Mentor and Mentee of the Year
We are proud to recognise this year’s Mentor and Mentee of the Year, celebrating their commitment, support, and remarkable achievements.
In 2025 the competition for these awards was very strong and two mentors were selected to share the accolade, alongside our Mentee of the Year. Both mentors were overseas - a testament to the powerful international element of our mentoring programme – which meant they were unable to receive their awards in person. However, at the RREF Recognition Evening, Talha Majeed, the current Mentee of our first winner, Stephen Peca, had the honour of collecting the award on Stephen’s behalf.
He shared a few words from Stephen Peca:
“Stephen asked me to pass on a few words: he’s sorry he can’t be here in person this evening, but he’s with us in spirit and is excited to keep working together. First, thank you all for recognising how vital guidance and support are in our real estate sector. Mentoring is about more than sharing technical knowledge of valuation, investment, or development. It’s about opening doors, asking the right questions and nudging people to find and own their strengths.
"To the students here tonight: your curiosity, ambition and willingness to learn are what make mentoring so rewarding. Knowing that you apply classroom theory into real projects, grow in confidence in meetings and presentations, and tackle tricky problems with original solutions. These are things that truly matter to a mentor, and is the true measure of success for any mentor.
"I also teach at university alongside my industry work, so to my colleagues in faculty and industry: thank you for your collaboration and for modelling professionalism, integrity and practical insight. Real estate is a team sport. It flourishes when practitioners and academics share experience, challenge assumptions and create opportunities for the industry’s next generation.
"A special thanks to the mentees who trusted me with their goals and setbacks. Mentorship is a two-way street. I have learned as much from you as I hope you’ve learnt from me. Your fresh perspectives have kept me curious and grounded. My commitment continues, that is, to listen, to push when needed, and to help build careers that advance our profession responsibly and thoughtfully.
"Thank you once again for this wonderful honour.”
Our second Mentor of the Year, Luke Daines, has recently started working in Singapore so was also unable to attend in person, but was equally pleased to receive this accolade.
“I am delighted to be receiving this award. It has been an extremely rewarding experience supporting my mentees over the past year as they tackle both a busy academic calendar and an increasingly competitive job market. The mentorship scheme was invaluable to me while I was studying at Reading, where I was fortunate enough to have Bryan Laxton as my mentor who has continued to provide career guidance up to this day. I look forward to building a similar longstanding relationship with my mentees as they navigate their careers.”
Mentee of the Year, Tom Deacon, said “It is an honour and I am deeply grateful for this recognition. Receiving this award is both humbling and affirming, as it reflects the transformative impact the scheme as had on my personal and professional development. Participating in the mentoring scheme has been an incredibly rewarding experience and I could not have asked for a better mentor than Bjorn. It provided a supportive space where I could grow both personally and professionally. Bjorn’s guidance and encouragement gave me clarity, motivation, and confidence at pivotal moments in my journey at Henley Business School. I’ve truly valued the opportunity to connect, learn, and build a meaningful relationship through this programme and has been central to my studies.”