Okana

“After just three weeks into the role, it was suddenly announced that we were to have all UK combat troops and combat equipment out of Afghanistan within 24 months. So it fell to me to coordinate and create a strategy to extract just over 10,000 combat troops and over 20,000 shipping containers worth of equipment.” Chris Paton, Managing Director at Quirk Solutions, former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines and Strategic Adviser to the Ministry of Defence, discusses some of the challenges he faced as Head of Strategy in Afghanistan, in the latest Okana Podcast with Dr Graham Kelly. Chris goes on to say “There's a high degree of trust between different levels and trust for me is the basis of all success. When you're coming on to very uncertain and fast moving problems and complexity like we face in the world today, you know, we've gone from complicated to complex, where sometimes we're struggling to work out what the question is never mind what the answers might be.” Listen to the full episode as Chris shares further experiences and how this is shaping his consultancy today 👉 https://bit.ly/4fWzGRg #LetsShapeTomorrow #TheOkanaPodcast #BuiltEnvironment #Leadership #ChangeManagement

Here’s a preview of what you can expect to hear in the next Okana Podcast with Chris Paton, former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Marines and Strategic Adviser to the Ministry of Defence 🎧 Chris shares his experiences from the military and how he transitioned from the Marines to running a successful consultancy, advising global giants Fortune 500 and FTSE 250 on their performance and leadership, plus his views on passing on key principles to others to strengthen trust in working relationships. #LetsShapeTomorrow #TheOkanaPodcast

As we welcome 2025, Dr Graham Kelly, Managing Director at Okana, shares some key milestones since our launch in June last year🚀 Last year brought many achievements, impactful collaborations, and continued growth as we pushed boundaries in the built environment. From research reports and webinars, to working closely with our growing partner community across the globe, it was a year full of collaboration and innovation 💡 Read further reflections and a look into the year ahead 👇 #LetsShapeTomorrow #Okana #BuiltEnvironment

🌍Building Resilience in Emerging Markets: Why It’s Personal for Me I recently had the privilege of being interviewed on the Okana Global Podcast, where I shared my thoughts on emerging markets and ESG challenges—two areas I’m deeply passionate about. For me, emerging markets aren’t just about untapped potential or economic growth—they represent resilience, transformation, and opportunity. Having worked on projects across Africa and Asia, I’ve seen firsthand how communities innovate and adapt despite limited resources. I’ve learned how essential it is to create strategies that truly understand local contexts, respect cultural dynamics, and enable sustainable development. On the podcast, I reflected on: 🔹 How ESG in emerging markets needs to focus on impact, not just reporting 🔹 Why capacity building is critical for long-term resilience 🔹 The importance of bridging the gap between global sustainability goals and local realities I am part of the emerging markets and these markets are very much front and center of my work. There is a serious challenge of capacity building, de-risking suppliers and bringing in additional and non-traditional data points that segregate emerging markets from emerged, but there is nothing that stops them from increasingly becoming the majority! I’m grateful to the team at Okana, specifically Graham Kelly and the fabulous Marie Grieve for giving me the platform to share my journey. If you’re curious about how to drive sustainable growth in these markets, tune in to the episode! 🎧 Podcast link in the chat! I’d love to hear your thoughts—how do you see the role of emerging markets in shaping a sustainable future? Let’s discuss! #EmergingMarkets #Sustainability #ESG #Leadership #SustainableFinance #Podcast

📺 Weekend Watching 📺 Our latest Webinar 'Skills and Training: Mind the Digital Skills Gap' that took place on 5th December consisted of 3 presentations. The 1st keynote presentation was from Andrew Johnson, Associate and Training Lead at Okana. Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge on digital transformation, training, and strategic implementation of BIM (Building Information Modeling) to high-profile global clients. A former senior soldier with the Corps of Royal Engineers, Andrew combines military discipline with an MSc in Engineering Management, where his thesis focused on the cultural shift needed to implement BIM in UK construction. In his session, Andrew explored how AI can revolutionise construction education by creating tailored learning experiences, enabling real-time skill assessments, and facilitating seamless on-site integration. Andrew gave a good oversight of the power of collaboration between academia, industry, and tech providers to shape a future-ready workforce. Register to view Andrew's presentation here: https://lnkd.in/eJ7jfJnb #digitalconstruction #constructiontraining #skillsgap #innovationinlearning

