alison lambert shares her thoughts on equality in the real ... · engagement, including liaison...

International Women's Day 2020

Alison Lambert shares her thoughts on equality inthe Real Estate industry

What attracted you to the Real Estate industry?

You can see and touch real estate which makes it easierto understand the drivers so you are able to makeinformed decisions about what influences returns. Realestate is not a derivative which floats around in theether! I also enjoy the fact that real estate has a realsense of community because it is quite a small world -which can sometimes be both a good and a bad thing!

If you had one key piece of career advice for women,what would it be?

Be prepared to take some risks and recognise that yourcareer may not move in straight line. I took a risk whenwe decided to live abroad, in Hungary and Brazil, andthese really gave me a different perspective on life andwork. Equally, I took a gamble when I moved from aBig4 to a less well-known, at the time, propertycompany, Oxford Properties. In my time at Oxford I alsomoved across for a year to work as Head of Assurance& Advisory for OMERS, Oxford’s shareholder. In all ofthese moves, I had to have the courage of myconvictions and believe in myself.

How can businesses level the playing field to createan environment in which everybody thrives?

Offer opportunities to all, flexible working is importantand not just around parental leave but be able to offersabbatical experiences to all. Give the sameopportunities to everyone and do not assume thatsomeone does not want to do something or indeed dosomething without having a conversation with theindividual.

How can our male colleagues be allies for equality?

We need to have male sponsors to ensure that womenare moving within the industry – without our malecolleagues supporting the initiative to strive for genderbalance, it is likely to fail as the current majority has tobe supportive of any equality initiative.

What do we need to do to see meaningful changebeing made in the corporate and property world?

We need to make more of a concerted effort to opendoors to all types of people and ensure that the industryis not just an old school network!

What insights can you share regarding meaningfuldiversity at senior levels, which overcomes the “tickbox” approach and ensures senior hires are stillbased on true merit?

Recruitment needs to start at graduate level to ensurethat there is diversity of all types. And of course,diversity isn’t just a gender issue. The recruitmentprocess should include blind CVs. In addition, womenneed to have the courage to apply and put themselvesin the running for senior positions. All executives mustalso walk the talk and make it not be just a tick boxexercise, such as making a stand if there is an all-malepanel or only men are invited to a sporting event.

Alison LambertOxford Properties, Executive Director, Luxembourg andSVP Head of Finance, Europe


Alison Lambert

Oxford Properties, Executive Director, Luxembourgand SVP Head of Finance, Europe

Alison is Executive Director Luxembourg and SVP Headof Finance Europe for Oxford Properties. AlisonLambert is dedicated, committed and flexible to bothher job and her family.

In her role Alison is responsible for the leadership of thefinance team in Europe which has members in London,Luxembourg and Berlin, together with acting as theExecutive Director in Luxembourg. In this role Alisonoversees corporate accounting for all of Oxford’sEuropean assets, leading the Luxembourg office, sittingon the boards of a number of Oxford investmentstructures in both the UK and Luxembourg, leadingnew global finance initiatives, assisting in financing newtransactions, assistance with tax structuring andmaintenance of overseas structures. Alison’s roleinvolved a significant degree of stakeholderengagement, including liaison with the finance teams inCanada, managing Oxford’s relationships with itsEuropean lenders and corporate advisors.

In 2017 Alison acted as OMERS Global Head ofAssurance & Advisory ('A&A') based in London. For thisrole Alison spent a significant time in Canada with herteam and senior executives. Alison was accountable forexecutive leadership in carrying out the duties of A&Aas approved by the Audit & Actuarial Committee.Ensuring that value add services are provided acrossthe business and act as a trusted business partner.

Prior to joining Oxford, Alison was a Director of KPMGTransaction Services in London where she specialisedin giving financial advice to clients in real estate, publicsector and infrastructure.

Alison is an active proponent of improving inclusion anddiversity within the property industry and within Oxford.

Alison is a member of the ICAEW and has a BSc (Hons)in Biochemistry from London University.

Stephanie Workman

Crestbridge, Manager

Stephanie has over 12 years of real estate and fundadministration experience. She is responsible for a largeportfolio of UK and European real estate holdingstructures for a number of prestigious corporate clients,predominantly based in North America and the UK.

