Caroline is Interim Managing Director at Be First, the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham’s urban regeneration agency. Be First has successfully established itself as one of the largest affordable housing developers in the UK, with 1 in 5 affordable homes built by London councils between 2020-2024 having been delivered by the company.

With a background in planning, having first joined Be First as Chief Planning Director back in 2018, Caroline’s remit has increasingly widened and she is now responsible for driving forward Be First’s next chapter. She is responsible for cultivating new opportunities for the business to create and deliver value to LBBD from both a commercial and social perspective.

Prior to Be First, she was JLL’s first female Planning Director in London, and she also worked for CBRE. Caroline has a great love for cities and the built environment, and enjoys working with people who like to get things done. Thinking strategically is her super-power, and she's not afraid of voicing an opinion, with the purpose of making things better. To this end she's a regular panellist, podcaster and conference presenter, and became Chair for Future of London in 2025.