Development Diaries – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Détails du podcast

Informations techniques et générales issues du flux RSS du podcast.

Development Diaries

John Guest

Business & Entrepreneuriat

Fréquence : 1 épisode/18j. Total Éps: 10

Development Diaries is where real estate development's most influential leaders share their unfiltered career stories.
Hosted by John Guest, founder of Henry James Search and the Rebels Community, each episode takes you behind the scenes with the innovators, change-makers, and visionaries shaping our built environment.
From career-defining moments and sliding doors decisions to hard-won lessons and advice for the next generation, our guests reveal what really drives success in real estate development. We explore the challenges, celebrate the wins, and dig into what excites leaders most about the future of our industry.

Subscribe to hear from managing directors, board members, and development leaders as they share their journeys from early career to industry leadership - and discover what makes exceptional development professionals tick.
New episodes released regularly.

Lire plusRéduire

Site

RSS

Apple

Données mises à jour le 23/08/2026

Classements récents

Dernières positions dans les classements Apple Podcasts et Spotify.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Aucun classement récent disponible

Liens partagés entre épisodes et podcasts

Liens présents dans les descriptions d'épisodes et autres podcasts les utilisant également.

Aucun lien partagé par ce podcast

Qualité et score du flux RSS

Évaluation technique de la qualité et de la structure du flux RSS.

Qualité du flux RSS

À améliorer

Score global : 59%

Historique des publications

Répartition mensuelle des publications d'épisodes au fil des années.

Year

Derniers épisodes publiés

Liste des épisodes récents, avec titres, durées et descriptions.

8. Architecture, Trades & Going From Exec to Non-Exec. Baerbel Schuett: Founding Director of be.haus

Saison 1 · Épisode 8

mardi 23 juin 2026 • Durée 54:55

Baerbel Schuett’s career is quite the rollercoaster.
She set out for a career in a trade in Germany, ended up training as an architect instead, then took a leap to South Africa as a site architect - where a stalled project, a few sliding doors moments, and a fair bit of grit led her into construction management.
She was often the only woman on site, managing teams of men twice her size, and won them over not by shouting louder, but by treating people with respect. That instinct never left her.
A move to the UK for love (not a job) saw her drift into project management almost by accident, before residential development found her - and she never looked back.
Thirteen years at LondonNewcastle followed, joining right before the global financial crisis and helping rebuild the business from the ground up, working with everyone from pension funds to housing associations.
What really comes through in this chat is that Baerbel doesn't measure her career in buildings - she measures it in people. The proudest moments she shares aren't planning consents or completed schemes, they're the messages from people years later telling her she changed the course of their career.
She's refreshingly honest about hesitation too - admitting there were times in her personal life and in starting her own business where she knew something wasn't right and stayed anyway.

Baerbel shines a light on what actually makes someone exceptional in development, how to position yourself for a board seat, and where she thinks the next big opportunities lie.

A brilliant, honest conversation with someone who's built a career - and a reputation - on backing people.

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, and pass it on to a friend or colleague.

Lire plusRéduire

7. From Builder to Co-Founder: James Coulsey on Developing Differently

Épisode 7

mardi 19 mai 2026 • Durée 50:41

In this episode of Development Diaries, host John Guest sits down with James Coulsey, co-founder and director of Trigon DM - a B Corp-certified development management consultancy helping clients cut through complexity and deliver projects with clarity, precision, and confidence.

James' journey into real estate is anything but conventional. Starting out as a civil engineer on site, he spent a decade building offices, residential schemes, and more before making a pivotal transition into development - taking a chance, asking bold questions, and learning to understand not just how buildings are built, but why they exist in the first place.

In this conversation, James and John explore:

- The sliding doors moment that took James from site engineer to development professional, and the developer who took a chance on a builder with a lot to learn
- What sets great development managers apart, and why curiosity and holistic thinking matter more than asset class experience
- The Trigon story, how James and co-founder Andy combined their backgrounds in construction, development, and ESG to build a business that works across sectors from logistics to co-living
- The regulatory challenge, why layering regulation on top of regulation is stifling innovation, and what a simpler, outcomes-focused approach could unlock for UK development
- Public vs. private sector collaboration, and why the industry needs to get better at telling a positive story about what development actually delivers for communities
- What excites James most, from partnership models and GLA policy shifts to regenerative building materials like mycelium, hempcrete, and self-healing concrete

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, share, and pass it on to a friend or colleague in the industry.

