Alan Monkhouse

Built Environment Entrepreneur

Alan has 15 years' experience creating and operating built environment solutions across the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

His passions lie at the intersect of spaces, wellness, and sustainability, where he has crafted and navigated various operating environments to deliver successful outcomes for both his clients and company.

In his last role as Managing Director for a B2B business providing clients with sustainable building materials, and co-founding their Middle East business in 2023, Alan has experience developing an operating entity and team from scratch, then fast-tracking strategies to develop a pipeline and relevant networks for sustained, targeted, and scalable growth. As an example, he spearheaded their activities to become a preferred partner to multiple Saudi Arabian giga-projects within 12 months of operating, and had one his projects featured in TIME Magazine.

Prior to this and whilst working on other ventures, Alan developed his career path within the world’s largest corporate real estate company, building his skills in leadership, sales, and management, as well as honing proficiencies in business operations and services that benefit all stakeholders.

Alan is passionate about positive impact and people, trusting in the development of both as a winning formula for business. On a personal note, he believes a key aspect to his success is the ability to be versatile with people and circumstance as they arise:

“The broad Business Management degree and its elective modules have enabled me to excel across all parts of a business by providing knowledge and working practice in various skill sets; the diversity of students and campus life at the University also provides experience interacting with various cultures and norms. Being internationally based now, I can say that Surrey was a vital element to being successful in a new environment. With the world becoming more and more integrated, I would recommend a University that not only provides you with a strong academic base, but throws you into a condensed version of the real world, in a challenging, well regarded, and highly fun environment that will help you navigate the years to come”.