New Appointments in Facilities Management – January 2024

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23 January 2024 | Updated 24 January 2024

ThisWeekinFM’s first new appointments roundup for 2024 includes RICS, GS1 UK, BESA and Westgrove Group.

 

Picture: a graphic showing the headshots of Shervin Yousefzadeh, Mark Allison and Liz Peace

 

Westgrove Welcomes Mark Allison as Head of ESG

 

Fast growing facilities management company, The Westgrove Group are delighted to welcome Mark Allison as Head of ESG.  

Mark joins the business with over 30 years’ experience working with companies in both public and private sectors including British Land at Meadowhall, the NHS and Marks & Spencer, leading and supporting initiatives that advance sustainable futures for all, with a particular emphasis on harnessing ESG and innovation.  

Glenn Wilson, Westgrove Group Managing Director commented, “with Mark’s extensive credentials and experience in all pillars of the critical ESG arena, he was an obvious choice to lead our mission and further develop our journey towards net-zero”.

Mark added, “I am genuinely looking forward to contributing my skills, expertise, and passion to Westgrove. I am confident that my qualifications and experience align perfectly with the company’s visionary progressive future, and I am committed to positively impacting the company’s growth, success, and most importantly making that journey with the team to sustainability.”      

 

RICS Senior Governance Appointments

 

Following an extensive appointment process in 2023, RICS has appointed four accomplished individuals to key governance roles to support an effective governance structure at RICS.

Commencing their roles on 01 January 2024:

Liz Peace CBE and Gurpreet Dehal join the Governing Council, serving as Senior Independent Governor and Independent Member, respectively. These roles bring an independent perspective, crucial to supporting RICS' public advantage objective. The Senior Independent Governor, also sitting on the RICS Board, plays a pivotal role in supporting the President, acting as a liaison between Governing Council members and governance body chairs.

Douglas McCormick and Kelly Olsen join the RICS Board, as Chair of the Membership Services Committee and RICS Board member with digital and technology skills respectively.  Douglas is an RICS member with global experience and Kelly has a background in Chief Operating Officer and Chief Information Officer roles.  Both these roles are important in ensuring that the RICS Board has the breadth of experience it requires to meet the challenges of being a world class institution.

These appointments strengthen RICS' commitment to effective governance, diverse perspectives, and advancing the profession globally.

 

GS1 UK Invests in First-Ever Head of Construction

 

GS1 UK has announced the appointment of Shervin Yousefzadeh as its first-ever Head of Construction.

An experienced digital construction leader with a background in civil engineering, Shervin will spearhead GS1 UK’s strategic approach and lead on driving collaboration and influence across the industry. As GS1 UK’s Head of Construction, Shervin will build relationships with key industry figures to champion GS1 standards, facilitate greater collaboration and identify new opportunities for data sharing.

His appointment marks the latest milestone in GS1 UK’s drive to promote wider adoption of Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) and the use of GS1 standards to enhance building safety, supply chain efficiency and inventory management.

Prior to joining GS1 UK, Shervin was head of digital construction for BAM UK & Ireland’s TransPennine Route Upgrade Project. Working closely with a diverse array of stakeholders, he was responsible for implementing digital construction solutions to optimise efficiency, productivity, and quality while minimising risk and waste.

Commenting on his appointment, Shervin said: “Easing links to product data, finding ways to improve how that data is captured, shared, and used, will lead to direct change and I look forward to being a part of the innovative, standards-based solutions that will make this a reality.

“Based on my experience of developing and implementing BIM solutions, I am keen to explore how GS1 standards can bring a new dimension to this transformative technology, enabling the capture and use of rich product data throughout the construction process.

“Interoperable product identifiers encoded into scannable barcodes, or RFID tags, offer consistent and accurate data for every building product at every stage of the supply chain, bolstering visibility, traceability, building trust in materials management.”

 

BESA Appoints First Head of Business Development

 

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has appointed Simon Lunt as its first head of business development as part of a wider strategic review.

Simon brings extensive and varied experience to this new role having started his career in the chemical industry in Scandinavia with Forchem Oy before moving into the health & safety sector covering the UK construction, manufacturing, and facilities management sectors at Arco.

He spent three years running his own sales training consultancy during which time he supported firms in the facilities management and air filtration industries. He has also worked in the specialised hostile environment gas detection business as sales and marketing director for Analox, which supplied projects for the International Space Station, NATO submarines and the deep-sea diving industry.

During this time, he gained valuable trade association experience as an active member of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). That gave him a useful insight into the workings of industry committees and technical groups which he expects will prove valuable in his new position at BESA.

My role is to help the membership team add as much value to as many companies in the building engineering sector as possible,” he said. “BESA offers a remarkable breadth of benefits, and we want our members to take advantage of everything they can, including getting involved in our working groups and committees which can affect real change across the sector.