Lire plusRéduire

6. Jonathan Smales, Executive Chairman at Human Nature

Épisode 6

mardi 28 avril 2026 • Durée 01:02:42

In this episode of Development Diaries, John is joined by Jonathan Smales, founder and CEO of Human Nature - the sustainable, community-focused developer behind Phoenix, a 685-home neighbourhood in Lewes, and one of the most unconventional figures in UK real estate.

Jonathan's route into the built environment began not in a surveyor's office or a lecture theatre, but at Greenpeace, where as Managing Director in the late 1980s he oversaw membership growth from 40,000 to nearly 400,000 - and, almost by accident, commissioned one of the UK's first green commercial buildings. That act of making, rather than campaigning, changed everything.

What followed was a decade leading the Earth Centre, reclaiming two South Yorkshire coal mines as a world centre for sustainability, before founding Beyond Green — a consultancy advising government, pension funds, the Olympics, and major new communities across the UK. The frustration of watching vision erode between the drawing board and the ground eventually led him to become the principal himself. Human Nature was the answer.

The conversation covers Jonathan's circuitous but coherent path from the civil service to Greenpeace to brownfield regeneration; why real estate has both an ambition crisis and an identity crisis; what it really takes to push genuinely innovative placemaking through a system that wasn't built for it; and why the industry's greatest challenges - climate, nature, social division - are also its greatest opportunity. Jonathan also answers Chris Fleetwood's question from last episode on how the industry attracts the next generation of talent, and leaves a question of his own for the next guest.

Lire plusRéduire

5. Chris Fleetwood, Chief Operating & Sustainability Officer at Redevco.

Saison 1 · Épisode 5

mardi 14 avril 2026 • Durée 51:52

In this episode of Development Diaries, John is joined by Chris Fleetwood, a man whose route into real estate began not in a lecture theatre but at a careers fair, in a 45-minute conversation with a chartered surveyor whose name he never caught - yet who changed the course of his life.

Chris takes us back to his Birmingham roots and a moment of genuine inspiration that set him on the path to a real estate degree and his first job navigating a deeply hostile early-90s market.
What followed was a career that took him through Jones Lang Wootton, J. Sainsbury Developments, Parkridge, and ultimately twelve years at Landsec - where he served as Development Director across a portfolio that included landmark mixed-use regeneration, retail, PBSA, and the long-haul decontamination of a 30-acre brownfield battery site in his hometown of Birmingham.
Now at Redevco, Chris operates at a genuinely pan-European level across urban regeneration, logistics, retail warehousing, and a growing debt platform.

The conversation covers the leap from agency to development, what it really takes to absorb complex deals fast, the realities of cross-border working, and why the UK real estate industry needs to do a far better job of showing young people - from all parts of society - what a career in the built environment can actually look like.

Lire plusRéduire

4. Sunny Johal, Development Director at Glenbrook: From Building Sites to Boardrooms

mardi 31 mars 2026 • Durée 51:49

In this episode of Development Diaries, host John Guest is joined by Sunny Johal, Development Director at Glenbrook and fellow podcast host - a man whose route into real estate is about as far from the traditional graduate scheme as it gets, making his story all the more compelling for anyone who has ever felt like they don't quite fit the conventional mould.

Sunny takes us back to his Birmingham roots, a grammar school he didn't want to attend, A-levels he freely admits he bombed, and a decision at 16 to start sweeping floors on a building site rather than heading to university.

What followed was a decade of hard graft in trade and construction - labouring, ground works, site management - before a Taylor Woodrow apprenticeship opened the door to main contracting at scale with Vinci and Long Cross. Curiosity did the rest: a part-time degree, a Masters in real estate investment, and eventually a chance approach from a recruiter led him to Argent and the world of front-end development at King's Cross.

Now at Glenbrook, Sonny brings that rare combination of construction depth and development breadth to some genuinely complex mixed-use schemes.

The conversation covers the practicalities of viability, the frustrations of the

UK planning system, and why the country needs clearer rules of the game to attract competitive international capital.

