The Urban Land Institute (ULI), the world’s oldest and largest global network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts with more than 45,000 members across some 80 countries, has announced that it will take forward the Chapman Barrigan Lecture Series (CBLS) from the 10th lecture scheduled for spring 2027.

The CBLS is an annual lecture delivered by a leader in their field in memory of two trailblazing women from the real estate industry, JLL’s Honor Chapman CBE and Benson Elliot’s Trish Barrigan. The lecture is free and open to all, and is especially aimed at inspiring the next generation, with a particular focus on women in real estate.

The 10th lecture will be given in London in early 2027 by Dame Helen Gordon, CEO of Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord.

Helen has been CEO since 2016, joining from RBS where she had been Global Head of Real Estate Asset Management since October 2011. Prior to that Helen was Director of Legal and General Property, responsible for the Main Life Fund and c.8 smaller funds, Group Property Director of Railtrack and Managing Director of John Laing Developments.

Helen is a board member of BusinessLDN, Senior Independent Director on the Board of Derwent London and is currently Chair of the European Public Real Estate Association. She is Past President of the British Property Federation, was a member of the New Towns Taskforce and was a member of the Government’s Urban Centre Recovery Taskforce for post-Covid recovery. Helen has held a number of non-exec positions and Government appointments including the board of Covent Garden Market Authority and board of British Waterways.

Simon Durkin, CEO, ULI Europe, commented:

“The mission of the Urban Land Institute is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. One of our three mission priorities is to educate the next generation of diverse leaders. That’s why we are thrilled to take forward the Chapman Barrigan Lecture Series as a key component of our ULI learning programme. We look forward to organising the 10th lecture, to be given by Helen Gordon, and to taking the series forward beyond London and the UK in the years ahead.”

Marc Mogull on behalf of the CBLS committee said today:

“We’re really pleased that ULI will assume the leadership of this important event, dedicated to the memory of two pioneering women in our industry. Trish co-founded Benson Elliot with me, and before that I had the good fortune to learn much about London from Honor. Both would be pleased to know that this important and impactful industry fixture will have such strong stewardship going forward, and that this tenth lecture will be delivered by a woman of such achievement and stature as Dame Helen Gordon.”

The nine previous lectures have been given by an incredible list of leading women in their respective sectors – Dames Judith Mayhew Jonas, Alison Nimmo, Vivian Hunt and DeAnne Julius, as well as Baroness Margaret Ford, Annie Hampson OBE, Liz Peace CBE, Rosemary Feenan and most recently Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Lectures have varied from the role of planning in society to the case for new towns and from the impact of global warming to trust in the development industry.

Dame Helen Gordon said today:

“I’m honoured to have been invited to deliver the tenth Chapman Barrigan Lecture. Honor Chapman and Trish Barrigan were both remarkable women and made a lasting contribution to our industry, and I’m delighted to support a series that continues to inspire the next generation of leaders.”