Partner Article

North West property firm expands senior team

North West property developer CERT property has expanded its senior team with two new appointments.

Chris Hosty has joined the business as Head of Design, while George Konstantakopoulos has been brought on board as Head of Innovation and Ventures.

Having run his own architecture practice, Chris has worked across multiple property sectors including; residential, commercial and leisure, counting CERT as one of his clients. Now, his new role will include responsibility for ensuring consistency across all CERT projects and developing a clear direction for the company’s future.

Chris said: “Having worked for myself for the best part of 10 years, I felt the time was right to switch things up and try something new.

“Low-carbon construction and new ways of living sustainably are essential for the future of our communities; this role appealed to me as it will allow me to utilise, progress and share my sustainable design skills as an architect, as well as weave in experience from my time as a consultant. There are some incredibly progressive CERT projects going on at the moment and I can’t wait to be a part of them.

“As CERT grows and expands into new service lines in the future, one of my main tasks will be to ensure all areas of the business are coherent and align well with one another – I’ll be working across various teams, helping to bring together different elements to take the company forward and truly lead the market.

“There’s an amazingly talented team here already, so I’m looking forward to playing a role in CERT’s next chapter and helping to build on its success.”

Howard Lord, managing director at CERT said: “We are really proud to have someone of Chris’ calibre on board. Chris joining our team is such a natural step – we have worked on many projects successfully together, he understands us intimately and our commitment to delivering high quality design and implementing modern methods of construction across our schemes going forward.”

Heading up the Innovation and Ventures department is George Konstantakopoulos, who previously worked for an arts, culture and social innovation enterprise, FutureEverything, leading on Social Innovation & Enterprise for and Horizon 2020 project.

George was also programme manager for Innovate Manchester, an events and innovation workshops programme that brought together international corporates, start-ups and academia to collaborate in shaping innovative solutions for a more human-centric, ethical and sustainable future.

As part of his role at CERT, George will spearhead investment in businesses that innovate and match the company’s own goals on sustainability, including creating a strong proptech vision for the future.

He will work with the wider team to identify businesses that can enhance how CERT’s tenants, both commercial and residential, live and work.

As part of the Ventures division, CERT is also committed to promoting diversity and women in business, with Feel Good Club – the wellbeing café at Hilton House in Manchester – a key example of this.

George said: “I’m inspired by CERT’s vision to disrupt the market and stand out from the crowd and I’m thrilled to join and be part of such a modern and forward-thinking business.

“A huge part of my role will be to understand the challenges and opportunities we have as a business, and across the industry, to identify advancements in our operations, supply chain and customer service, for example.

“I have a real passion for innovation, sustainability and creative problem-solving using technology, so it’s very exciting to be able to apply this at CERT, and join what I can already see is an extremely skilled bunch of people.”

George’s integration into the team will open up new opportunities to take CERT forward and help develop new tech-focused solutions as the company continues to go from strength-to-strength.

Howard added: “Tech utilisation and innovation in the property industry is something we strongly believe is long overdue and we aim to be at the forefront of the proptech revolution.

“We are keen to invest in and implement the most exciting new tech ideas out there and George’s experience will be invaluable to help us achieve this goal.”

CERT operates developments across the North West, with commercial offerings including Hilton House in Manchester; Duke & Parr in Liverpool and Elevator, also in Liverpool, while residential sites include Insignia and Kinetic, both in Old Trafford, and Popworks in Ancoats.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harriet Logan .