WftF Opportunity MMC speakers

Jessie is jointly responsible for the development and delivery of the festival. Her previous roles included working for a leading anti-slavery organisation, developing key stakeholder relationships and supporting organisational growth. Jessie is passionate about social justice and equality. Her work is motivated by her conviction of the value and dignity of every person. She is currently undertaking a MSt in Social Innovation at the Cambridge Judge Business School.

Jez has initiated and managed strategic development in a variety of settings. His previous positions include CEO of Guildhall Barrister’s Chambers, and CEO of a charitable national skills training organisation. He founded the Bristol Housing Festival in 2018 and believes collaboration is the key to lasting social development. Jez lives in Bristol with his wife, Joanna and his three children.

BoKlok is a joint venture between Skanska and IKEA and has built over 14,000 homes across the Nordics. A development business that delivers complete modular homes with quality performance. It prides itself on customer satisfaction, delivering ‘sustainable homes for the many people’.

Graeme has led the UK business since it launched in 2019, growing the business to two regions, South Coast and Southwest of England. BoKlok as its first two schemes in the UK up and running with a further seven planned during 2022.

Graeme takes huge pride and responsibility in representing such a fantastic brand in the UK. His Resume speaks volumes, as he has a long career across all sectors in Construction, from Pre-Construction, commercial and residential Completion and has been involved in some of the UK’s most exciting construction projects.

Ellie Jenkins is a Partner at Akerlof, a market-leading consultancy that specialises in integrating Modern Methods of Construction to realise better social, environmental, and economic outcomes. With over 10 years of experience in social impact, community engagement and stakeholder management, Ellie has substantial experience of working with private and public sector clients to optimise outcomes. Experienced in balancing long-term strategic priorities with pragmatic solutions to maximise, measure and evaluate social value in the built environment; Ellie previously led the social impact and community team for a Tier 1 contractor. As the Industry Project Lead for the Value Toolkit, Ellie is responsible for guiding the project through its extensive industry pilot phase and preparing for industry-wide launch.