degree from INSEAD (France and Singapore), and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia).

Tim has been with Carter Jonas LLP for over 20 years. As the IT Director, he leads the IT team, enabling value for Carter Jonas by providing strategic advice to clients, safeguarding information assets, and driving innovation within the organisation.

Tim actively participates in the Property IT Directors Forum, engaging in roundtable discussions with peers. His expertise extends beyond industry hype, as he understands how both emerging and established technologies contribute to improvements in the real estate sector.

Tim holds several accreditations, including TOGAF and MSP Programme Practitioner, and he earned an MSc in Technology Management.

Naqash Tahir is Director at PGIM Real Estate, Head of Systems for Europe, Project Manager for the Asia region and co-chair of the European Innovation council.

He is based in London and is responsible for technology strategy, digital transformation, innovation and PropTech for continental Europe, as well as overseeing various projects in Asia. Previously, he served as the team lead for European systems, while managing projects and overseeing fund analysis. Naqash is a PropTech advisor and mentor, representing and speaking at technology events around Europe.

Naqash is also the founder and chairman for ReimTech, which is a forum for the Real Estate Investment Management Technology peers across Europe.

Emily Wright is head of content at CREtech where she specialises in curating content and interviewing speakers from across the built world with a focus on innovation and sustainability. She is also a freelance journalist, moderator and keynote speaker focussed on design, development, cities, innovation and ESG.

Formerly Tech Editor and latterly Head of Content at EG, Emily has been writing about and reporting on the real estate sector for nearly 20 years and has interviewed major players from both within and outside the industry including Zaha Hadid, Sidewalk Labs’ Dan Doctoroff, Lord Rochard Rogers, Donald Trump and Sir Terence Conran.