Professor Michael Benfield MA PhD has extensive experience of construction, house building, property investment, sales and marketing and international trade. His relevant professional qualifications include (and this is not exhaustive):
Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute Fellow of the Architecture and Surveying Institute Fellow of the Guild of Surveyors Fellow of the Faculty of Building Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Member of the Institute of Exports Associate of the Institute of Purchase and Supply Associate of the Cost and Executive Accountants Associate of the Institute of Wood Science
Relevant academic qualifications include:
Professor Benfield founded a substantial firm of contractors and house-builders. With this experience he then went on to develop a multi-office practice of surveyors, valuers and estate agents (rather innovative at the time) and has served as a director on many boards including property-related plc's and an advertising agency.
Professor Benfield's academic research and consultancy involvements span across the EU, Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. This has given him an enviable understanding of land, property and housing markets, issues and regulations.
With his extensive experience of timber and joinery workshops, Professor Benfield built the UK's first ever private development of timber-framed houses in the Midlands in the late 60's and early 70's. He is renowned within the timber-frame industry and as such has been a member on the Faculty of Building's prestigious Low Cost Housing Committee, a delegate to UNCTAD for the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, a Founder Member of the Community Land Trust and is currently an advisor to the trustees of the Walter Segal Self-Build Trust, which promotes the use of timber frame structures for low-cost self-build housing and other community structures.
Professor Benfield serves as a board member of the national New Homes Marketing Board, a member of the Executive of the House Builder's Federation of Wales, Chair of the Knowledge Hub of the Wales Forest Business Partnership and has served as Chairman of the UK TFA's Construction Industry Training Committee.
