Amanda Clack is a Partner at EY and will become the second female President of RICS in June 2016.
Property Aspects Magazine recently interviewed Amanda, where we discussed her upcoming role and her current goals as a “global ambassador” for the property and construction industry.
What Does Your Role as President Elect Involve?
“I’m gearing up for my role as President and I very much saw it as a three-year journey. Once you’re elected as Senior Vice President you’re on a three-year trajectory through to becoming President. For me that really mattered that it is about committing to those three years and making a difference through the three-year period”.
“The reach of RICS is so vast. There are 180,000 professionals and trainees that are associated with RICS globally, so that’s a huge volume. Our professionals are in 153 countries and we’ve got offices in 27 of the major cities around the world. The role of the President is as a global ambassador for the profession”.
What Made You Want to Become President?
“I blame my mother. I was at my diploma ceremony at the RICS. I think it was in 1992 and my parents came along to that. I was incredibly proud to become a member of the RICS”.
“My mother looked at the list of presidents that were in our council chamber and she said that my name could be up there one day. I did the typical thing of shrugging my shoulders and said dismissively ‘don’t be ridiculous’. Whether that was an early seed that got sown…”.
“My passion for wanting to make a difference got me involved. Many years ago I went to a quantity surveying meeting. Before I knew it, I became Honorary Treasurer and then I ended up chairing it”.
“I also wanted to encourage more people, from diverse backgrounds, to come into the profession”.
“I love what I do and I feel incredibly lucky to be in the industry that I love as much as that. Becoming President signals that you are at the top of the profession and I feel incredibly proud and quite humbled by it. It is an amazing opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it”.
What Would You Most Like to Achieve During Your Tenure as President?
“The thing I’m there for is as an ambassador for the profession. It’s also about delivering on the strategy that the Governing Council has already set, so we already have a plan of the things that we want to achieve”.
“Every president comes with different skills and different backgrounds and so it’s about playing to strengths. I’m a Partner at EY and am the Head of Infrastructure within the advisory practice and I’ll have been in the sector for 30 years, in 2016”.
“My number one focus is going to be around the broader aspects of infrastructure and understanding what the cities of the future need to look and feel like, including;
- Transport – moving people and goods;
- Energy and assets – energy generation, pipes, wires and cables; and
- The SMART city agenda – the built environment envelope that wraps around the core infrastructure”
“I would also like to continue to focus on diversity and inclusion. It is really important that we attract more people into the industry. I’m passionate about it and keen to encourage more people to come through. An analogy that I like is that it’s like climbing up a ladder…but you’ve got to pull someone with you”.
“With so much development coming out of the Asia Pacific countries, we are keen to focus on this area, particularly China and India. We’ve opened a School of Built Environment, in association with Amity University in Delhi. That has got roughly 1400 MBA level, and some Masters level graduates. We’re hopefully going to open a second school in Mumbai during my tenure”.
“I’m really passionate about London as a city of opportunity and, looking to attract investment, how we work with London City to embrace that. We’ve got around a quarter for our membership that live or work around London, so that’s definitely going to be one of my priority markets as well”.
Property Aspects Magazine would like to thank Amanda Clack for her time and contribution to this interview.
