‘Be in the room’: Richard Kauntze’s eight lessons from a life in the built environment
Posted on: 6 July, 2026
By Linda Serck
Speaking at University of the Built Environment’s summer 2026 graduation, Richard Kauntze, former Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices and University of the Built Environment Honorary Fellow, shared the career lessons he has learnt from nearly four decades in property – from serendipity and timing to the quiet power of recognising other people’s work.
Richard Kauntze began his graduation speech with a line from the American actor George Jessel: “The human brain starts working the moment you are born, and never stops until you stand up to speak in public”.
Fortunately for the University of the Built Environment’s summer 2026 graduates, Richard’s brain remained very much in service.
Almost exactly a year earlier, he had been sitting in the front row of the same Reading Concert Hall, dressed in academic robes, preparing to receive his certificate as a new Honorary Fellow of the University. This time, he returned as guest speaker, having recently stood down after 25 and a half years as Chief Executive of the British Council for Offices (BCO), the organisation he joined in 1999 when it was still based in Reading and managed by a small team within the College of Estate Management, as the University of the Built Environment was then.
His brief, he said, had been clear: keep it short. He was, after all, “the penultimate barrier between you all and some very well-earned liquid refreshment”.
But inside the humour was a generous and useful address, built around eight lessons from a career that began without a grand plan but became one of the most influential in the office sector.
1. The power of serendipity
Richard’s route into property was not mapped out in advance. His degree was in Government, Politics and Modern History, and although he had “a keen interest in architecture”, he admitted he had only “a superficial understanding of the property world”.
After graduating in the late 1980s, he took what he described as a stop-gap job at Our Price Records in Selfridge’s, fuelled by his passion for music rather than any obvious professional strategy. Then came the advertisement in The Times that changed everything: the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was looking for a Parliamentary Officer.
“Well, I thought, I’ve got a degree in politics, so why not have a go?”
It was the first turn in a career shaped not by rigid planning, but by the courage to follow an unexpected opening when it appeared.
2. Make the most of every opportunity
Getting the job at RICS was only the beginning. The more important question, Richard said, was what he would make of it.
In his final days at university, his tutor had told him: “When you leave here, you will remember little or nothing of what you have studied but, if we have done our job properly, we will have taught you how to think.”
That lesson proved invaluable as he was thrown into a professional world full of subjects in which he had no technical expertise. His work involved committees covering compensation, rating and, to his “slight alarm”, Direct Professional Access to the Bar, “by which I mean barristers, rather than drinks, sadly”.
The trick, he learnt, was not to pretend to be the expert, but to help experts communicate clearly with politicians, journalists and the public.
“Working with talented people is a joy,” he said, “particularly when they are very talented indeed, and seeing how they operate, what we might call ‘being in the room’, and I mean being physically in the room, is not only a pleasure but, in career terms, extraordinarily valuable.”
3. Know when to move
After five “exceptionally happy” years at RICS, Richard realised he was becoming restless. He was ready for promotion, but his boss was not planning to move on, so the decision became clear. “Know when to move,” he told graduates, “particularly if you want your boss’s job!”
Once again, serendipity helped. Another advertisement in The Times led him to the British Property Federation (BPF), which was looking for a Director of Policy. He got the job, joining in 1993 and finding himself working with what he called “the property company titans of the moment: huge personalities with a buccaneer spirit”.
4. Become the understudy
At the BPF, Richard’s career moved quickly. After three years as Director of Policy, another generous boss saw that he was ready for more and created the post of Deputy Director-General. It was, he said, “an entry into the major league”.
The lesson for graduates here is not simply to seek promotion, but to become trusted enough to stand close to leadership, learn how decisions are made, and understand the weight carried by those at the top. Being the understudy is not passive; done well, it is preparation.
5. Expect the unexpected
In 1999, a recruitment consultant asked whether he would like to discuss an opening at the BCO – then less than ten years old and ready for its next stage. The role was a new one: the BCO’s first Chief Executive, with a remit to take the organisation “on to the next level”.
He was 34. It was a rare opportunity, and he urged graduates to recognise such moments when they arrive. He said: “Opportunities like this are rare; particularly if you are relatively young and my unequivocal advice is, should one come your way, to grab it with both hands.”
Becoming a chief executive, he added, changes everything. There is no longer anyone to look over your shoulder for direction. “You’re now the boss.”
6. Love what you do
When Richard joined the BCO, he expected to stay for perhaps five to eight years. He stayed for more than 25. Over that quarter century, he helped broaden the recognition and understanding of the office through research, awards, conferences and industry debate.
There were major challenges along the way, including 9/11, the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19, when, he said, “some rather foolish self-appointed experts started saying that no one would want an office anymore. This was quickly shown to be the nonsense it was”.
The reason he stayed so long was simpler than any corporate strategy: “I absolutely loved what I was doing, and if you love what you’re doing, you’re more likely to be successful.”
7. It is always a collective effort
For Richard, good leadership is not about claiming the spotlight but about knowing what has been made possible by others, and making sure that contribution is seen.
“All sorts of things, sometimes even the extraordinary or the exceptional, become possible if credit is justly shared among those who deserve it, and fairly recognised publicly and financially,” he said. “Always, always acknowledge and recognise the work of others.”
8. Go in your own way
Richard’s final lesson was about endings, although not in a gloomy sense. He described his decision to stand down as BCO Chief Executive as “far from easy”, but said there comes a point when instinct tells you the time has arrived.
“We all reach the point where we know, in our heart of hearts, that it’s time to let somebody else have a go. It really is that simple.” He translated the lesson as “quit while you’re ahead”.
None of us can know exactly what the next chapter will bring, he said, but he hoped his own journey had left the graduates with something useful as they continue their careers in what he called “the extraordinary sector which is the built environment”.