Stephanie is an active committee member of Lean InJersey, one of the fastest growing networks in theworld, currently with 369 members. The network is aplatform which provides support, training, mentoringand development, with the primary aim of helpingwomen to achieve their ambitions.

About Crestbridge

Crestbridge provides global administration, trustee,accounting, management and governance solutionsthat are shaped to our clients’ needs wherever they dobusiness.

We recognise that our success and that of our clients isdown to the quality of the people who work here atCrestbridge. So our focus is squarely on attracting andretaining individuals who have outstanding experiencein their field and share our values as an independent,forward-thinking business.


Find out more from Anastasia Klein and what shethinks about women in the Real Estate industry


Contrary to my mantra that you must be strategic aboutyour career, I never set out to become part of the realestate industry.

My first job after completing my law degree was as aManagement Trainee at a Housing Association, whichoperated a large portfolio and was very active inacquiring and developing sites. This sparked myinterest in occupational issues and bricks and mortar.

Eventually, I returned to the law, and I worked as aproperty litigation paralegal at an international law firm.Whilst I was there I heard about Maples Teesdale, andwas interested in the fact that it was a specialist realestate law firm. I got in touch with them to see if theywere looking for a trainee solicitor; luckily for me theywere and I am still here over 16 years later!


Be strategic about your career, and vocal about yourambitions from as early as possible. Of course, thisadvice does not just apply to women!


There has to be equality of opportunity to progress,with clear pathways that are not based upon criteriathat is more favourable to, or more easily achievable by,one group above others.

We aim to ensure that those who work flexibly are notdisadvantaged within our workplace, by ensuring thatthe right technology is in place and that in practice, notjust in theory, we actively support flexible workingpractices. I work both part time and flexibly and amtransparent about my working practices, as I hope toserve as a positive example for our team.

At my firm, we also ensure that training, marketing

events and internal social events are held at differenttimes on different days, to ensure that those whostruggle to attend early morning or evening events, orwho do not work on specific days are not side-lined.


I genuinely believe that male colleagues are essentialallies for equality. Conversations around equality thatdon’t involve everyone will not, in my view, help achieveequality.

In terms of specific things Maples Teesdale is doing toachieve this, last year we organised an event for ourclients and contacts discussing female experiences ofcareer progression and transition into managementroles. A number of our male colleagues attended; theirfeedback was unanimously positive and they are keento be involved in future events.

Also, whilst some organisations see flexible or part-timeworking as a “women’s issue”, numerous male (as wellas female) members of our team work flexibly. This

Anastasia KleinMaples Teesdale, Real Estate Partner


creates equality and moves away from the stereotypicalview of flexible working practices being solely forwomen.

I personally mentor a mix of both men and women, andmy own mentors (the current and previous managingpartners at my firm) are both male. I have found that thementor / mentee relationship can create links,relationships and open conversations about issues suchas equality.

In addition, groups such as Real Estate Balance, ofwhich Maples Teesdale is a member, are working toachieve a gender balance in the real estate industry.Working with these groups can be very inspiring. It wasa very proud day for our firm, when our managingpartner signed up to their CEO Commitments forDiversity.

Overall, the assumption that men might not want to bepart of the conversation does not mirror my experienceand it is imperative that we ask their opinions and listento their ideas about equality. Just as we need everyoneto be part of the solution, we also need everyone to bepart of the discussion.


We need policies about equality to be lived (not just onpaper) and conversations about equality to involveeveryone.

Also, in my view it is imperative that more women in theindustry make themselves visible by, for example,speaking on or moderating industry panel discussions.These more visible roles should encourage otherwomen to step up, and also normalise the presence ofwomen in these traditionally “male” roles. I am aregistered speaker for Women Talk Real Estate which isa fantastic organisation that aims to do just this, by bothtraining women for panels and offering female speakersfor events.

Personally, I found it difficult to find any female rolemodels who were similar to me; not a “superwoman”,but a professional with a young family who wanted toprogress to a management role, whilst still being fullyinvolved in her children’s lives. I hope that by beingtransparent about my own experiences, I can offeranother model for partnership, or management rolesthat people can relate to.