“The industry is facing a period of considerable change particularly with the new scrutiny on working practices prompted by the Building Safety Act and serious challenges like skill shortages and the need to accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings.

“All of which reinforces the importance of the collective voice and momentum that trade organisations like BESA can provide, so I know I am joining this historic and influential body at an exciting and critical time.”

 

chapmanbdsp Strengthens its Team in the Middle East With Key Senior Appointment

 

Building on its success over the last 15 years in the Middle East, chapmanbdsp announces its further commitment to the region, with the opening of an office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the appointment of Andrew Morris as Director for the Middle East & North Africa region, who will be based in Dubai.

Andrew Morris has 40 years’ industry experience, 15 of which have been in the Middle East. During this time, he led the growth of a prominent engineering consultancy practice in the UAE and Qatar, delivering several notable regional projects, including key elements of the Dubai Expo 2020 project, the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, the Doha Metro Greenline, the Sidra Hospital and the Al Rayyan Football Stadium, also in Qatar, which was one of the locations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Andrew Morris joins an existing robust leadership team, alongside Russell Hunter, Principal, who played a crucial role in establishing chapmanbdsp in the region over ten years ago, and Andrew Russell, Regional Director of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as the company targets further strategic growth in the region following a period of sustained progress and significant project wins.

Russell Hunter joined chapmanbdsp over twenty years ago, relocating to the UAE in 2013 and is a building services engineer with over 25 years’ industry experience internationally across a range of sectors. He currently leads the company’s UAE-based team of building services engineers, delivering a wide spectrum of large-scale projects in both the UAE and KSA.

Andrew Russell, Regional Director, KSA, is a chartered engineer with over 35 years’ experience. He is skilled in all aspects of MEP design strategies and stage submissions, with technical design expertise in public health engineering and water conservation. Key to the Middle East growth strategy is the opening of the Riyadh office led by him,  previously served from the UAE.

This additional presence in Saudi Arabia’s capital and main financial hub is evidence of chapmanbdsp’s continued commitment to the market with a local operation to work closely with Saudi nationals and local talent.

Ray Upjohn, Chief Executive Officer of chapmanbdsp, said: “We are targeting growth in the region and we see Andrew Morris as the catalyst for that, as we take the business to the next level.  Andrew has a great track record and extensive regional experience and joining us at a time when the whole of the Middle East is experiencing a surge of investment growth and cultural change, which is incredibly exciting.”

Andrew Morris said: “I am delighted to have joined chapmanbdsp in Dubai to lead the Middle East and Africa operations. Having lived and worked in the UAE for 15 years, I am thrilled to be embarking on this new and exciting journey using this insight into local markets in the region.”

 

New Year Hires for Security Specialist

 

A Leeds headquartered multi-service provider has made a host of key hires to boost its sales, bids and operational capacity and continue to propel its expansion.

Servo Group, which provides security, CCTV and cleaning services nationwide, has appointed Iain Warburton, Elly Carritt-Gurney and Kylie Cook to its Head Office team.

Iain is Divisional Manager, working with Claire Gabites to grow and expand Servo’s burgeoning cleaning division, which has seen the addition of some major national clients in the past year. Iain joins Servo with a wealth of experience in facilities management and national sales, having held previous management positions at ProForce and Prime Secure.

Elly Carritt-Gurney has joined Servo as Bid Writer, boosting the firm’s capacity to bid for major, multi-year contracts. Elly has a strong bid writing background, having previously carried out roles at Kings’ security and bid writing agency Bidboss.

Servo has also recruited Kylie Cook to its team as Business Development Manager, taking responsibility for growing the multi-service providers’ presence in the Midlands. Kylie joins Servo with a strong, diverse sales background across a range of sectors, having previously held positions at Close Brothers and TNT.

To boost its operational capacity, following some major contract wins, Servo has also recruited Jason Myers as Regional Supervisor, and Callum Smith as CCTV engineer, enhancing its capacity for CCTV and systems installations.

Group Sales Director, Nina Brooks said: “It’s a really exciting start to the New Year for us with lots of incredible opportunities in the pipeline. I’m confident that with all their combined experience and expertise, our new members of the team are going to make a significant contribution to our continued growth, helping to make 2024 our most successful year yet.”

 

Other Recent New Appointments:

 

• Willmott Dixon Announces Board Changes
• Compass Group Appoints Carol Sommerville as Chief People Officer
• Cleanology Announces New Senior Leadership Team

 

Picture: a graphic showing a wooden-effect background with polaroid-style photographs of various people on top. The photos are of cartoon-style avatars. Image Credit: Pixabay

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 23 January 2024

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