RICS chief operating officer exits

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ chief operating officer, Violetta Parylo, has resigned from the organisation and will be leaving tomorrow (4 June). As the person in charge of RICS’s long-term financial strategy, Parylo (pictured) has long been viewed as one of the key decision-makers at the institution. She was also responsible for delivering corporate services including IT, property management, facilities, legal, compliance, risk and governance. Interim chief financial officer Rofi Ihsan will replace Parylo as interim COO on 7 June. RICS stated that Parylo has “decided to leave RICS to pursue other opportunities”. The statement reads: “Violetta has been a member of the executive team for over a decade, in which time she has made a significant contribution to RICS and played a central role in steering the institution and tackling the challenges of Brexit and Covid-19. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours.” Parylo’s sudden departure comes as RICS faces immense pressure for reform from its members. The executive team at RICS has been in the spotlight in recent months amid an investigation into a governance scandal at the institution. That probe is expected to conclude this month. A separate consultation on RICS’s relevance to the industry, which was led internally, found that 52% of surveyors thought RICS is not transparent enough about its activities supported by member income. Many said RICS needed to provide greater clarity on the way its membership fees are used and its overall finances, including executive remuneration. Just 43% of the 8,038 surveyors polled by RICS said they were satisfied with their membership. The institution’s average trust score fell to 58% in 2021, from 81% in July last year. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews Photo © RICS