Exploring the Power of Networking

This workshop looks to educate and inform our staff and students, through hearing stories of speakers who identify as underrepresented in their sectors.

Attendees will be given tips and insight into how to own a room and excel through the power of professional networks.

Speakers include:

Nelly Twumasi-Mensah

As a business change leader, Nelly specialises in delivering and embedding valuable, transformational change with a focus on managing and motivating individuals and teams to achieve the benefits of change programmes.  A chartered member of the Royal Institution of Charted Surveyors, she has a background in Project Management; successfully delivering construction projects and programmes for large private and public sector clients.  This unique blend of expertise means that she has great insight into the success factors needed to successfully transform traditional industries like the construction industry. Nelly is passionate about mentoring and coaching early career professionals to enable them to reach their full potential.

Nicole Crentsil

Nicole Crentsil is a Ghanaian-British businesswoman, changemaker, angel investor and cultural curator based in London. Nicole is the founder and CEO of Black Girl Fest and the founder of BIG SIS, a new network supporting the personal development of creative working women.

Nicole currently sits on the Members Advisory Board for the Tate and is also a VC Scout and Angel Investor with Ada Ventures- a £34 million fund investing in underrepresented founders.  She’s since made investments in afro hair care brand Afrocenchix backed by Google in a $1.2million seed round and hair extensions brand Ruka Hair who raised $2.24million in early-stage VC funding. .

In 2021 Nicole was awarded Forbes 30 under 30 for her contribution to arts & culture. In the same year Time out London named Nicole as a ‘visionary’ changing the city for the better.

In 2018, Forbes listed Nicole as one of 100 women to follow on Twitter and LinkedIn. In the same year, TimeOut named Nicole as 1 of 50 Londoner’s shaping the city’s cultural landscape. Nicole is passionate about connecting women, young people and underrepresented groups to art, culture and events.

Anthony Abana

Anthony is a seasoned project executive with extensive global success delivering capital projects, change programmes and complex programme of works across markets in Africa, Europe and Asia. His 20+ year career has seen him deliver over $500M of CAPEX works across a global portfolio of more than 5M sqft. A turnaround leader recognized for his track record to drive change with pace, he has delivered best value outcomes steering all aspects of the project lifecycle for companies undergoing significant growth, business transformation or disruptive change within the commercial real estate sector.

Anthony is currently the CEO & Co-founder of Blocx Matrix Ltd, a real estate services firm that provides management, development and training solutions and advisory to governments and the private sector. Prior to that, he was a Senior Director and Head of Project Delivery at WeWork, where he led new market and regional expansion in India and across Europe delivering best-in-class workspaces and design & build solutions for enterprise clients. Previously, he worked for Land Securities and Telereal Trillium, delivering capital projects, a nationwide programme of works and advancing clients' asset performance and commercial viability.

His passion for helping Africa build better and transforming the real estate and construction sectors has put him at the forefront of driving sustainable development, innovation and industry best practice implementation in the continent through ‘sustainable project delivery’ and human capital development.

Rumbi Nambureti

After graduating from the University of Kent with a degree in Economics, she pursued a career in the Retail Corporate Industry working in the Merchandise Planning and Buying fields. She later changed her career by pursing a master’s degree at Nottingham Trent University studying Quantity Surveying and has since worked as a QS with Balfour Beatty and Turner and Townsend.

Outside of work Rumbi is an Ops lead for BPIC Network. BPIC Network is an independent organisation dedicated to providing guidance, training and networking events tailored to those currently working in the industry, as well as curating an aspirational platform for the youth and those seeking to join the extremely exciting world of construction. The vision is to facilitate careers in construction as well as work with organizations looking to improve their diverse representation including advancement of black and ethnic minority professionals.

As a self-motivated individual, and also through her academic and hands-on work experience, she is a leading change maker in the construction and built environment.

Schedule

Please be seated for a 5 pm start.