biography
Paul is a chartered surveyor with 35 years’ experience in construction, property development, support services and student accommodation. Most of his career was with Balfour Beatty, the international construction company, where he was a commercial director helping set the strategic direction and business planning for businesses with combined annual revenues of £1.6bn and employing 18,000 people.
On the executive board he directed all commercial and compliance activities across regulated sectors was accountable for risk management and the internal audit framework.
More recently he spent the last 8 years as managing director of UPP, the UK’s largest on-campus student housing provider with 40,000 units under management, of which 5,000 are at Reading. During this time Paul came to know the campus extremely well and formed close working relationships with senior members of the University.
Since leaving UPP in 2023, Paul has striven to give something back to the property sector and the communities it serves. He holds non-executive board and committee member roles at Ethical Leasehold Management Group and ACIS Group, housing association specialising in affordable living and student accommodation.
Paul is delighted to serve on the University Council at such an exciting time as the University heads towards its centenary year and to continue his association with the University of Reading, it’s students and broader stakeholder groups.
