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| First female President for RICS  Louise Brooke-Smith becomes President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Louise is the first female President in the Institution's 146 year history. She will give her inaugural speech tomorrow (1 July) during RICS' Governing Council meeting in London.Alongside her presidency of RICS, Louise will continue to be involved with the Birmingham based planning and development consultancy, Brooke Smith Planning. RICS accredits over 118,000 qualified professionals across the globe in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Louise succeeds outgoing RICS President, Michael Newey. During her year-long presidency, Louise will focus on three core areas; diversity, Africa and her professional specialisms, planning and land economics. Louise Brooke-Smith, RICS President, commenting on her diversity plans for the year, said: "Chartered Surveying is a globally recognised profession, and we must ensure that it is open to all, whatever their background, or gender. We are a proud industry, but have lagged behind others in terms of making the most of a diverse workforce. That's why I'm delighted that RICS 'Surveying the Future' campaign will be a pillar of my presidential term and will help drive change across industry to ensure we attract and retain the very best talent." On being the first female president in the Institution's history, she added: "I have been elected on my individual merits and not because of my gender. While it might have taken some years, someone has to be first and I am extremely proud that it's me. We have a female Senior Vice President, Amanda Clack, and UK and Ireland World Regional Chair, Fiona Grant, so I hope I am the first of many women who will help shape the institution." Louise has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years and is a Director of Brooke Smith Planning, a planning and development consultancy she established in Birmingham in 1994. She is also a Visiting Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University and holds an Honorary Doctorate for services to Surveying from Wolverhampton University. She has been Vice Chair of the National Planning Forum and a previous Chairwoman of Women in Property in the West Midlands. She is currently an RICS Commissioner for Disaster Management. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Construction News :: home page |