Finally, for change to be meaningful, I believe that weneed to make sure that our business allows all of themembers of our team to be authentic and to feelcomfortable bringing their whole self to the office.

What insights can you share regarding meaningfuldiversity at senior levels, which overcomes the “tickbox” approach and ensures senior hires are stillbased on true merit?

I think that this is a real challenge, with no simpleanswer. There are numerous ideas around this topic,but for me the key is establishing and maintaining astrong, diverse pipeline and a clear, and equallyachievable pathway to senior roles.

The pipeline for the issue is twofold; relating to bothretention and recruitment.

In terms of retaining the diversity of your existing team, Ithink that all organisations have a responsibility toensure that the pipeline of talent within their business isdiverse and that it remains so all the way tomanagement level. If you find that at entry level there isa good mix, but by the time you approach mid or seniorlevel roles, that the pool has become generic, you haveto ask when and why this happened and do somethingabout it.

In terms of recruitment, it’s not true that candidatesfrom diverse backgrounds aren’t available.

Choose to work with recruiters who are positiveabout the need to present you with candidates ofdiverse backgrounds.

Make sure that the wording of your job adverts is

"I personally mentor a mix of both men andwomen, and my own mentors (the currentand previous managing partners at my firm)are both male."

"We need policies about equality to be lived(not just on paper) and conversations aboutequality to involve everyone."


neutral, so as not to subconsciously put certaingroups of people off applying.

Consider using technology to enable you to reviewapplications on an impartial basis. For example atMaples Teesdale to process the trainee solicitorapplications (of which we receive in excess of 150applicants each year), we use software to ensurethat the demographics of our applicants (gender,ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background,sexuality) are consistent at each level of selection.We also remove all identifying information from theapplications when they are considered to avoid anybias (unconscious or otherwise) affecting ourdecisions.

In my view, if you can recruit a diverse team, offer themclear and equally achievable pathways to senior levels,and retain them, then the “tick box approach” should beavoidable all together.

About Crestbridge



Anastasia Klein

Maples Teesdale, Real Estate Partner

Anastasia Klein is a real estate partner at MaplesTeesdale, a City-based law firm that specialises incommercial property.

As co-Head of Diversity and Inclusion at MaplesTeesdale, Anastasia is passionate about the need fordiversity within the real estate industry and the legalprofession.

Anastasia is also a keen advocate for women raisingtheir visibility in both the legal profession and the realestate industry. Anastasia has moderated paneldiscussions, and is also a founding member of theAllbright women’s networking club, an active memberof Real Estate Balance and is registered as a speakerwith Women Talk Real Estate.

Stephanie Workman





Antonia Burgess discusses women in Real Estate


I initially thought I wanted to be a media lawyer, yet itwas my time in the property team at the firm where Itrained that introduced me to the world of real estate.

The female Partner, Diana Cornforth, was fun andinspirational. I learnt so much from her. I also discoveredI loved doing property deals and have now worked inthe real estate industry for over 25 years.


I wish my younger self had known that as a woman youdon’t have to be serious to be taken seriously!

If I can provide a second piece of advice it would be topush yourself to take on challenges that place yououtside your comfort zone. Whether it’s speaking inpublic or applying for a promotion, you will achieve agreat sense of satisfaction and perhaps surpriseyourself.


The key is creating a flexible working environment thatsupports individuals to deliver the best they can be; andalso support their home circumstances.


My experience, working in both London and Jersey, hasalways been positive. The focus needs to be oneveryone, no matter who they are, being encouraged topromote equality and inclusivity. Opportunities shouldbe open to all, and everyone has their part to play inproactively developing and encouraging talent at alllevels.


I think this question ignores the great efforts manybusinesses are already making. What businesses needto explore and pinpoint are the “unintentional barriers”.Personally, I’m not a fan of “Breakfast events”. They’renot family friendly, especially as in many householdsboth parents work (sometimes in the same industry!)and one parent needs to take children to school so theymiss out on attending. Whilst I appreciate “Breakfastevents” suit many professionals, they also have theunintended consequence of excluding a key section oftheir target audience.

