Clark to be supported by new ULI UK Executive Director Liz Waller

LONDON (May 7, 2015)—Simon Clark, Partner Consultant at Linklaters, has been appointed as the next Chair of ULI UK.  Clark will begin his term on 1^st July 2015 and will serve on a voluntary basis for the next two years.  Clark will be supported by Liz Waller, who has been appointed as ULI UK Executive Director.

Clark will succeed Andy Martin, Senior Partner at Strutt and Parker, in this position. “Simon has been very involved in ULI in various roles for some time and I know he will continue to expand our presence in the UK,” said Martin. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to the role and with Liz as the new Executive Director, I am certain ULI will deliver even more to the UK real estate landscape.”

As ULI UK Chair, Clark hopes to build on ULI UK’s strong record of giving back, both to members and to communities across the UK. He plans to expand ULI UK’s work across a broad range of land use issues such as sustainability, innovation, and urban development.  He also aims to grow the ULI UK membership base and further its culture of knowledge sharing. 

“ULI UK has been making a difference; whether helping Glasgow think through the future of its town centre, creating industry-leading best practice guidelines for the residential Build to Rent sector, giving its Young Leaders unparalleled access to industry leaders, or through its new ‘UrbanPlan’ project to teach state school sixth formers about urban regeneration. I am looking to build on the momentum created by my predecessors to ensure that our broad church, non-lobbying approach and global reach is put to the best advantage of our members and our communities alike,” said Clark.

Clark brings extensive experience with ULI to this role. He has been involved with ULI since the mid-1990s and has been a member of the UK Executive Committee since its formation.  He currently chairs the steering group responsible for the roll-out of UrbanPlan, ULI UK’s property education programme for sixth form students.  On a global level, Clark has served as a ULI Trustee, a member of the Global Governance and Nominations Committee, and Chair of the Programme Committee for the ULI Europe Annual Conference in Paris.

Clark has been with Linklaters for 35 years, 26 of which he has served as a partner.  During his time at the firm, he has served as Global Head of the Real Estate Practice, Head of European Real Estate, and a total of seven years on the firm’s main board.  Over the course of his career, he has advised on the taxation and structuring of real estate transactions for many of the world’s leading institutions, property companies, developers and occupiers. He was instrumental in the UK property market’s creation of a UK REIT and was a member of the small industry team that negotiated detailed REIT rules with HM Treasury and HMRC. He is currently a member of the Cambridge Land Economy Advisory Board, a Trustee of the Investment Property Forum Education Trust and a Senior Member of the Anglo-American Real Property Institute.

Liz Waller took over as ULI UK Executive Director in early April.  Waller has 18 years’ experience in the European commercial real estate industry and was most recently Senior Director of Events for ULI Europe.  She will be supported by a team based in London including Alex Notay, who will resume her position as ULI UK Policy Director after a brief stint as interim Executive Director.

“I am pleased to be joining ULI UK at this critical time and building on the fantastic programme already in place,” said Waller.  “I look forward to working with ULI UK’s members and stakeholders to achieve our goals of sharing best practice and education, driving innovation and promoting sustainable urban growth.  Growing our membership to support our mission is vital and I hope to use my experiences working at ULI for the past 11 years and interacting with members from across the globe in this new role.  I am also looking forward to working with Simon Clark, who has been a longstanding and active member of ULI and with whom I have worked closely in his capacity as Chair of the ULI Europe Annual Conference programme for the past six years.”

ULI UK is the largest ULI National Council in Europe with over 700 members from the private and public sectors representing all disciplines within the UK commercial and residential property market. It is led by an Executive Committee of senior industry figures who volunteer their time to deliver events and programming specific to the UK. Throughout the year, ULI UK hosts an active and diverse programme of events, from Young Leaders site tours through to topical discussions with thought leaders, such as the recent “Shaping the Future of Cities” debate featuring Ed Glaeser of Harvard University and Martin Wolf of the Financial Times.

About the Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute (www.uli.org) is a global non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.  Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 34,000 members representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines.