Anna Strongman, the CEO of Oxford University Developments, has joined the Government Property Agency's board as a non-executive director.
Strongman, who is also a non-executive director for Dolphin Living, will work alongside GPA chair Pat Ritchie and takes up the position vacated by Jane Hamilton, whose tenure ended earlier this year.
The board’s principal function is to advise the CEO Mark Bourgeois, whose role was made permanent last month, and the Cabinet Office on the strategic direction of the agency. The board and its sub-committees represent its top level of governance and feed into ministers.
Strongman was previously managing partner of Argent in London, where she spent 12 years working on a range of asset, development and business planning projects.
The GPA says she was instrumental in building the business from 40 people to a team of 200 over a ten-year period and led the corporate side of the business as managing partner.
She became CEO of OUD in 2020, which is a joint venture between Oxford University and Legal & General, set up to build innovation districts and subsidised accommodation for graduate students and the university workforce.
Strongman also recently took part in a podcast campaign to highlight the issues facing parents working in real estate, arguing that families need more support from the government to ensure people can stay in work while raising young families.
Ritchie said in a statement: "[Anna] will further strengthen the board bringing expertise spanning development, investment and asset management across retail, residential, life sciences and mixed-use regeneration schemes.