Merry Christmas from Okana🎄 As the year draws to a close, we want to thank our colleagues, partner community and clients for an incredible year full of collaboration and innovation. See you in 2025! #LetsShapeTomorrow

In this episode of the Okana Podcast, host Dr Graham Kelly sits down with Sakshi Bansal FRSA ChMC, strategy consultant and sustainability advisor for Arup, to discuss her global ambitions for sustainability, people and the planet 🌎 Sakshi is a humanitarian psychologist and the recipient of The Diana Award – the highest civilian award for humanitarian work across the globe. Listen now to learn more about the growth of emerging markets in the built environment and the challenges they face in achieving ESG goals. Plus, how big corporations are adopting a shift in mindsets to embrace the benefits of working more sustainably by mobilising their investments to support ESG goals in emerging markets. Listen all on all major platforms 🎧 👉 https://bit.ly/49JLbtW #TheOkanaPodcast #Sustainability #LetsShapeTomorrow

Amazing interview with Okana about ELIXR and MetaConnex talking about how data linked digital twins can rapidly bridge the planning gap and what a clip they grabbed! This actual meeting was insane. We used MetaConnex and had some absolutely amazing people around the table. Paul Whittingham & Jon Dyson of Bolton Council hosted a meeting where we presented a vision of WestPoint with MetaConnex . We were joined by the most wonderful group Zoe Lamb , Dave Davies , Tom Johnson and of course our team MD of Place Ashley Dunseath and Elixr Group CEO Catalina Valentino 🔥 In real time we were about to engage, discuss and fly around a digital twin of the proposal. This was before a formal planning app, before any final resolve, it was about collaboration and getting stakeholders together. Not looking at 2d docs and a plethora of consultants and plans. But bringing together council, bank and legal to say what does this mean to Bolton Council and what impact could it have. It doesn’t just stop here. This was 1 site of 10 in greater Manchester that MetaConnex has massed. The goal …. Unlock 1bil of sustainable regeneration in Greater Manchester Combined Authority bringing together councils, planners, investors, financiers and legal to unlock growth of UK Towns. It’s gonna be an interesting 2025! Dr Shamir Ghumra , Catherine Workman, James McIntyre & Paul Sweeting.

Joseph Michael Daniels 🌍 is the latest guest on the Okana podcast, hosted by Dr Graham Kelly 🎧 Listen in as the pair look beyond the traditional understanding of what is construction and how data is an organic enabler for digital twins, whilst unwrapping what is a digital twin and how it is a core element that allows us to create new built environment ecosystems. Listen now 👉 https://bit.ly/3BtDXgX #LetsShapeTomorrow #TheOkanaPodcast #DigitalTwins #DigitalConstruction

Missed OKANA's podcast on transforming spaces into true destinations? We’ve distilled some key insights on place shaping shared by Francesc Domingo: "The rules are changing because people's demands are changing—post-COVID and new generational trends show us the need for more outdoor spaces that can accommodate multifunctional events and active lifestyles" “Design must be inclusive, with special attention to family friendly spaces and multi-generational experiences. Integrated, flexible and accessible solutions are key to building more resilient destinations." ----- Read more insights at: https://lnkd.in/giZbdTiR Concept i is a member of Okana. ----- #concepti #masterplanning #interiors #architecture #graphics #lighting #leisure #entertainment #retail #commercial #shoppingmalls #themeparks #landscape #GlobalNetworks #LetsShapeTomorrow #Placeshaping #Sustainability #PlaceShaping #OKANA