British Council of Shopping Centres names CEO

British Council of Shopping Centres has promoted Edward Cooke to chief executive, ahead of the organisations “strategic move” to be renamed, rebranded and repositioned at its conference in September.

Cooke was previously director of policy and public affairs, where he has become the established face and voice of British Council of Shopping Centres, responsible for engaging with politicians, industry leaders and the media.

Prior to joining British Council of Shopping Centres, Cooke held positions with the British Retail Consortium as a senior policy advisor and in government. Currently, he is also non-executive director of an FMCG business that sells to major supermarkets, restaurants and bars.

British Council of Shopping Centres president and executive director at Capital and Regional, Mark Bourgeois, said: "The board are delighted to have appointed Edward as chief executive. He is a highly-respected and long-standing member of the team, has made a transformational contribution to BCSC and played a major role in forming our new strategy.

"He has the proven drive, ambition, passion and commitment to lead BCSC at this exciting stage in its evolution, with the organisation set to be transformed through a renaming, rebranding and repositioning. Edward will provide strong leadership as we embark on a new chapter to position BCSC as dynamic, authoritative and inclusive, to reflect the increasingly diverse world of retail property and our ever-widening membership base.”

British Council of Shopping Centres’ new name and brand will be revealed on the first day of its 2016 conference in Manchester on September 14-15.