"I wish my younger self had known that as awoman you don’t have to be serious to betaken seriously!"

Antonia BurgessSubstantas, Independent Non-Executive Director


Antonia Burgess

Independent Non-Executive Director

Antonia is a Jersey resident independent non-executivedirector with considerable experience of acting as adirector on real estate, private equity real estate anddebt structures with assets in the UK and Europe.

Antonia has held senior leadership roles in legal andfinancial services businesses for over 25 years. Shepractised as a lawyer at Hogan Lovells in London,before relocating to Jersey in 2005 when she joinedMourant International Finance Administration (MIFA). AtMIFA she led a European real estate team with fundassets under administration of over US $60bn and wasa member of MIFA’s executive management board priorto the sale of the business to State Street. Antonia hasacted as a Jersey resident director since 2005 andbecame an independent non-executive director in2013.

Antonia graduated in law from University CollegeLondon (UCL) prior to qualifying as a lawyer in Englandand Wales. She a Member of the Institute of Directorsand is regulated by the Jersey Financial ServicesCommission.

Stephanie Workman




About Crestbridge




Sophie Reguengo and Stephanie Workman talkabout equality in the corporate world


Don't throw in the towel! Stay in the game and keeppushing forward. Pursue all means available tocontinuously develop, so you always stay one stepahead. Lean In Jersey can help with this.


It's important that diversity and inclusion is treatedholistically, and businesses don't just look at oneaspect, such as gender, in isolation. After all, ouridentities, characteristics and life experiences arecomplex and interwoven, resulting in varying degrees ofprivilege or disadvantage at work. It's also aboutrecognising that achieving true equality is aboutchanging structures, systems and processes as muchas it is about encouraging individuals to confront theirown personal biases.


Men can be fantastic allies for equality at work, not onlyby advocating for women in their teams but also byeducating themselves on the issues women face. Themajority of men do not want a discriminatory workplace,and yet many workplaces still aren't equal – you have toask why this is. It goes back to this issue ofunchallenged assumptions and who a system orworkplace is designed for. Making a concerted effort tounderstand "unknown unknowns" is what makes aneffective ally of any disadvantaged group.


It's crucial for businesses to have a vision, but it's alsoimportant that they take an honest look at where theyare right now - this means engaging with employeesmeaningfully and regularly soliciting feedback,including providing an opportunity to give anonymousfeedback. We simply don't know what we don't knowsometimes – and one person's experience of aworkplace can be completely different to another's.There also needs to be an awareness from leadershipthat achieving an inclusive environment is an ongoingprocess, not a project to be ticked off the to-do list.

Sophie ReguengoOgier, Partner

"Men can be fantastic allies for equality atwork, not only by advocating for women intheir teams but also by educatingthemselves on the issues women face"


Sophie Reguengo

Ogier, Partner

Sophie is an experienced investment funds andregulatory lawyer with over 15 years of industryexperience in Jersey and Hong Kong, specialising in realestate and private equity structures.

Recognised as a Rising Star in The IFLR 1000 2020 andas a Next Generation Lawyer in The Legal 500 UK 2018,Sophie has also featured in the Citywealth Leaders Listfor 3 consecutive years and is currently listed as a Top100 Citywealth International Powerwoman.

Sophie is a founding member of the Lean In Jerseycircle, a committee member of the circle and the leaderof the Jersey Lean In To Law circle. The Lean In Jerseycircle is one of the fastest growing networks in theworld and currently has 369 members in Jersey. Thecircles are networking platforms which provide support,training, mentoring and development primarily with theaim of helping women achieve their ambition.

Sophie was on the panel for The Diversity Hack inOctober 2019 – a sell-out discussion about how tomove the dial for better diversity in Jersey. Otherpanellists included representatives from IoD Jersey, theUK Home Office, Smith & Williamson, Jersey Fire &Rescue and RBC and there was a lively discussion aboutD&I policies and gender pay gap reporting.

Sophie regularly attends and speaks at conferenceslocally in Jersey, London and beyond.

Stephanie Workman




About Crestbridge



alison lambert shares her thoughts on equality in the real ... · engagement, including liaison...

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