Judges

David is a senior associate within the construction and engineering team. He specialises in advising both public and private sector clients on resolving potential disputes and has particular experience in resolving issues in complex projects, including those involving PFI/PPP projects.

Where it is not possible to resolve disputes through negotiation, David has experience in all forms of dispute resolution, including adjudication, mediation and litigation.

Chair of the Higher Education sector - National Responsible Procurement Group 

James Beckly is a highly experienced and innovative construction professional with over 25 years of experience in property development and industry. He has worked for developers, consultants, and construction managers across various market sectors and geographical locations in the UK and overseas.

Since becoming Senior Partner in 2023, his primary focus has been delivering the practice growth strategy.  Alongside this responsibility, he also leads Ward Williams' project management team.

For over two decades Dr Nick Bell has worked with architects, engineers and construction clients (such as Universities, a FTSE 100 developer, global energy companies and real estate services firms), helping them to design and manage healthy and safe construction projects.  His articles on topics such as CDM, wellbeing and leadership have been widely published and he has spoken at numerous conferences and events on these subjects.  He is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Fellow with the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.

Mary has worked in social housing and government for over 30 years and specialises in property and procurement and for the past 20 years has held senior management positions, formulating and delivering strategic plans for long term success, developing governance programmes and running a regional business unit on behalf of LHC – the South West Procurement Alliance. She is now taking a break from full time employment and is delivering her own personal project to refurbish a Grade 2 listed 18^th Century barn in the middle of Devon. She has her own consultancy business specialising in asset management and procurement for the housing sector. She is a chartered building surveyor (MRICS) and has Level 4 CIPS membership.

She set up a charity in 2017 called Enhancing the Capacity of Persons with Disability that provides training and support for young people with disability in Northern Uganda and is the charity’s treasurer.  

Mary was Chair if the CESW Smart Construction Theme Group from 2019 to June 2023 and has been a CESW awards panel judge in previous years.

Liz is passionate about empowering others by simplifying the complex and signposting to answers that will help practical delivery of effective health and safety.

In her professional career Liz is most proud of the following:

Being the first Group Safety Manager for Atkins through rapid expansion and flotation where she developed safety management systems and training across the businesses and supported acquisition due diligence and project delivery across the Group;

Leading on the establishment, with AA, RAC, the Police and the then Highways Agency, of www.survivegroup.co.uk which achieved a change in public behaviour on the fast road network within three years of initiation, making these roads safer and helping to reduce congestion; · Establishing with senior colleagues from industry www.safetyindesign.org.uk and taking responsibility for maintenance of the free Design Guides, produced by industry leaders from an HSE led initiative to help small design practices;

Being Interim Head of Health and safety for LOCOG, London 2012 organising committee to facilitate building the necessary capability across the Games and Paralympic Games and devising means of training a highly diverse community of staff and volunteers from nations across the globe. Working with Regulators and delivery teams to enable and empower a successful series of high-profile events and associated transport solutions across the country;

Leading the Design for Health Task Group. A current pan industry group working on effective interventions by clients and designers to improve health outcomes for all affected by construction work for the lifetime of any asset;

Development and delivery of a range of training courses in the UK and overseas on CDM 2015 for IStructE, ICE, APS, Synergie Training and for Safety in Design;

Conducting or supporting various pieces of research for HSE, EPSRC, B&CE Trust

Lewis is a Mechanical Building Services Design Engineer for AtkinsRéalis in their Exeter office. Lewis joined the G4C South West committee in September 2022, and has since been involved in organising informal networking events for the Exeter region, which have proved to be popular, attracting local young construction professionals from a diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds. In addition to this, Lewis has attended local school Careers Fairs and Aspiration Days to champion careers in our industry.

Lewis undertook the Degree Apprenticeship route into the industry, and is keen to showcase the benefits of apprenticeships in the construction industry, as a keen advocate for this pathway. He believes that a combination of practical experience and academic studies provides a fantastic platform for young people to gain an insight into the industry. Having recently graduated from the University of the West of England with First Class Honours in his Building Services Engineering BEng, Lewis is now waiting for his interview with CIBSE to be assessed for Incorporated Engineer competency.

