The Judges

UK Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar. He has been closely involved with property issues in his various roles within the Conservative Party, which included Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Parliamentary Environment, Transport and The Regions Committee and is now Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government.

President of International Relations Comitee FNAIM, French Real Estate Federation French Riviera. Member of NAR National Association of Realtors. Member of the Board French Chapter of FIABCI France Vice-President Exchange Comitee FIABCI International. Regional Representative FIABCI France French Riviera. Member of the Board of French Riviera & Regional Comitee FNAIM. CIPS/TRC.

Hans-Ulrich Berendes - President of Berendes & Partner Consulting. Hans has worked in Real Estate since the 80s and has established his business as a leader in Coperate Real Estate, Brokerage, Investment and Development. Hans is also a member FIABCI (German President), SIOR (member of international advisors board) and Uberseeclub Hamburg.

Ed Binkley, AIA, National Design Director Since 1979, Ed Binkley has been involved in award-winning design projects throughout the USA, including housing, hospitality, institutional, recreational and commercial. He designed The New American Home® in 2007 and 2005 for the International Builders' Show and created the 2006 Boomer Concept house for Hanley Wood publications. His long list of accomplishments is highlighted by his most gratifying project, the 1998 Homes for Habitat Design Award, a charity build featured on CBS This Morning and during a 13-week series on Bob Vila's Home Again. In addition, Ed speaks at national and regional conventions, conducts design seminars, participates in residential design trends roundtables and writes articles on home design for national and local publications. As National Design Director, Ed challenges designers in BSB Design's 15 regional offices to deliver the finest in creative work to our clients.

As the Design Director for Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, Geoff is responsible for maintaining and improving the quality of all projects across the company.Geoff has over twenty years experience, including five years in Italy with Renzo Piano, and has collaborated on and designed many innovative award winning buildings around the world.

Adrian Coolbergen is a successful entrepreneur having built up a large horticultural business supplying salads to Tesco. After selling the business in the late nineties he moved into property design and construction resulting in a number of successful commercial and residential builds and conversions. Adrian now works extensively with Savills and Quantum Homes Ltd. on the investment and refurbishment of numerous properties throughout London, Bournemouth and Pool and have won many special awards for Sustainable Designs in the Pool area. Adrian is Managing Director of Starguard Development Ltd. and a director of Quantum Land Ltd.

Raúl Curiel is Chairman, European Operations of Leading Architectural Practice Aukett Fitzroy Robinson. Raúl is a US-trained architect with over thirty years' professional experience, particularly in the sectors of office and residential design and masterplanning, and has practiced in the United Kingdom and Brazil. He is currently in charge of AukettFitzroyRobinson's European network, with offices in central and Eastern Europe.

Imtiaz Farookhi has been Chief Executive at NHBC since 1997. He was born Washington DC, and was educated at the Universities of Kent and London. He has a track record of improving corporate and operational efficiency and effectiveness. A former Board member of the Environment Agency and of the Learning and Skills Council Imtiaz has substantial experience in both urban regeneration and post 16 Education Policy. He has also served on the Further Education Funding Council, on several public private partnerships and as a non-executive on a Training and Enterprise Council and on a Business Link. He is currently Chairman of the National Skills Forum for Construction and the Built Environment and a Board member of the Thames Gateway Urban Development Corporation.

Currently Design Manager for Laura Ashley Home, Gillian trained as a textile designer before embarking on a varied career as a designer of home furnishings and interiors with Sanderson and Monkwell, working for markets at home and abroad. As Design Manager at Laura Ashley Home she creates seasonal themes, which reflect the heritage of the famous brand, whilst embracing new fashions and colour trends. A passionately held belief is that beautiful, well-designed, desirable objects do not need to cost a fortune.

Omer Ghani is Director of Sales at CNBC Arabia, our primary sponsor. The channel is the recognized leader for business news in the region and a reference for its real sector. Omer is responsible for sales and marketing and has been in this role since the channels launch in 2003.

Christopher Hall is the Immed. Past President of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and also holds the Transnational Referral Certificate designation awarded by NAR. During his term as President he was committed to helping improving the awareness of the perception of estate agents and has also been instrumental in helping to get a fair deal for the home seller with regard to the home information pack shortly to be mandatorily introduced by the ODPM. Another of his passions is the introduction of regulation worldwide and has recently introduced the International Charter encouraging a common code of practice. Christopher was born and bred in Norfolk (UK), has travelled and worked extensively abroad, is a keen sports fan, including rugby, football, tennis, skiing and golf and says his family, Wendy and 6 year old Ben support him to the hilt.

