meet The Board
Michèle E. Gottier is Director and Head of Operated Living Europe at Swiss Life Asset Managers and serves as Chair of the Impact & Places partnership, representing the Swiss investor.
She brings over 15 years of experience across pan-European real estate investment, development, transactions, and joint ventures. Her remit includes the strategic development and governance of residential-led, operated living platforms across Europe, with a focus on scalable, partner-led structures.
With an academic background in architecture, Michèle combines investment expertise with a strong understanding of design, placemaking, and the operational drivers of lived environments. She represents the investor at board level, with a focus on long-term value creation, impact, and disciplined growth.
Frances Spence joined Swiss Life Asset Managers in 2013 and is the Head of UK, Research, Strategy and Risk. She is responsible for the formation of the UK house view, working across all strategies, as well as monitoring and reporting operational and investment risks across the UK business. She is a member of the UK Executive Board, UK Investment Risk Committee, and sits as the UK representative on the Management Committee Risk at Swiss Life Asset Managers.
Frances has more than 20 years’ experience in the real estate sector, covering different sectors, geographies, and working with operational real estate. Prior to Swiss Life Asset Managers, she spent several years working in the EMEA research team at JLL. She holds her Investment Management Certificate, is a FCA Approved Person, and is a member of the Society of Property Researchers.
Fay leads the Equity & Partnerships transaction team, a nationally based team of experienced investment professionals within the NHB. The team has responsibility for the delivery of transactions in which NHB has taken an equity participation, both direct and indirect.
Prior to joining the NHB, Fay worked for an international law firm and investment arm of a large international infrastructure group and brings experience in the structuring and delivery of large-scale property joint ventures and regeneration partnerships.
Neil is the Head of Structured Real Estate and Infrastructure Finance team within the NHB, with responsibility for the delivery of complex structured transactions in the living sector, including higher value and corporate lending opportunities.
Neil leads a nationally based team of experienced funding specialists focussing on complex residential lead development transactions, including senior debt and mezzanine finance (both bi-lateral and A/B participation structures) multi-site facilities and balance sheet lending.
Prior to joining the NHB, Neil spent over 25 years with RBS in the Corporate Real Estate sector with experience of managing distressed loans. More recently working as a Principal Consultant for KPMG in Cyprus, supporting the deleverage of a €50bn non-performing loan book.
Neil has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Capital & Centric/Swiss Life Joint Venture that the NHB have taken an equity participation in.
Tom joined Capital&Centric in 2017 and became Joint Managing Director in 2021. Tom oversees finance, development, construction and operational real estate, and leads strategic funding initiatives including debt raising and equity partnerships. Tom has over 15 years of experience in the property industry with a reputation for structuring complex transactions. His experience spans the full development lifecycle: sourcing, planning, funding and delivery. Tom holds a first-class honours degree in Urban Land Economics and qualified as a chartered surveyor in 2013.
Tom began his real estate career in the PBSA sector where he acquired several assets across the UK and mainland Europe. During this time, Tom was engaged in fund management for both open and close-ended fund structures, and Tom established a development business in the Netherlands. Prior to joining Capital&Centric, Tom worked within the development division of a tier one contractor, focusing primarily on hotel development.
John was appointed Joint Managing Director of Capital & Centric in 2021, and, alongside fellow MD Tom Wilmot, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the business. While jointly steering the company’s strategy, John’s focus is on building the future pipeline of developments and ensuring long-term growth. John worked on the formation of the Impact & Places Partnership.
After graduating from the University of Reading with a degree in Economics with a specialism in land and regeneration, John began his career at Nikal Ltd., delivering high-profile developments nationwide.
Notable projects included Exchange Square in Birmingham, a £125m, 603-home Build-to-Rent scheme, and launching a SIPP-compatible, fractionally owned serviced office concept, which saw him crowned Property Week’s Rising Star of the Office Industry in 2008.
In 2016, he joined Capital & Centric, the same year he was named Insider North West’s Young Property Professional of the Year. Since then, John has overseen transformational projects including the redevelopment of Weir Mill in Stockport, Crusader Mill and Phoenix in Manchester.
Guillaume is a Portfolio Manager at Swiss Life Asset Managers, having joined the firm in 2019. He initially focused on the management of a diversified pan-European core+ fund before assuming responsibilities within the Strategic Investment Management team in 2026.
With over 13 years of European real estate experience, Guillaume previously worked at Lendlease, specialising in UK shopping centres and affordable housing. Earlier in his career, he spent six years in Germany in acquisitions, valuation, and product management roles. He is a CFA charter holder and served on the INREV Performance Measurement Committee from 2023 to 2025.