First women president for RICS

{mosimage} Louise Brooke-Smith has become the first female president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in its 146 year history.

Alongside her presidency of RICS, she 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.

Brooke-Smith succeeds outgoing RICS president, Michael Newey. During her year long presidency, she will focus on three core areas; diversity, Africa and her professional specialisms, planning and land economics.

‘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,’ she said.

‘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,’ she explained.

She added that she if proud to be the first female president but pointed out there are other women office holders including senior vice president Amanda Clack, and UK and Ireland World Regional Chair Fiona Grant.

Brooke-Smith has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years and as well as being 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.