David Hoppit was property correspondent for the Daily Telegraph from 1979 to 1989, during which time he wrote three books about overseas property. Since then he has continued to write for most of the national newspapers and many magazines, including International Homes, which he edited in the early years. He has been named property writer of the year on several occasions.

Mike Jordan of Cornish Stairways and former Chairman of school of Architecture University. I'm a passionate stairway designer with an international reputation. I have worked for many years on global iconic buildings , most notably the Burj Al Arab Hotel , Dubai for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince, and many others in the region. I also design stairways for super yachts . A qualified engineer with a second degree in Business Management, I have a strong background in architecture being past Chairman of the School of Architecture , University of Plymouth and have gained much experience in working with some of the world's best architects over the years.

Initially planned a career as a lawyer. Christian H. Kälin is an international real estate, tax and estate-planning specialist and a partner at Henley & Partners, Zurich. He is also a member of the board of directors of the International Financial and Legal Network (IFLN), Zurich, and one of the founding partners of Verica Trust & Capital Management, Zug, an investment advisory firm with a strong focus on real estate. He also specialises in real-estate structuring and real-estate investments and is the editor as well as one of the co-authors of the International Real Estate Handbook, a standard work in the

Editor of International Homes, English Homes and World's Best Developers and Estate Agents. Jill has edited a number of national and international magazines as well as being a radio presenter and newsreader, newspaper columnist, freelance writer and PR executive. While working in these different areas of the media, property has always been of foremost interest and this has culminated in her editorship of the UK's leading magazine for overseas home buyers. - International Homes

Neil is General Manager is External Relations and has overall responsibility for NHBC's media, external and public affairs activities. Neil trained as a surveyor and is a Chartered Builder. His previous roles at NHBC include Regional Director and Head of Registration.
Neil is also Managing Director of the National Centre for Excellence in Housing, a joint venture launched by NHBC and BRE. The National Centre was appointed by the joint Government/industry 2016 Task force to oversee research into zero carbon and this is a key focus of Neil's work.

Chairman of the British Interior Design Association, Dean is Managing Director of Armstrong Keyworth Interior Design. Before setting up Armstrong Keyworth in 1997, Dean was an international marketing manager and uses this management experience as well as his creative flair to ensure that client projects run smoothly and efficiently.

Peter Bolton King became Chief Executive of the National Association of Estate Agents in July 2003. The NAEA is the largest professional body for estate agents. Peter is passionate about raising standards in the industry and also raising customer awareness of the benefits of the Association. He is currently heavily involved with Government over the forthcoming Home Information Packs and related matters. Peter Bolton King lives with his wife Laura and two sons, Alex aged 16 and Chris aged 20 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. His interests include sports, particularly golf and travelling with his family.

Wilson, a Singaporean, equipped with 17 years of extensive experience in real estate consultancy covering all aspects of real estate development, valuation, management, marketing, and financing. After completing his degree in Commerce he went onto publish colums on property management in leading newspaper, Singapore's Shenyang. Wilson has be prolific in Asia Pacific by sharing his expertise at various seminars and at the World Congresss FIABCI meets in 2006 and 2007. He is a member of various property bodies and his work has been acknowledged with the Public Service Medal presented to him by the president of Singaporein 2006.

Mark is a Marketing Manager for Daily Mail Classified where he leads a team who are responsible for the marketing of 16 categories including Franchising. Mark has worked for Associated Newspapers for 10 years and has spent time working in Marketing for the Evening Standard, Metro and The Mail on Sunday. During this time he gained a MBA from the University of Glasgow specialising in Marketing & Strategy.

Guy Medd has spent the majority of his 25 year career in property finding and selling homes for busy executives and their families in the prime neighbourhoods of Central London, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk as well as holiday homes in France. During his career he has worked with premier tier firms of estate agents such as John D Wood and Goldchmidt & Howland in London as well as a full service relocation firm who specialised in dealing with all aspects of moving senior executives and their families internationally for Fortune 500 companies such as J P Morgan Chase & Co, Coca Cola and Citigroup. Guy's company Chosen Homes specialises in providing a truly bespoke home search service.

As Managing Director of Crestron UK, Robin van Meeuwen sees at first hand the difference technology can make to our homes. His belief in providing the very best in customer service coupled with truly innovative technology has put Crestron at the forefront of control and automation market in the UK. As Robin himself says, 'By using our products, people interact with, and experience, the best of the technology in their homes, offices, schools, and in hotels and leisure parks worldwide. Technology should protect you, entertain you, keep you comfortable and give you more free time for the things that really matter.'

