Chris Kane Keynote Speaker

How the commercial real estate sector is transforming due to new technologies, employee expectations and the trend to more sustainable living
Author of 'Where is My Office?: Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century' - 2023 (new edition)
ex VP of International Corporate Real Estate for The Walt Disney Company and Head of Workplace at the BBC

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Chris Kane's Biography

Chris Kane is a thought leader and keynote speaker on how commercial real estate is transforming as we migrate from centralised city offices to more home based and hybrid set-ups, from bricks to clicks, and how we can consider more decentralised and rural options thanks to better connectivity. These changes are also influenced by the desire to live a more connected, sustainable and balanced lives. Gone are the days when major real estate projects expected occupants to adapt to what was being built for them. Now, real estate decision makers must adapt their plans to better serve the end users and be more innovative in their thinking.

Chris has worked in the Corporate Real Estate sector for over 30 years, having operated as the Vice President of International Corporate Real Estate for The Walt Disney Company, before acting as Head of Workplace at the BBC, where he was responsible for the creation of MediaCityUK in Salford, the redevelopment of Television Centre and oversaw the £1bn development of Broadcasting House. Earlier in his career, he worked with Jones Lang Wootton as a surveyor and Partner.

In talks, Chris shares his groundbreaking ‘Smart Value’ formula which underpinned the success of his redevelopment of the property portfolio of the BBC, and which can be adapted to enact meaningful and lasting organizational change in any business. This formula is supported through in-depth case studies from his career.

He is a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society Architects) and RICS ( Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) a is co-founder of Six Ideas, a global advisory group focused on workplace development and innovation.

Chris has extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director and currently serves on the Board of Elstree Film & TV Studios. Chris has served on the boards of Laganside Corporation, Network Homes, NHS Property Services and Reach2 Academy. He also sits on the editorial board of the Corporate Real Estate Journal.

Chris is the author of ‘Where is My Office?: Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century’, published by Bloomsbury Business (second edition – May 2023). Of the book, the Wall Street Journal wrote ”intriguing…whatever the post-pandemic workplace looks like, it will look better if leaders follow a lesson that Mr. Kane learned early on: ‘The focus had to be on the people and their activities rather than the physical space.’ Otherwise offices are just places to go–and not much more”.