GPA appoints new COO

The Government Property Agency (GPA) has appointed Lisa Commane as Chief Operating Officer (COO), to support the transformation of the Government estate.

Commane will take up her new role at the end of October and as COO will be responsible for coordinating the delivery of the GPA’s ambitious programme, and overseeing corporate services, including teams working across commercial operations, data and technology systems, security, planning and performance, HR and legal as well as marketing and communications.

Currently COO of Ofwat, Commane has over 20 years’ senior experience in public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Having trained in accountancy at management consultancy KPMG, her previous roles include working at Deloitte and then at Coventry City Council, where she gained extensive experience of developing and implementing overarching change strategies encompassing finance, people, customer, property, data and IT. She is also a board member at the MHA, the UK’s largest charitable provider of care for older people.

Commane joins the GPA as it leads one of the most ambitious workplace transformation programmes in the UK, delivering a smaller, better-connected and better quality, greener property estate to support the work of the Civil Service and bring departmental teams closer to the communities they serve.

Since launching in April 2018, the GPA has taken responsibility for nearly one million sq. m of the Government’s portfolio – managing and maintaining properties and acting as an expert partner to government departments on portfolio planning and workplace services including inclusive design, property technology, sustainability and workplace experience. This expertise has seen the GPA’s Stephenson Street Office in Birmingham awarded as the best employee workplace experience in the UK’s public sector, and within the top two per cent of global workplaces.

The GPA is also delivering the Government Hubs Programme, where recent milestones have included starting construction on the First Street Hub in Manchester, and opening the GPA’s fifth hub in Peterborough.

Speaking about her new role, Commane said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining the GPA at this important time in the agency’s growth and development. I’m looking forward to collaborating with the established Executive team and others to deliver on our ambition for growth across the UK, the green agenda and to play our part in transforming the civil service.”

Steven Boyd, CEO, the GPA said: “Lisa joining us as our new COO further strengthens our executive team as we continue our transformation journey across the Government’s office estate. Lisa’s expertise in leading transformational change will help us deliver the outcomes that our clients and customers need, allowing government departments to continue delivering for the communities they serve.”