Nominations for the HubbleHQ Office of the Future Awards (HOFFAs) have now closed and you know what that means? Judgment Day is fast approaching.
All doom and gloom aside, London’s most innovative and dynamic workspaces are ready to get the recognition they deserve and celebrated for reinventing office culture.
But who gets to deliberate? We thought you’d ask.
HubbleHQ have put together an esteemed lineup of judges for this years HOFFAs. From CEOs to designers, the panel are experts in all things visionary. So sit down, grab a coffee and say hello to this year’s judges!
Stefanie Woodward
Stefanie Woodward is Partner and Head of Interior Design at Cushman & Wakefield, London.
Before this, Stefanie worked at Interior Architects and teamed up with business giants such as Sky, Wella and the flexible workspace brand WeWork, where she assisted in delivering 12 sites across Europe.
Her glittering resume also includes seven years at Regus (IWG), which gave Stefanie unique insight into the needs of the flexible workspace market, from the clients’ perspective. She also worked on special projects such as developing new design guidelines for various sub-brands, including the roll-out of Spaces – IWG’s coworking solution.
As you can see, Stefanie is all about workspace design. Her varied career developed her interest and passion for the flexible space sector.
Mark Lewarne
One of our very own, Mark Lewarne is Head of Real Estate and Workplace Strategy at HubbleHQ.
In the early 2000s, Mark was an early WiFi pioneer and CEO of AIM Listed Spectrum Interactive, before moving into the flexible workspace industry in 2011. He started with Regus (IWG) and then at the Ministry of Sound, where he established their first flex site The Ministry. In 2018, Mark joined HubbleHQ and now heads up the team that manages Host (Operators and Landlords) relationships.
Toby Benzecry
Toby Benzecry is CEO and founder of Workplace Futures Group, the parent company of Modus (who are our lovely sponsors this year), Ambit, Two and Platform.
He’s a Cambridge graduate and started his professional life in the manufacturing industry as an engineer. After securing an MBA at Warwick, he moved into management consultancy in 1986 and worked in a wide range of industries, including the construction sector, before founding the business in 1991.
Since that time, Workplace Futures – through its subsidiaries – has designed, fitted out and furnished millions of square feet of office space for thousands of clients. Modus particularly has made a name for itself in the flexible space sector – through serviced offices, coworking and now flex. The company has formulated a programme for these “pre-fitted” spaces: Tenant-Ready™.
Toby has a particular interest in this area of the market and has worked with several of the main brands as a consultant, helping them to devise their strategies and create unique market propositions.
Adam Malik
As Equiem’s Head of Business Development for Europe, Adam has been integral to growing the firm’s brand and business in the region, helping drive the roll-out of Equiem’s technology and services across more than 11 million sq ft in the UK and Ireland since joining in 2018.
Adam started his career in real estate with Berlin Capital (now part of JLL), a boutique advisory and brokerage, providing access to investment opportunities across residential and commercial assets and working with listed property funds to help raise and invest their equity.
Following this, he spent 10 years at Investis, a leading digital communications company with a strong focus on real estate, spearheading their expansion into Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
Adam believes that Equiem is the amalgamation of his two passions; real estate and technology.
Tushar Agarwal
Tushar is the Co-founder and CEO at HubbleHQ, the UK’s largest online marketplace for renting office space. Combining technology, data and property expertise, Tushar and the team have brought the office search and rental market online for the first time, placing a business in a new office every three hours.
After working in investment banking at Greenhill & Co., RBS, Barclays and Morgan Stanley, Tushar was selected by Entrepreneur First, as part of a cohort of 35, to build a high-growth technology startup. It was here that he met Tom, Co-founder and CTO, and HubbleHQ was born. As CEO, Tushar drives the company vision; using the unique combination of cutting-edge tech, unrivalled data, and experienced property experts to ensure that every business has the right workspace to succeed.
Benedetta Mahina Maisano
After graduating from Cambridge University with a BA in Philosophy and a Graduate Diploma in Economics, Benedetta spent a year working at the EBRD, financing and advising SMEs in emerging economies.
Looking to invest in new technologies in the sustainability sector, she joined the research team at Wheatsheaf, Grosvenor’s AgriTech fund. As her research project drew to a close a year ago, Benedetta started her journey with Concrete VC, a Proptech focused investment platform working with world-class real estate players (including JLL, Nuveen, Starwood Capital and Vinci Construction, amongst others) to support innovators who are transforming the built environment.
Benedetta spends most of her time at Concrete looking for exciting investment opportunities, with particular focus on the construction, big data and sustainability spaces.
