Gordon Falconer MRICS MAPI

Urban Strategy and Technology Infrastructure Advisor – Singapore-based. Available globally.

I work at the gap between ambitious urban visions and the practical, commercial, operational reality of building cities. I have done it from the inside, as a senior leader at major greenfield city developments, and from the outside, as advisor to other cities, governments, sovereign funds, technology companies, and multilateral organisations across five continents.

My background is unusual. I started as a property valuer in Melbourne, founded an internet startup in the 1990s, moved through real estate asset management with JLL and CBRE, then spent two decades working on some of the world’s most ambitious city and infrastructure projectsoutside of Australia. I am simultaneously a chartered property valuer, a real estate development practitioner, a smart city and airport strategist, a built environment technology advisor, and a digital twin specialist. That combination is rare.

I grew up in Melbourne, one of the world’s most livable cities, which may explain the career direction. I studied property valuation (chartered surveying) at RMIT, spent the first part of my career as a valuer and asset manager, and in the late 1990s co-founded Pacific Commerce, an internet B2B startup that grew to 30 staff and today is still

The pivot to cities happened when I moved to Abu Dhabi to do real estate development for The National Investor Investment Bank. I then joined Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Mubadala) in 2007 as Head of Strategy and Real Estate for Masdar City. What I found when I arrived was that the vision was extraordinary and the financial foundations were not. Over two years, working with teams from McKinsey, Booz, JLL, CBRE, Ernst and Young and others, the commercial foundations were rebuilt. The lessons from that experience have informed every engagement since.

From Masdar: four years at Cisco as Director of Urban Innovation, then five years at Schneider Electric as Global Director Smart Cities. Trusted advisor to City of Barcelona for three years. Singapore government agencies for a decade. European Commission, UN U4SSC, World Bank, ADB, London Olympic Legacy Authority. TEDx talk in Thailand.

Then back inside: three years as Head of Smart Cities for GMR Group in Delhi across 9 airports. Then a 12 month contract as Director Cognitive City at NEOM Oxagon in Saudi Arabia.

Now based in Singapore, running an independent global advisory practice.

Member, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS)

Member, Australian Property Institute (MAPI)

Ranked Top 100 City Innovators Worldwide, UBM Future Cities (2013)

RMIT University, Melbourne – Property Valuations

As a footnote all but one photo on this web site are taken by myself as I am an avid photographer which gives me an additional avenue to “see” cities and city projects.