Lire plusRéduire

3. Simon Harding-Roots: Regional MD at Muse: Brownfield Opportunity & Public-Private Partnership

Saison 1 · Épisode 3

mardi 17 mars 2026 • Durée 49:50

In this episode of Development Diaries, host John Guest is joined by Simon Harding-Roots, Regional Managing Director for the South at Muse, and formerly Managing Director of London at the Crown Estate and Executive Director for Major Projects at Grosvenor - a career built on navigating
complex urban regeneration, placemaking, and public-private partnership across some of the UK's most significant real estate organisations.

Simon traces his path from a teenage temping stint in the planning department of Elmbridge Borough Council - a genuine sliding doors moment - through a geography degree, an RICS qualification at Drivers Jonas, and
into the highest levels of estate management and strategic development.

He reflects on the contrast between working within long-term custodial organisations like the Crown Estate and Grosvenor versus the sharper commercial pace of private development, and what each taught him about patience, partnership, and getting the most out of complex urban land.

The conversation explores Simon's deep belief in brownfield-first development, the transformative potential of infrastructure investment like the
Elizabeth line, and why - despite the very real viability challenges facing the sector - he remains a committed optimist.

Lire plusRéduire

2. Harry Knibb, VP of Development at Oxford Properties: Decarbonisation and the Case for Optimism

lundi 2 mars 2026 • Durée 52:08

In this episode of Development Diaries, host John Guest sits down with Harry Knibb, Vice President of Development at Oxford Properties and Non- Executive Director at the Academy of Urbanism, whose career spans project management, Residential led mixed-use development, and high-quality London office across some of the world's most ambitious real estate portfolios.
Harry shares his journey from a philosophy degree to a graduate role at M3 Consulting, through an MSc at Reading, and into the upper echelons of international real estate investment and development. He reflects on the blurred lines between project management and development management, the value of being a sponge early in your career, and the importance of putting your hand up for new challenges before you feel fully ready.
Beyond his own trajectory, Harry explores Oxford Properties' current European strategy - from landmark London offices to logistics and life sciences - and his conviction that high-quality core London real estate remains one of the most resilient asset classes through any cycle. The conversation tackles the industry's biggest challenge: decarbonising the built environment whilst delivering more homes and workspace, and why moving fast and breaking things simply doesn't work in real estate.
We wrap up the conversation with the optimism question and challenge the industry to keep the narrative upbeat to enable us to attract capital and the workforce of the future.

Lire plusRéduire

1. David Partridge, Founder of Senze: King's Cross, Placemaking and Future of Sustainable Housing

Saison 1 · Épisode 1

mardi 17 février 2026 • Durée 01:01:46

In this episode of Development Diaries, host John Guest sits down with industry legend David Partridge, former senior partner and chairman of Argent and Related Argent, whose 35-year career has shaped some of the UK's most iconic developments including King's Cross, Brindley Place, and Manchester Piccadilly - spanning over 21 million square feet of transformative real estate.

David shares his journey from qualified architect to development leader, offering candid insights into his early days at Cambridge, co-founding Gebler Tooth Partridge in the 1980s, and joining Argent in 1990.
He reflects on navigating multiple recessions, pioneering mixed-use developments, and the evolution of placemaking from a theoretical concept to industry standard practice.

Beyond his development legacy, David discusses his current mission driving the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard and founding Senze, a data-driven business helping social housing providers retrofit homes efficiently and affordably. Using smart monitoring technology, Senze is tackling one of the sector's biggest challenges: decarbonising 29 million UK homes.
The conversation explores the importance of staying curious, finding creative solutions to industry challenges.

Lire plusRéduire

Podcasts Similaires Basées sur le Contenu

Découvrez des podcasts liées à Development Diaries. Explorez des podcasts avec des thèmes, sujets, et formats similaires. Ces similarités sont calculées grâce à des données tangibles, pas d'extrapolations !

Il n'y a pas de contenu associé à ce podcast.

À propos Méthodologie Contact Me soutenir Politique de confidentialité Mentions légales

Development Diaries – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Détails du podcast

Classements récents

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Liens partagés entre épisodes et podcasts

Qualité et score du flux RSS

Historique des publications

Derniers épisodes publiés

Podcasts et contenus similaires

Podcasts Similaires Basées sur le Contenu

Podcasts Similaires Basées sur le Contenu

Apple Podcasts

Spotify