Steering Group

Len Bunton FRICS FCIArb Hon FRIAS

Len Bunton is a highly experienced construction industry consultant and now practices as a Conflict Avoidance Consultant and has been a passionate campaigner for changes in the UK construction industry for many years. He acts as an adviser to a number of trade organisations and also to specialist contractors advising on procurement and conflict avoidance. He has made a significant contribution to the work of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, and is delighted to accept a role as the first President of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, and to act as an Ambassador to promote Conflict Avoidance throughout the industry.

Richard Bayfield FICE, FCIArb

Richard Bayfield began his career working as a student at the Thames Barrier. He has held a variety of senior roles as a Contractor, Consultant and Client. He is currently a Vice President at the Institution of Civil Engineers (www.ice.org.uk). He is a former Chair and Honorary member of the Society of Construction Law (www.scl.org.uk ). Recent roles include Client Director / Advisor where he helps Client organisations set up processes, communications, contracts and governance that are purposefully designed to achieve collaborative cultures which reduce the risk of project failure. More at www.richardbayfield.com

Jeremy Glover

Jeremy Glover is a partner at Fenwick Elliott LLP , the UK’s largest construction law firm and is listed as a leader in his field in Who’s Who Legal. Jeremy is an accredited adjudicator, Vice-President of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition, and a member of the CIArb Adjudication Sub-Committee. He is also a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator, Member of the FIDIC President’s List and of the FIDIC Net Zero Task Group TG23. Jeremy is the co-author of Understanding the FIDIC Red and Yellow Book: A Clause by Clause Commentary, the third edition of which was published in 2018, and lead editor of Building Contract Disputes: Practice and Precedents. He is a member of the Board of Examiners on the Construction Law MSc programme at King’s College, and also teaches on the MSc Building Information Modelling Management Programme at Middlesex University. Jeremy serves as the President- of the DRBF Executive Board.

Ed Schryver

Ed is the Group Commercial Director for VVB Engineering (UK) Ltd, a Mechanical and Electrical construction business that operate in the infrastructure sector namely within Rail, Highways, Fire, Power and Energy. Ed is also the Contracts Performance Director for Anthro Solutions, a project specific joint venture between VVB and Egis UK for the delivery of the M&E works on the Old Oak Common station development for High Speed 2. Ed has been in his current position for 5 years having previously worked for Balfour Beatty in the Rail and Major Projects sectors, and for Astins Ltd in the internal fit-out sector. Ed is also an active member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and is Counsellor for a number of candidates seeking their RICS accreditation.

Ian McIlwee, CEO, Finishes and Interiors Sector

Iain McIlwee is a Materials Engineer whose journey in construction started in a scaffolding yard in Hanwell in 1995. He has worked in around construction since in a number of roles including CEO of the British Woodworking Federation, Director of the Fire Door Inspection Scheme and serving as a non-Exec Director of FENSA and Vice Chair of the Construction Products Association. Iain is currently CEO of Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS), the trade body for the £10 billion UK fit-out and finishing sector. In addition to his role at FIS, Iain sits on the Steering Board of the City of London Corporation's Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce and is a Director of Ska Rating a not-for profit accreditation scheme that helps landlords and tenants assess fit-out projects against a set of sustainability good practice criteria. Iain has been a FIR Ambassador since 2021 and active member of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition for the past 3 years.

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Anthony Armitage, Solicitor

Anthony Armitage began his career at Allen & Overy and has practised law in the City of London since then. He is now General Counsel at Thirdway, a market-leading commercial interior design and fit-out contractor based in the heart of London’s historic Clerkenwell. His passion is intelligent design and simplification of contracts and in upholding ethical legal practice in the construction industry. As Chair of the Coalition Contract Group, he leads a team of lawyers and other sector professionals promoting the benefits of contract standardisation as a core element of conflict avoidance.

Sue Barrett

Sue is Head of Contracts and Procurement at the Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority. Leading the Development of the Procurement Strategy for the programme. Sue has worked in the construction industry for over 25 years, in a range of procurement and senior leadership roles. Her experience includes delivering enhancements to strategic network extensions, station capacities and interchanges, and station upgrade schemes. Sue has worked at a strategic level on a number of high value projects. She has been responsible for the development of commercial, procurement and contract strategies across a portfolio of construction projects with individual values in excess of £4bn and a portfolio value of £9bn. Prior to joining the Delivery Authority in 2023 Sue worked at the Urban Growth Company (UGC), where she was a member of the Senior Management Team and [delivered XYZ, driving ABC, etc – say something high level about what you worked on or achieved]. Before that, she worked for Transport for London, where she worked on various initiatives including the Northern Line Extension (a £1bn programme to extend the Northern Line to Battersea), the construction of two new stations and a new line extension, Bank Station Capacity Enhancement using Innovative Contractor Involvement, and the Victoria and Tottenham Court Road Station project (a £550m project to rebuild the station and create the adjacent Crossrail station in a very dense urban environment).

Ashley Belcher

Stephen Blakey FRICS, FCInstCES, FICW

Stephen is Strategic Commercial Director at Network Rail, with 25 years of rail experience and a strong track record in commercial stewardship, governance, and infrastructure delivery. He is widely recognised for leading industry change through innovation and collaboration, including initiatives like the Commercial Directors’ Forum, Fair Payment, and the Rail Method of Measurement. A Fellow of RICS, CICES, and ICW, Stephen has received multiple awards for his leadership in collaborative working. He led Network Rail to achieve ISO44001 accreditation and remains active as an ICW Ambassador, industry speaker, and founding member of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition Steering Group.

Martin Burns BA (Hons) LL.B (Hons) Barrister

Martin Burns is Head of ADR Research and Development at RICS. His role involves working with government and industry bodies in the UK and globally to implement effective ADR solutions for a wide range of sectors, including commercial property, planning and development and construction. Martin is trained mediator and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Julie Forsyth LLB Hons, FCIArb, DipICArb

Julie has been a solicitor specialising in construction and engineering for over 30 years. She is experienced in litigation, arbitration and contract drafting and negotiation. She is a panel adjudicator for CEDR, an RICS accredited mediator and an arbitrator. The expertise and knowledge gained from her immersion in the construction disputes process has motivated her to encourage improvements in the system and to actively work towards early and efficient resolution of conflict on construction projects.

Ysella Jago

Ysella is a Senior Specialist in the Dispute Resolution Service of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) where she promotes the use of alternative dispute resolution across the construction and built environment sectors. She qualified as a solicitor in Scotland in 2012 and is an accredited mediator. She is the Chair of the Scottish Building Contracts Committee (SBCC) and represents SBCC on the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) Board and Council.

Jim McCluskey, FCInstCES FRICS

Jim currently works for the Natural Resources Nuclear and Networks division of Kier Group. He has spent the majority of his career working on major programmes at senior level, such as Devonport Royal Dockyard and HS2 N1/N2. Key achievements include: establishment and building c25 commercial team including change and 2 x apprentices; Whitechapel Main Station Works; Victoria Station Upgrade, one of the first UK projects to use the CAP method to resolve disputes in JV with Bam for client TfL/LUL. Prior to the foregoing he worked as Commercial Lead on A13 trunk road, M11 Stansted slip roads, HS1 CTRL St Pancras, Olympics Infrastructure and East London Line Extension. The majority of the projects since 2002 have been procured on a NEC Option C open book collaborative contracts where a variety of conflict avoidance measures including Dispute Boards have been in place.