Lewis is currently working towards his Masters Degree in Low Energy Building Services Engineering at Loughborough University. He hopes to extend his knowledge to understand how the industry can accelerate its decarbonisation efforts, with a keen interest in the principles of holistic design development amongst a collaborative design team.

Emma is a committee member of G4C South West, representing Gloucester.

A Fellow of the CIOB, Emma has extensive experience of working with and alongside major Tier 1 Contractors in the South West, including working with this years main sponsor, the Southern Construction Framework recently.  An experienced and qualified Quantity Surveyor, with a progression through to implementation and creation of CSR policies and Community Engagement activities spanning the South West region and most recently, in procurement via frameworks for public sector clients, driving maximum benefits through considered procurement routes.  Working for Kier Construction, supporting preconstruction and site teams to exceed client and framework expectations through exemplar delivery of projects.

Kingsley heads the SCF team in the South west region is the Vice Chair of CESW, a regional representative of the National Association of Construction Frameworks and a Director of the JCT Board (representing the Local Government Association). In his role with SCF He’s accountable for generating and overseeing the successful delivery of the South West pipeline of work helping clients to deliver projects ranging from £1m to £256million. Having supported over £2billion of construction procurement Kingsley has industry leading experience delivering capital construction and maintenance projects for the public sector including central Government, local authorities and higher education institutions.

Since 2003 Jonathan Davis has worked in decarbonisation developing innovative commercial and technical start up businesses and decarb projects. He draws on over 35 years’ experience of energy systems to conceive and innovate. As one of the very first PV installers in the UK Jonathan was at the vanguard of the deployment of tech such as solar, heat pumps, biomass, battery and EV technologies. 

Convinced of the inherent role of education in any project, Jonathan was engaged in the  creation of the MCS scheme and wrote several units for NVQ training. He even visited parliament and helped MP's understand the need for a more inclusive approach to grid connections. As the director of his own award winning consultancy he pioneered access for all to the early iterations of what became FiT & RHI. 

An advocate of developing the right asset in the right place at the right scale Jonathan has always sought to create a positive legacy whilst understanding the commercial imperative of any development.

As the Head of Midas Energy, part of the Midas Construction Group, He implemented new approaches into traditional construction, delivering commercial advantage, improved system performance and substantial carbon reductions.

Now in East Devon Jonathan is taking on some of the biggest challenges in floating off shore wind supply chain, hydrogen production and delivering the large scale BESS projects essential to the health and function of UK commerce. 

Doug is a Chartered Environmentalist and is responsible for leading the environmental improvement of the Council’s activities and leads the team that is delivering the Devon Climate Emergency project – a broad partnership implementing the Devon Carbon Plan and Climate Adaptation Strategy. Previously Doug has been involved in waste management, behaviour change projects, community energy schemes, appraising the sustainability of development plans and preparing climate vulnerability assessments. Doug has a BSc in Geography from the University of Plymouth and an MSc in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh.

Paloma is a multi-disciplinary Chartered Project Manager with over 20 years of experience working for various industries including Highways, Higher Education, Pharmaceutical, Public Sector and Telecoms. Since completing her degree in Business Psychology with first class honours, Master Degree in Communication and Stakeholder Engagement and Advanced Professional Diploma in Social Corporate Responsibility, Paloma has worked as a project manager delivering high profile projects for various blue-chip companies around the world.

Passionate about triple bottom line, circular economy, sustainability and digital transformation, Paloma’s unique skillset is a direct result of the variety of projects and countries she has worked on. Paloma easily adapts to the unique challenges of each project, putting clients first and continually challenging the status quo, striving to develop innovative solutions that create opportunities.

Robin joined the Taylor Lewis team from Trowers & Hamlins solicitors where he worked as a Lawyer for 8 years advising Registered Providers, private individuals and companies on all aspects of residential and commercial development and construction projects as well as property and land acquisitions and disposals. Robin’s legal background and detailed knowledge of all types of Building Contracts, Development Agreements and Statutory Agreements provides for an enhanced level of support for all Taylor Lewis clients. Robin has a vast experience of working with Registered Providers and his transferable skills from his legal background allow him to maintain these relationships and ensure that Taylor Lewis delivers an exceptional service.

