mentor profile
30+ years delivering data-enabled transformation across technology and real estate, empowering organisations to make evidence-led decisions in workplace, safety, and operational performance.
Chris is Chief Executive at Data Clan and one of the UK's leading voices on real estate data strategy. He advises government on the Golden Thread in the Building Safety Act, chairs the Real Estate Data Foundation Data Standards Steering Group, teaches data strategy at OSCRE Academy, and authored "The Anatomy of Occupancy Analytics", a definitive work on workplace intelligence.
Why This Matters:
Real estate generates massive amounts of data but struggles to extract value from it. Building safety information sits in disconnected systems. Occupancy decisions rely on gut feel rather than evidence. ESG reporting becomes compliance theatre rather than operational insight. Social housing providers can't answer basic questions about their assets.
Chris's focus: building the data foundations, standards, and analytics capabilities that turn information into action, improving building safety, optimising space efficiency, advancing sustainability, and enabling organisations to achieve more with less.
What He Brings:
- Analytical Precision & Systems Thinking: MA in Mathematics from Cambridge University, brings analytical precision to fuzzy real estate problems, seeing patterns and solutions others miss
- Polymath Perspective: Blends mathematics, music (piano/guitar), tenacity (endurance runner), and curiosity, approaches problems from multiple angles, finding innovative solutions
- Government Advisory Role: Advises UK government on Golden Thread aspects of Building Safety Act, shapes policy and practice at national level
- Standards Leadership: Chairs Real Estate Data Foundation Data Standards Steering Group, defining industry standards that enable interoperability and data value
- Sector Depth: Deep expertise across corporate real estate, social housing, and commercial property, understands different contexts, challenges, and regulatory requirements
- Thought Leadership: Award-winning public speaker, published author, teaching faculty at OSCRE Academy, recognised expert sharing knowledge across industry
- Proven Implementation: Not just strategy, delivered operational management consultancy during global M&A, led organisational change, and provided technical consultancy for functional consolidations
Industry Leadership:
- Government advisor on Golden Thread in Building Safety Act
- Chair, Real Estate Data Foundation Data Standards Steering Group
- Chief Executive, Data Clan
- Teaching Faculty Member on Data, OSCRE Academy
- RED Foundation Data Standards Steering Group (chair)
- Project Indigo (chair) - horizon 3 future for information management in the built environment
- Award-winning public speaker and thought leader
Publications & Expertise:
- Author: "The Anatomy of Occupancy Analytics"
- Multiply published expert in Corporate Real Estate Journal
- Co-author of occupancy analytics frameworks adopted across industry
- Regular contributor to real estate data standards and best practices
Strategic Impact:
- Led organisational change and strategy development for corporate real estate portfolios
- Provided operational management consultancy during global mergers and acquisitions
- Delivered technical consultancy supporting functional consolidations
- Advised multiple UK registered social housing providers on overall data strategy
Building Safety & Social Housing:
- Specialist advisor on golden thread, building safety, and asset information for housing sector
- Developed data strategies for energy, sustainability, and customer behaviour analytics
- Contributed to Building Advisory Committee shaping government policy
Industry frameworks / data models:
- OSCRE Industry Data Model
- nima Information Management Initiative
- Golden Thread in the Building Safety Act 2022
- Digital Planning (UK Government)
- ISO 41000 series (Facilities Management)
Community & Recognition:
- Chair of trustees, Dementia Forward charity (North Yorkshire dementia support)
- UK Athletics Endurance Running and Athletics Coach, Head Coach at Hambleton Athletics & Running Club
- Recipient: Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
- Recipient: Queen's Special Recognition Award (Covid pandemic work)
Corporate Real Estate Teams Need data strategy, workplace analytics, or occupancy optimisation to make evidence-based decisions about portfolio, space efficiency, and workplace effectiveness
Social Housing Providers Navigating Building Safety Act requirements, developing golden thread strategies, improving asset information, or building data capabilities for safety, sustainability, and customer insight
Built environment & infrastructure organisations Looking to bridge operational safety, asset performance, and regulatory compliance through data leadership.
Property Owners & Asset Managers Managing portfolios and need data foundations for building safety compliance, ESG reporting, operational optimisation, or strategic decision-making
Organisations Facing Building Safety Requirements Implementing golden thread, improving asset information, or ensuring compliance with Building Safety Act and related regulations
Real Estate Tech Companies Building data products, analytics platforms, or workplace solutions and need strategic guidance on standards, market needs, or implementation approaches
You're NOT a fit if:
- You're outside real estate, property, or built environment sectors
- You want quick-fix dashboards without investing in data foundations and governance
- You're not serious about data quality, standards, and long-term capability building
- You're looking for basic analytics rather than strategic data transformation
Real Estate Data Strategy Transform organisational performance through actionable data capability roadmaps.
Building Safety & Golden Thread Advisory Integrate safety, asset, and operational data for compliance and decision-making
Enterprise Data Shape and deliver enterprise data models and platforms that turn fragmented systems into coherent, governed data foundations supporting insight, interoperability, and long-term organisational performance
Data Standards & Governance Develop or adopt data standards, governance frameworks, and quality management approaches, building foundations that enable interoperability, analysis, and long-term data value
Social Housing Data Transformation Specialized advisory for registered social housing providers on data strategy, asset information, building safety, energy/sustainability data, and customer behaviour analytics
Workplace Analytics & Occupancy Strategy Strengthen evidence-driven space optimisation and workplace investment decisions
M&A Operational Consultancy Provide operational management consultancy during mergers, acquisitions, and functional consolidations, ensuring data and systems integration supports business outcomes
Organisational Change & Strategic Leadership Lead organisational change initiatives, develop strategic vision, and provide thought leadership, particularly around new technologies and data-enabled operating models
Public Speaking & Education Deliver keynote presentations, workshops, or training on real estate data strategy, workplace analytics, building safety, or data
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