Introducing LionHeart's new CEO
My name is Phil Sparke and I am the new CEO of LionHeart, writing this blog by way of introduction to the people who support us and use our services.
Now a couple of months or so into my role as CEO, I have had the opportunity to understand more about this remarkable charity and the work that it does for RICS professionals and their families, both in the UK and globally.
I have been particularly struck by a very strong sense of identity across this community, perhaps because RICS is the sole regulating body for surveyors, and LionHeart is in turn the sole benevolent fund operating in support of RICS members. In a former life in the Royal Navy (I spent 26 years as a naval officer) I was very used to the sense that we were all there for each other, and I see something rather similar within the surveying family. This can have a very affirming effect on individuals within a community, and can be very powerful in making them and their professional entities more resilient as a result.
I have also been very struck by the extent to which LionHeart understands the profession it supports. Taking the LionHeart support services team as a case in point - with an average length of service of around 20 years - the team members are incredibly familiar with the challenges that surveyors and their families can face, with an extraordinary depth of experience in terms of how best to respond in order to support the individual affected out of whatever predicament or situation it is that they’re facing. Should this require counselling, LionHeart is also unique in being able to offer this in-house - providing highly qualified and professional support which is also context aware, as a particular added value for the people who call upon this service.
"None of us can be sure when life is going to launch a curve ball at us - or how it will land"
We will shortly be releasing our latest Impact Report which will show a rise in demand for all of our key support services during the latest financial year from 2023/24, following the trend of year-on-year growth. An increase of 100% in the call on our services over the past five years is perhaps indicative of a growing need within the surveying community in general. But this is of course placing a significant challenge on LionHeart’s resources - operating in close partnership with RICS but completely independently funded as an autonomous charity. As we celebrate our 125th anniversary, it will be our challenge to ensure LionHeart’s income matches its expenditure, to ensure that the charity is here to support surveyors and their families for the next 125 years with the same quality of service as it does now.
None of us can be sure when life is going to launch a curve ball at us, and none of us can be sure of being immune to that ball when it lands. But surveyors and their families can be sure that LionHeart will be there when that moment occurs - trusted, knowledgeable, independent and consistent in its response.
This is a big year for LionHeart as it celebrates its 125th anniversary and looks back with pride on the many years of support for the surveying family. In the coming months we will be finalising our next strategy, which will shape how we continue that support over the next few years. I am thrilled to support this extraordinary endeavour as CEO, with the same commitment as I have seen right across the charity from staff and trustees.
Phil Sparke joined LionHeart in March 2024 after 12 years as chief executive of the charity HCPT. Prior to that, he spent 26 years as a Royal Navy officer, holding various senior strategic and operational roles. Pictured above right with LionHeart vice chair Philippa Sampson-Bancroft.
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