James Kingston, Managing Director and Founder of Kingston Barnes Recruitment. Located in the Heart of Bristol, is the premier destination for construction recruitment. James has taken his agency to the next level over the past decade,  now employing 25 people across multiple sectors and has worked with over 200 clients to date. 

With a keen eye for talent in the construction industry, James has transformed Kingston Barnes into a multi-award-winning,  multi-million-pound enterprise with his passionate, innovative, meticulous and knowledge based approach, he has earned himself a reputation as the go-to recruiter within the built environment. 

James has over two decades of experience in the recruitment industry and is also the Author, of, The Art of Recruitment, an Amazon Best Seller.  

Having matched over a thousand candidates into their perfect positions, James is recognised for his unconventional thinking and ability to see beyond the status quo.

In his spare time, James enjoys spending time with his family - Mrs K and his two sons Oliver and William. James enjoys the gym, calisthenics,  is an OCR competitor, Bristol City supporter and is also a committee member for the Lord Mayor of Bristol’s Children’s appeal.

Having worked within Construction Recruitment for over 20 years, I can honestly say, I still thoroughly enjoy it!

As Managing Director for RGB Recruitment Ltd, I am committed to continue to build on our strong reputation for delivering quality and I'm proud to be part of it's success and continual growth as the recruiter of choice for the Construction Industry.

I'm committed to making a positive impact on the industry I work in and supply to. I'm REC qualified and pleased to be the Chair for Constructing Excellence Devon Club alongside supporting a range of initiatives including Building Greater Exeter and Empowering Girls. 

Dan has been involved in the construction industry since a school leaver at the age of 16 giving him a wealth of experience and knowledge in both new build and refurbishment sectors.

After gaining substantial industry awareness, Dan set up Holistic Housing Solutions Ltd to specialise in modern, innovative technologies and offsite ingenuities offering a variety of solutions through his collaboration with supply chain partners attributing to the rapid delivery and efficiency of much-needed homes without compromise. Used individually or collectively these concepts have a positive impact on improving the quality, enhancing the performance and reducing the overall build programme when compared to traditional methods.

Familiarity and fear of change in getting new technologies recognised, Dan advanced this through the creation of Holistic Development Solutions as a delivery mechanism for affordable-by-design homes that incorporate the ingenuities explored within HHS. Holistic Retrofit Solutions has also established bringing niche concepts for application to the existing building stock both residential and commercial that offer high-performance energy-saving solutions with rapid ROI.

Dan is passionate about collaborative working which will be a driving force behind the growth of Holistic Housing, Development and Retrofit Solutions.

 He takes a very personal approach to exhaust all avenues that will improve build times and methods whilst maintaining high-quality standards of both materials and supply and energy saving as a priority. His goal having recognised that the industry has pioneered and innovated itself to an unhealthy future is to create a “Future Valued Living” Ecosystem as a new compass for “New Choice,” with originality from both inside and outside our sector that embraces new language and ethics, creating a future era of businesses where homes, communities, and those living within return to being the top priority. 

Livvy is a Senior Project Manager at Coreus Group, based in the Exeter office. Her project experience spans across various different sectors, including blue light, public realm, commercial, conservation and refurbishment, and education. Last year, Livvy attained chartership with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

Livvy is proud to be the Deputy Chair of the Generation 4 Change South West committee and is motivated to drive positive change in the industry through attracting young people to work in construction. As part of her role, she has produced and hosted podcasts, organised numerous networking events, and presented at various schools, including the Battle of the Builds at Exeter College.

‘As someone who did not take a conventional route into project management, or the construction industry, I am keen to encourage others to consider a career in construction and show young people that it is an exciting and rewarding sector to be part of.’

