Can Hyde level up real estate’s standing in the private sector?

EDITOR’S COMMENT Great to see a member of the real estate community appointed to lead the discussion with the private sector about how it can aid the country’s levelling up agenda. JLL chief executive Stephanie Hyde has taken on the challenge of chairing the CBI’s new Centre for Thriving Regions, a vehicle set up last November to co-ordinate the private sector’s commitment to levelling up. Anyone unfortunate enough to have read all 300+ pages of the recently released Levelling Up white paper from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will know that the private sector will be vital if any progress is to be made. Funding from government is verging on laughable and I’m banned from using the words I’d like to use to describe the ability of anyone in power to actually deliver on any promises made. The private sector has to step up. And this could be a great opportunity – with Hyde at the helm – for real estate to show its importance in the private sector and the vital role it plays in creating opportunity.  Anyone working in the property sector knows that real estate is the thread that runs through all business. You just can’t operate without it. Even if you are a full-time work-from-homer, the built environment is the enabler that allows you to do that. Now is the time to show anyone not working in real estate that this is the case. And Hyde, while still only relatively new to the property world (although at 10 months in, and from the numerous conversations I’ve had with her, she’s definitely got more than a handle on it), is now perfectly positioned to be a flagbearer.  In her role as chair, Hyde will be tasked with bringing together a diverse group of business leaders from across the UK to look at what levelling up really means and how businesses can come together to support and challenge the government on how to turn the theory of levelling up into a reality. “The white paper only goes so far and is very aspirational,” Hyde told me recently. “It’s got some steps in there, but I think everybody recognises that this isn’t going to happen until the public and private sectors really get together and focus on it.” For Hyde, the role that real estate plays is a cornerstone in the process of turning that ambition into something real. “Ultimately, this is about creating places that people want to live and work in,” she says. “You have to create that economic pull, but you also have to create an environment where people want to stay and they want to thrive.” With her decades of experience in the accountancy world dealing with big businesses, and the conversations she has already been leading on in the property sector, I’d wager a pretty large bet that if anyone can make a success of the CBI’s Centre for Thriving Regions, Hyde can. Talking of huge successes, don’t forget that the window for wildcard entries for EG’s latest cohort of Future Leaders closes at midnight on Sunday 27 February. If you think you could benefit from EG’s award-winning programme and have something burning you want to share with hundreds of contemporaries from across the built environment, click here and submit your application now. Good luck! To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews