The RICS Governing Council has announced the appointment of Lord Michael Bichard as an Interim Senior Independent Governor. It follows the recommendations made in Bichard’s Review into the RICS’ Purpose, Governance and Strategy. As per recommendation 30 of the Bichard RICS Review, Members of Governing Council agreed the merger of the Nominations and Renumerations Committees to form a new merged Nomination and Renumeration Committee.
This Committee will be co-chaired by the current Chairs Harriet Kemp (Renumeration) and Desmond Hudson (Nominations) until early 2023. The new Committee have now also approved the new appointments model which will enable them to have oversight of all governance appointments.
The first of these governance appointments is the appointment of Lord Michael Bichard who said: “I am very pleased to be appointed as the interim senior independent governor. I developed a strong affinity for RICS and its members during the course of working on my report and I am delighted to help deliver my recommendations at pace.”
Lord Michael Bichard will take on this position immediately, in order to oversee timely implementation over the coming months, giving clarity and additional knowledge around his recommendations, as well as providing certainty to our professionals and stakeholders over their implementation. Given his in-depth knowledge of our organisation and our future focuses, due to the extensive consultation with our professionals and stakeholders, his input and insight will be extremely valuable as we become a truly member-led organisation, placing the public interest at the heart of our work.
Said Nicholas Maclean, Chair of Governing Council (Interim): “Our members were rightly impressed with Lord Bichard’s review and his passion for our profession. As we move to implement his recommendations at pace, we see no one better placed to work with us in the interim to ensure the actions follow our member feedback and sentiment, as Lord Bichard received this directly, or to hold the board to account in setting the strategy of the organisation to meet the challenges of the future.”