Elizabeth (known as Lizzy) is an Associate Solicitor in the construction and engineering team at RWK Goodman LLP. Lizzy advises clients across the entire supply chain to deliver construction and engineering projects, such as employers/developers, funders, contractors/consultants and specialist sub-contractors/consultants. Lizzy is always enthusiastic to hear about upcoming projects, innovative practices and the inspiring individuals who make up the industry.

Lizzy is the current Chair of the Generation for Change (G4C) South West. 

I am an Associate in Michelmores’ Construction and Engineering team. I have a mixed caseload of both contentious and non-contentious work, dealing with development projects and dispute resolution.

I am experienced in the negotiation and drafting of building contracts, consultant appointments, collateral warranties, deeds of novation and various other important project documents.

As well as the transactional experience mentioned above, I am experienced in providing advice to clients in respect of dispute resolution and litigation.

I am Club Secretary for the Constructing Excellence Gloucestershire Club and a Committee Member of the Generation for Change.

Paul has worked in the ‘supply link’ of the construction industry chain since 1986, having worked for the UK’s largest brick and timber distributor for over 20 years.

Starting by counting bricks and timber for stock-checking, he climbed the promotional ladder with no professional qualifications and eventually became a director based at head office. This proved to provide an invaluable education, helping him understand how to respond to people at every professional level.

Good communication and people skills are the foundation of Aquarian Cladding Systems, which he founded in 2007. Ensuring he has a solid understanding of the company’s role in the marketplace, he is absolutely committed to ensuring he and his team provide excellent technical, commercial and logistical advice to their clients throughout the supply chain.

Paul served as Chair of School Governors for 5 years and is a Board member of Clevedon Chamber of Commerce. He is also an active Board member of Constructing Excellence South West and is an advocate of modern methods of construction, with a burning desire to change the adversarial culture of the UK Construction Industry through collaborative working.

As the Stride Treglown Director for the Commercial team in Bristol, Robert and his team are responsible for mixed use buildings and masterplans. Robert delivers projects that encompass sustainability, partnering and value, through imaginative design and delivery. His wide experience includes education, health, commercial, leisure, retail and residential. He has a key role establishing and improving long term working relationships with many key clients.

Robert has won RIBA regional awards and has been published within the architectural press. He is central to our innovation strategy, mentoring emerging talent in our Post Occupancy Evaluation, Sustainability, Digital, Placemaking and Manufactured Design specialist groups. Robert is a regular guest speaker; BIM Show Live, Constructing Excellence and RIBA. He is an active member of the Constructing Excellence South West leadership council helping spread knowledge and experience across all parts of the industry.

Robert is passionate that architecture can contribute to reversing the damage we have inflicted on our planet. He has led several exemplar stores for Sainsbury’s; Low carbon store at Dartmouth and a triple zero store (water, carbon & waste) at Weymouth. He worked with our Education team to deliver an offsite pathfinder Primary school at St. Austell for the DfE with a 10 point sustainability plan. This included reduced Embodied Carbon, Net Zero Regulated and Unregulated Operational Carbon, reduced Water consumption and improved Bio-Diversity.

I am a Chartered Civil and Structural Engineer and Managing Partner of CampbellReith's Bristol office with extensive experience of managing teams of all engineering disciplines to provide a coordinated response to a design brief.

I have excellent communication skills, which enable and maintain reliable relationships with Clients and team members leading to value gained throughout the design and construction process.

My experience covers every stage of development including site searches, due diligence, vision and strategy forming, feasibility studies, and pre-planning through to post-occupation works. This experience covers projects ranging from £1,000's to over £1bn in value, including site infrastructure and masterplanning, new build, refurbishment and re-purposing across many sectors including residential, mixed-use, commercial, retail, education, health, sports and leisure, stadia and tall buildings.

I have a particular interest in Sustainability and act as Partner responsible for CampbellReith's sustainability strategy and implementation of various initiatives. My own experience includes sustainable drainage, embodied carbon analysis and footprinting, nutrient neutrality and biodiversity impacts. 

My initial structural engineering training included significant experience in timber engineering, heritage building conservation and sustainable building design, which I have applied to my total eco-refurbishment of our Victorian townhouse to modern energy and water saving standards.

