Mark Farmer, Founding Director and CEO, of real estate and construction consultancy Cast.

Mark has nearly 30 years of experience in the construction and real estate sectors and has become a recognised commentator and thought leader on a variety of issues. Mark has been at the forefront of emerging UK residential market segments such as Build to Rent and Later Living. He is also playing a leading role in modernising the construction industry through the adoption of greater levels of pre-manufacturing using more integrated and digitally enabled delivery models. Mark is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Vice Chairman of the Urban Land Institute UK Residential Council, and a member of the British Property Federation Build to Rent sub-committee and co-chairman of Constructing Excellence.

Mark Farmer joins us for the first event in our 2018-19 keynote lecture series Constructs: digital innovation in the built environment.

An unprecedented set of structural resourcing risks now face UK construction, including an ageing workforce, migrant dependency increasingly threatened by Brexit and the ongoing challenge of attracting new talent into the industry. Against that backdrop, this lecture will look at the growing productivity imperative and whether we are now on a forced journey to adopting new delivery models embracing digital technology, integrated working and greater levels of manufacturing. Mark will also explore the role of government in initiating strategic industry modernisation.