Andrew Casselden appointed as new Director of Estates

Andrew Casselden has been appointed as the new Director of Estates for the University of Reading, following a competitive recruitment process.

He will be replacing Janis Pich, who is due to retire at the end of this year.

As Director of Estates Andrew will lead the delivery and enhancement of the Estates function which comprises Maintenance & Grounds, Sustainability, Campus Services, Strategy & Space Management, Strategic Estates Management and Projects teams. He will be working to develop a new Estates Strategy to support the sustainability principles in our University Strategy and our commitment to be Net Zero Carbon by 2030.

Andrew joins us on 1 February 2022 from the University of Bristol where he has served as Head of Capital Development for the past six years. Andrew will be part of the Leadership Group and will report into Chief Strategy Officer and University Secretary Dr Richard Messer.

Announcing Andrew’s appointment, Dr Richard Messer said, “I am delighted that Andrew Casselden is joining us. He brings extensive experience in property, construction, and project management, not only within higher education but advising organisations in the commercial and public sectors. This will be essential in ensuring that Estates continue to successfully deliver services and facilities to meet ever changing demands.”

Andrew said, “I am delighted to be joining the University of Reading. The University has an excellent reputation for multidisciplinary research, collaboration, and transformative teaching, and I am genuinely excited by the prospect of working with an outstanding group of colleagues in helping it to achieve the goal of being a world-changing institution.

“I have a natural affinity with the University, having studied here many years ago; and the campuses look as beautiful, and the people as friendly as they ever were. This is both an exciting and challenging time to be joining the University; we must develop comprehensive plans for securing an estate that is fit for the future, whilst remaining flexible to meet our ever changing current needs and caring for our historic past. I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead this work”.

Extensive experience

At Bristol Andrew has been leading the delivery of the university’s £600 million capital development and infrastructure programme, including the development of the new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. An integral part of one of the UK’s largest urban regeneration projects, it will be home to 3,000 students and 800 university staff, business and community partners and provide residential accommodation for over 950 students.

Prior to joining Bristol, Andrew held senior positions in several international property and construction consultancies where he provided strategic property, procurement and construction advice to organisations including Red Bull, the Intellectual Property Office, John Lewis, Public Health England and several University of Oxford colleges.