Mike Smith is a multi-faceted professional at Bailey Partnership where he thrives as an accomplished architect, director, and practice BIM manager. His diverse skill set combines a strong technical background in architecture with a passion about technology and Building Information Modeling (BIM). Throughout his career, he has consistently made significant contributions to the industry, leaving a lasting impact.

Recently, Mike has actively immersed himself in projects adhering to the new Building Safety Act legislation. This has provided him with a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between theoretical BIM knowledge and real-world application, ultimately contributing to enhanced building safety measures.

Driven by a passion for leveraging technology to improve the built environment, Mike consistently demonstrates his expertise and experience. He is a valuable asset not only to the Bailey Partnership team but also to the broader industry, where his dedication and innovation shine brightly.

Founding Director of Thorpe engineering Consultant Ltd

Chartered Civil Engineer

ICE Health and Safety Registered

Chair of Constructing Excellence Dorset

Robin is passionate about collaboration and innovation and this is reflected in his position with the Constructing Excellence movement. Robin has developed expertise in the efficient use of timber, steel and concrete for building structures. Robin has experience in major residential and commercial buildings and now specialises in the structural transformation of existing buildings.

Gemma has been working for Willmott Dixon for 16 years, of which the last 5yrs as Procurement Director, overseeing all tenders and bid work for our Bristol, and Exeter and Cardiff offices. Managing a team of circa 45. Gemma thrives on the diversity and variety in her role but didn’t always plan on a career in construction.

Gemma says:

“At school I was actually really interested in art and English, but I was lucky to be made aware of the opportunities within the construction industry as my Dad was a lecturer in Construction in the Built Environment.”

She continues “Through that course I got a real taste of all the possible roles in the construction industry, from bricklaying to management and surveying we got to experience the lot, which is where a lot of people miss out I think, as they are just not aware of the diversity of roles available to them”.

Although originally intending on a degree with Loughborough University, Gemma was given the opportunity to become a management trainee in quantity surveying for a construction firm, “that was something I would never have predicted, when quantity surveying was suggested my response was – ‘but I am no good at maths!’ it’s these preconceptions that we need to break down as I have honestly never looked back.”

Gemma then worked on several high profile projects before joining Willmott Dixon as Project Surveyor; working her way up to Commercial Manager and then moving across into Preconstruction, “My roles have been interesting and challenging and what I really love is that every day is different. One of the most satisfying parts of working in construction is the team work aspect, everyone pulls together to build something amazing. I often drive past buildings and say ‘I built that!’ to my kids, not that I laid a brick of it, but that’s the point – there is so much more to creating a building than just laying the bricks.”

I began my career in 1980 training as a professional Quantity Surveyor with Gleeds before moving into Business Development and Marketing; I have been involved in a wide variety of projects across all sectors, working for a number of leading construction companies at a senior level including Ballast Nedam, ISG Pearce, Britannia and Kier.

As a qualified building professional (MCIOB), I bring a wealth of practical experience to the role and bridge the credibility gap that often appears between business development and operational functions.

Providing critical business development support across all disciplines within the organisation, I am responsible for managing our key clients and undertaking regular performance reviews to ensure that we understand exactly how our client’s business operates and where we can add value.

Anna is a Partner in Michelmores’ Construction and Engineering team. She works with developers, contractors and consultants to help deliver exciting and often complex new projects. Anna also specialises in dispute resolution, advising clients on the legal and commercial strengths and weaknesses of their position so that they are best placed to achieve the outcome that is right for them.

Anna's clients and their projects are based all over England and Wales, but she has a strong connection with Gloucestershire and the South West.  She has worked with many of my clients and referrers for over a decade but still enjoys forging new relationships with both private individuals and representatives of organisations of all sizes.

Anna  joined Michelmores in January 2022 having spent over a decade developing her practice at a Gloucestershire-based firm. She is a recommended lawyer for Construction in the South West by the Legal 500.

Anna is a Director of CESW as well as the Company Secretary, having joined the Board in 2021.