Who and what is CMPC?

Jim McCluskey FCInstCES Chair, CMPC 

The Commercial Management Practices Committee

IT is likely as a member of the institution, that many of you will know about the committees and panels which CICES has – Council of Management (CoM) who are trustees of CICES:

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council (EDI); Commercial Management Practices Committee (CMPC), which also includes the Contracts and Disputes Resolution Panel (C&DRP); Geospatial Engineering Practices Committee (GEPC); Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GPC); Education, Professional Development and Membership committee (EPD&M); and the Tomorrows Leaders Committee (TLC). But what do you know about CMPC?

What is CMPC?

CMPC is one of two specialist CICES committees, the other being the GEPC.

CMPC exists for the members who work within commercial management and its associated disciplines. CMPC is responsible for the strategic development of the commercial management discipline and the expertise of members of the profession.

Who Are CMPC?

In order to support the requirements of the institution, including the terms of reference and other associated workstreams, CMPC has a varied and diverse active committee membership.

The vastly experienced committee is made up of members working in various roles representing all areas of the construction industry from main contractors, clients, consultants and academia:

CMPC exists for the members who work within commercial management and its associated disciplines.

• Jim McCluskey – Vinci Construction UK Limited – Chair
• Rob Jewell – Balfour Beatty
• Alison Powell – Bam
• Luke Pearson – Skanska
• Harry Bell – Ayrefield (Past President of CICES)
• Jeevan Fermahan – Balfour Beatty
• John Bottrill – City University, London 
• Barry Trebes – Trebes Consultancy Limited
• Charles Edwards – Gray’s Inn Construction Chambers 
• Steve Goodwin – GVE Commercial Solutions
• Adrienne Yarwood – University of Central Lancashire 
• Geoffrey Maul – Barhale
• Doug Stewart – Bam
• Mohamed Ifham – Public Works Authority, Qatar
• Carl Muchenagumbo – Network Rail
• Michael Halliday – HKA
• Andy Evans – Digital Construction Works (CICES President)

We also have a committee chaired by John Battersby in Hong Kong – we are looking for active members here who would like to join Hong Kong CMPC.

We also have a committee chaired by John Battersby in Hong Kong – we are looking for active members here who would like to join Hong Kong CMPC.

What do CMPC do?

CMPC carry out a range of activities to support the aims and objectives of CICES as briefly detailed further below.

These include:

• Organising the annual Commercial Management Conference.
• Judge the commercial management publishing award which reviews a selection of the articles published in civil engineering surveyor for the previous 12 months (annual).
• Actively participating in the Tomorrows Leaders Committee.
• Being members of the Conflict Avoidance Coalition – an important industry changer.
• Participating and contributing to the ICE/CICES Management Panel.
• Judging the commercial management prize nominations (bi-annual ). 
• Actively supporting the Competencies Working Group – tasked with ensuring the competencies are relevant and up to date with current industry practice. 
• Representing CICES in the International Construction Measurement Standards – as one of the coalition trustees. 
• Providing advice and guidance in response to member queries.
• Providing representation to CoM in shaping the future strategy and direction of CICES. 
• Drafting articles for our iconic journal, the Civil Engineering Surveyor – the best in class journal in my own humble opinion. 
• Providing support to edit and update the CESMM4 handbook in 2019.
• Arranging CPD events for the regions as appropriate.

What is CMPC’s current focus?

Commercial Management Conference

We are in the process of arranging a Commercial Director’s Forum which is being arranged with senior commercial managers/directors within the industry to focus on current issues, challenges, focus, commercial pressures, staff recruitment/retention issues etcetera.

Our current focus is finalising the details for the 2023 Commercial Management Conference which takes place on 8 June 2023. A lot of work is invested in putting this together, including themes and arranging presenters.

The organising committee includes Driver Trett CEO, Mark Wheeler, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner partner, Shy Jackson, and myself. Mark and Shy often suggest potential presenters from within their network which really helps shape the content of these events. This year’s theme is ‘addressing climate change in civil engineering’.

Commercial Director’s Forum

We are in the process of arranging a Commercial Director’s Forum which is being arranged with senior commercial managers/directors within the industry to focus on current issues, challenges, focus, commercial pressures, staff recruitment/retention issues etcetera. It is likely to be in September/October or November this year. Please do make contact if you would like to participate.

Further details to be confirmed on the website and in the journal.

Finally

This is your institution and CMPC exists for you. Please do let us know what you would like CMPC to be focusing on and what your theme suggestions are for the 2024 Commercial Management Conference, which we are looking to hold in Birmingham. We really appreciate your suggestions and feedback as it helps us shape the future for you. 

Jim McCluskey FCInstCES chair of CMPC and a member of Council of Management Jim.McCluskey@vinciconstruction.co.uk