Sarah Purves has been an Interior Designer for Laura Ashley for nearly 5 years. Having completed over 150 projects including commercial and residential properties, Sarah has also worked on exhibition schemes, including Grand Designs, The Times Home Show and BBC Good Homes. She is currently based in Colchester and looks after clients throughout Essex.

Jonathan Price is President of the UK Chapter of FIABCI - The International Real Estate Federation. He is also Managing Director of Business Centre Capital Co, B3C, a sector specialist real estate fund management advisory company. B3C is the world's leading fund manager for business centres and serviced offices, matching up major investors with the high yields and growth opportunities available in value added real estate.

Oliver is a director of ORMS which he founded in 1984. He has beeninstrumental in creating the breadth of work of ORMS which includes masterplanning, new buildings, reuse and interiors. He has headed projects in 4 European countries and school and university design projects at ORMS. These have included educational masterplans and a series of individual buildings. Oliver has recently been elected to RIBA Council and sits on the CABE Schools Design Panel. He is also a governor of a local London school which is currently becoming an Academy. In addition he teaches in the Learning From Practice unit at the Bartlett and is a professional advisor for students from Cambridge University.

Co-founder, former editor and now Editor-in-Chief of International Homes, English Homes, International Homes Luxury Collection and World's Best Developers and Estate Agents. She organises the International Property exhibitions around the UK, bringing her matchless knowledge of the trends and moods of the industry as she communicates face-to-face with highly influential professionals as well as the house-buying public.

Phil Spencer is passionate about property. When he is not running his successful property search company Garrington Home Finders, he co-presents Channel 4's Location and Relocation property shows. A qualified surveyor with a degree in Estate Management, Phil has a strong background in the London property market and has gained extensive experience from both the vendor's and buyer's perspective. He has regular slots in both national press and radio shows.

Thijs Stoffer has an extensive international experience in US and European business development and strategic consulting. He has a wide ranged network and speaks multiple languages. Thijs worked as consultant to the International Consortium of Real Estate Associations since 2004 before becoming its CEO in 2007. Thijs was awarded an honorary CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist) designation in 2005. As manager business development, Thijs Stoffer worked for the Dutch subsidiary of a US corporation selling business information systems and direct marketing services. Thijs Stoffer was trained in strategic communications, political science and international relations.

Mark studied furniture design and interior design at the London College of Furniture, before working for Habitat and going on to help launch Next Interiors in the early 80's. From there he moved to Jane Churchill, Colefax & Fowler and eventually Laura Ashley Design Service where he worked around the UK and helped establish their franchise businesses in the Middle East. Mark has been involved with 100% Design, Decorex, BBC Good Homes, Grand Designs, The Country Living Fair and the Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition, as well as designing show homes and is currently representing Silent Gliss in Central London. He is passionate about good design and architecture.

Paul Tayler is vice chairman of the Residential faculty board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and chair of the Estate Agency group. He has more than 20 years of estate agency experience including being Central London Director variously with Savills, Sotheby's and Hampton's. He is recognized as a specialist in the highest value Belgravia, Mayfair, Kensington, and Chelsea markets and has acted on behalf of several of the main landowners here including the Grosvenor Estate, the Cadogan Estate, and the Crown Estate. He is currently a consultant valuer to the Grosvenor Estate, was recently chair of the working group to revise and re-issue the Manual of Estate Agency for the RICS, and he sits on one of the working groups for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on Home Buying Reform.

Former chairman of the British Interior Design Association, Diana is Interior Design Director of Yakeley Associates Architects. Passionate about the built environment, she has been working to raise the profile of good interior design in the building industry. Her work in interiors and garden design both in the UK and overseas, is widely published.

Tad Zurlinden has long been associated with the relocation industry. In 1985 he opened a homesearch agency in East Anglia. Tad was a driving force behind the formation of the Association of Relocations Professionals (formerly the Association of Relocation Agents) in June 1986 and went on to become its first Chief Executive in 1987. Tad is still very much a part of the ARP and has worked over the years with successive Council Members to build the Association. Today the ARP has over 200 members. Between 1997 and 1998 Tad was invited to structure the formation of the am Relocation Association becoming amRA's General Secretary following its formation. Again Tad has worked closely with the Association's Council to build an organisation, which is now recognised globally.