London (1 October 2013) – Andy Martin, Senior Partner at Strutt & Parker, has been appointed as Chair of ULI UK and has immediately strengthened the UK Council’s management team by recruiting Amanda Keane as Executive Director. Martin, who will serve on a voluntary basis until June 2015, has been an active member of ULI for over 15 years.

Andy Martin’s appointment is part of ULI’s planned leadership succession which has also seen Roger Orf become the new Chair of ULI Europe, and Lynn Thurber, succeed as global ULI Chair. Part of his role will be to reinforce ULI’s reputation for expertise in the planning, design and development of communities that are economically stable and sustainable; and to increase membership of ULI in the UK.

“We need to look at the very best international examples of urban development, and how we can apply that expertise in the UK”, said Martin. “My role will be to utilise ULI’s global status and breadth of knowledge to deliver inspiration to existing and potential new members here in the UK.”

To help him achieve this objective, Andy Martin has appointed the UK’s first Executive Director, Amanda Keane, who will be working closely with UK Policy Director Alex Notay and UK Coordinator, Tara O’Mahoney.  Amanda Keane brings considerable experience to the role. She was former CEO at the Investment Property Forum  as well as holding senior roles at the LandAid  and The Real Estate Investment Trust Association.

Andy Martin said: “The strength of our new team will be vital in differentiating the ULI UK offer, ensuring that our events, research and product council initiatives are complementary to our members’ activities, and that we also emphasise the international, national and regional viewpoint that ULI can uniquely bring to the debate.”

The core mandate for Martin is to increase and diversify the membership of ULI in the UK and he believes that this will come from clearly identifying and promoting ULI’s strengths. “We are in a crowded space, but  our members bring experiences from diverse backgrounds  , and join ULI UK in order to ensure they not only benefit from our UK market knowledge, but also from the much wider ULI global perspective.  I know that people working in the sector want inspiration from the events they attend and they want to be able to share common interests and views, and this is something that ULI delivers. My aim is to ensure that our industry’s leaders and employers recognise the value that we offer and encourage their employees and teams to become part of ULI and help to shape it moving forward. Ours is an enthusiastic organisation, amply illustrated by the energy of our Young Leaders programme, and increasing membership amongst this group over the next two years will constitute success for me.”

Andy Martin has been involved in the real estate sector since joining property agent, Bernard Thorpe and Partners in 1977, after completing a degree in Estates Management at Reading University.  In 1981 he moved to Richard Ellis, where he was involved in a number of client stock exchange listings, including that of the London & Edinburgh Trust. This helped to shape his interests for the future. Four years later he joined Strutt & Parker and worked closely with Arlington Securities.

“Arlington really pioneered the business park concept in the UK with Globe Park in Marlow. It was very new and exciting to be involved in the inception and development of something that went on to prosper and changed the way people thought about their working environment,” said Martin. The business park concept was heavily influenced by developments in the USA, and Andy Martin spent much time there learning from the US experience. He said: “During my career I have often had one foot in the US, observing their model for real estate development and I believe that this has had a major influence on the projects I have been involved in here in the UK. We still have so much to learn by drawing on international examples as well as exporting UK exemplars to other markets.”

Another achievement he is proud of was the role he played in the development of Golden Square in London’s West End.  “It was such a scruffy place, but the acquisition and refurbishment of a handful of critically positioned buildings brought about massive change and resulted in the square becoming a much sought after part of central London.”

In his current role as Senior Partner at Strutt & Parker, Martin is committed to the growth of the partnership’s international network and believes that this development puts the organisation on a different platform. “We have to learn from international developments, and this is true of ULI also. The UK property market can improve, but in order for us to maintain that growth and maximise opportunities for the sector, we have to look at examples from other parts of the world. One such example is the private rented sector.”