Breslauer made Honorary Colonel in Royal Marines Reserve
Patron Capital managing partner Keith Breslauer, who is also the vice-patron of RMA – The Royal Marines Charity, received approval from the King to be appointed as an Honorary Colonel in the Royal Marines Reserve.
Breslauer has a long-standing relationship with the Royal Marines and continues to play an important role for the RMA-TRMC, raising funds to support the charity in its mission to offer lifelong support to the Royal Marines "family", which includes providing critical support, advice and friendship to serving and retired Royal Marines and their families.
In June 2024, Breslauer joined the RMA Paddle Group and veterans rehabilitated by the Hasler Naval Service Recovery Centre to complete an 87.5 nautical mile paddle across the English Channel in kayaks, landings on Sword Beach, Normandy. He has been the lead private sponsor of the RMA since 2010 and has raised more than £6.5 million for the charity.
Breslauer said: “I am immensely proud to have received approval from His Majesty The King to serve as an Honorary Colonel in the Royal Marine Reserve. As a Trustee for 9 years, and more recently as Vice Patron of the RMA, I have been honoured to work to pay tribute to those who have served or continue to serve in our Armed Forces. As Honorary Colonel I will proudly support existing and spearhead new programmes that help the Service people who give so much for us."
HFD hires infrastructure expert to lead construction arm
The construction and delivery arm of Glasgow-based property developer HFD had hired hyperscale infrastructure veteran Martin Smith as its managing director. Smith brings more than 30 years of leadership experience across the UK and Europe to HFD Construction, working on hyperscale data centres, large-scale infrastructure and high-profile commercial developments. He was most recently a group chief executive and prior to that held senior leadership roles at ISG, Interserve, Robertson Group and Miller Construction, where he managed major projects with values exceeding £650 million. Smith is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building.
King's Cross Group hires first sustainability director
The King's Cross Group, the company behind the major regeneration of the 67-acre estate in central London, has hired Sonal Jain as its first director of sustainability and social impact. Jain joins from flex operator Workspace, where she led the company's ESG strategy, with the firm saying her recruitment marks the next stop towards achieving its net zero and social impact goals. She has two decades' experience, spanning JLL, COP26 advisory work and her role as a board member of the Better Buildings Partnership. The group said she will work to "guide the next phase of [its] sustainability journey as it assumes full asset-management control of the estate.
Blackstone global co-head of real estate to leave
Blackstone’s global co-head of real estate Kathleen McCarthy is set to leave following a 15-year stint at the world's largest property company. McCarthy said she would be stepping down from her role by the end of the year to explore new opportunities, with the New York-based firm announcing that co-head Nadeem Meghji will become sole global head of its real estate practice. McCarthy led the company’s $320 billion real estate business alongside Meghji for more than the past seven years, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to this she was global chief operating officer, real estate at the firm for just over four years. Meghji has been global co-head for around two years.
BNP Paribas Real Estate updates leadership team
BNP Paribas Real Estate has shuffled its leadership team with the promotion of Leighton Thomas to head of professional services and the recruitment of Roger Young to national head of valuation. Thomas joined the business in 1996 and retains his responsibilities as head of lease advisory. His new role involves him taking on responsibility for its lease advisory, rating, and building consultancy services. Young joins to succeed Pete Sudell, who will retire in the first half of next year after what BNP Paribas Real Estate called an "impressive and highly successful 40-year career with the firm". Young has been appointed to be responsible for overseeing the running and growth of the firm's UK valuation team, "with a mandate to drive innovation and ensure continued excellence for clients nationwide".
'Results-orientated' CFO enters Clockwise
Clockwise, the flexible workspace provider, has recruited Nick Iggulden as chief financial officer. The firm described Iggulden as a "driven and results-oriented finance professional", who brings more than 16 years' experience across the financial services sector, including over five years as CFO at ETX Capital and GC Partners. It added that his expertise in building financial frameworks and guiding organisations through periods of growth would be "instrumental" as it continues to increase its operations across the UK and Europe. Iggulden said: "I am delighted to be joining Clockwise at such a pivotal time in its growth journey."
Housebuilder donates £14,000 to the Royal British Legion
Cain Peters, a managing director of special projects at UK housebuilder The Hill Group, led a fundraising campaign which generated £14,000 for the Royal British Legion, collecting contributions from the firm's suppliers, subcontractors and colleagues. Peters is a former serviceman and organised the campaign and presented a ceremonial cheque to Graham Ferris and Peter Wakeham, the regional and Surrey Poppy Appeal managers, earlier this week. The ceremony took place at Ham Close, a 400-unit housing-led regeneration project near Richmond, London, close to the Royal British Legion’s historic poppy-making factory, 20 Petersham Road.