who we are

Having joined Playfords in 2010 as a Project Manager, I progressed through various roles before becoming Contracts Director in 2018 and Managing Director in 2021 following a successful management buyout with Andy Downing. I now lead the company’s growth and development, expanding our operations in Huntingdon and London, while staying actively involved with our team, clients, and supply chain. As we celebrate 100 years in 2025, I take great pride in driving Playfords forward, aiming to establish it as a leading name in the electrical & mechanical sector.

Joining the company in 1982 I commenced work as an Apprentice Electrician. Following the completion of my apprenticeship I progressed through many job roles with the company, Electrician, Approved Electrician, Technician, Project Manager, Contracts Manager before being appointed to the board of directors in January 2018. In January 2019 I became Operations Director. In January 2021 I was part of a management buyout of Playfords and became Group Operations Director. I hold certification in Electrical Engineering and have kept up to date with accreditation to the current 18th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations BS7671, I have also specialised in Data Communications, gaining qualifications in Category 5/6 cabling solutions, Fibre Optic systems and Structured Cabling design. Alongside our electrical and data cabling installation deliveries I have been responsible for managing mechanical delivery overseeing large air conditioning, heating, plumbing and ventilation project installations delivered by our supply chain partners. To ensure our clients are afforded the expertise and service levels required I hold many industry standard accreditations including Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Managing Safely and IOSH Safety for Executives & Directors.

I have worked for Playfords since 1998, initially as Assistant Accountant. After the takeover by Hedley Solutions in 2006 I became Accounts Manager and then Finance Director in 2007. Having worked closely with the board, overseeing the financial growth of the company from 2007 onwards and subsequently the merger with Hedley Solutions in 2014, I now have full responsibility for the accounts team and overall responsibility for the company’s financial reporting. Away from the office I have a keen interest in ancient archaeology.

I joined Playfords in July 2007 as an apprentice electrician and worked across a number of different projects gaining valuable engineering knowledge and experience, which afforded me the opportunity to be awarded two Regional Apprentice of the Year awards via the ECA and JTL the training provider. This in turn led on to receiving a 3rd place award in the National Apprentice of the Year awards by JTL. Playfords showed, via my training, that they can offer individuals great opportunities within the industry and I have gone on to be involved in several larger projects during my time as an electrician and site supervisor, gaining further experience across a broad spectrum of electrical engineering. I transitioned into a more office-based role as a Project Engineer in 2016, working closely with our site-based teams and clients to ensure project works meet expectation and are delivered on budget. These project works are varied but not limited to school new builds and extensions, office fit outs, warehouse fit outs and NHS electrical infrastructure upgrades. This led to a further promotion to Project Manager in 2017 taking on some more varied/larger projects over the next few years including a large commercial refurbishment/extension project on a shopping centre. In April 2023 I received a promotion to Senior Contracts Manager joining the Senior Management Team at Playfords which has been an exciting opportunity to be a part of, shaping the company going forwards and assisting to deliver projects to our clients to a high standard along with assisting the rest of the management team in day-to-day operations. This has since led to being appointed to the board of directors as a Contracts Director in January 2024.

With many years in the industry and a passion for engineering, I enjoy nothing more than finding a solution to a problem and looking for ways to streamline deliveries. I’ve vast experience in delivering projects within varying commercial and industrial settings; I’ve come across and overcome a wide range of challenges. Leading experienced project teams across large complex projects, I work with the team taking the project from inception, through the delivery process to handover, with full E2E control. The team are comfortable reviewing designs, developing engineering strategies to deliver and improve on programme and budgets and have a keen eye for detail. I consider team work to be the backbone of success and look to develop a strong team culture. I focus my management style on strong leadership and bringing the best out of everyone I work with. Driven to exceed client expectation; I look to ensure we are delivering the best product we can for our clients, while maintaining programme and budget for the project. My ability to communicate at all levels, along with being able to react to situations that may arise and deal with them in a calm and controlled manner allows me to build relationships quickly and deliver a successful result. I predominantly serve our clients based in the south of England, from our London Fleet Street office. The team are highly experienced in the delivery of HV & LV infrastructure projects, including but not limited to HV Supply including switchgear & transformer replacement/installation, LV Switchgear replacements/installations, HV & LV Generation & UPS installations (N+1, N+2) and specialist hospital infrastructure such as IPS systems. Our workstreams are not limited to infrastructure, so whatever your requirements (small power, lighting, data installations including fibre optic) I will be able to assist.

Having retired in 2021, I am delighted to be invited back to Playfords Ltd and being involved in the company under a new role as Non-Executive Director. I have been in the electrical contracting industry all my working life. Starting my career as an electrical apprentice with the London Electricity Board I quickly progressed from apprentice, approved electrician, supervisor to project management, gaining valuable experience of a diverse range of projects along the way, and expanded my knowledge of mechanical services working for multi-disciplinary companies. This involved working with some of the larger M&E companies in the country again gaining valuable experiences of contract management and mechanical services. My last position started in 1997 where I became managing director of Hedley solutions, this progressed through to a management buy-out of the company in 2000 and subsequent acquisition of Playfords in 2006 then followed by the merger of the two organisations in 2014. A path that secured growth and security for both organisations. Having served in my last position for 24 years I felt it was time to hand over the reins to new blood to continue the growth and success of the company. In my retirement I have caught up on lots of time with my family and now feel able to take on this new role where I can bring over 50 years of experience in both the engineering and administration aspects of the industry and look forward to passing on this knowledge to the current board of directors and provide ongoing support to the growth and development of the company. Outside of work I enjoy most sports, more today as a spectator than a competitor, but have been known to swing at the odd golf club.

I left school with no qualifications and joined the RAF in 1980, learning my trade as a Painter & Finisher and completing a city & guilds. Leaving the RAF in 1986 I subcontracted as an industrial painter/shot blaster for various companies and private clients in the construction and engineering sectors until the late 1990s. I decided to change jobs and became employed as a Forklift Truck driver at a nearby warehouse and became interested in safety and joined the locally recognised union as a safety representative for which I received basic health and safety training on risk assessments, safety committees and consultation, attending the monthly management meetings and representing our members on any H&S issues. I decided I wanted to move into health and safety full time and self-funded my NEBOSH general and construction courses leading to passing the exams and gaining the qualifications. I joined UCATT as a full time Worker Safety Advisor in 2004, gathering experience and knowledge I continued to work for various companies contracting on major projects until 2013 when I joined Playfords for the first time, gaining further experience and completing my diploma in occupational health & safety management until leaving in 2019 to work on a military contract. I have been fortunate to experience many changes in the industry, most for the better I would add, and I am fortunate to be working again for Playfords where our aim is to provide a great service, with our ‘Safe to Start’ culture in mind and consider the welfare and wellbeing of our staff and the people we work with.

After leaving school in 1986 and starting an electrical apprenticeship with J Wesley contractors in Hertfordshire, I spent the first ten years of my working life undertaking varied project types from small works within customer’s houses to electrical foreman on the control tower at London Luton Airport. I then relocated to Peterborough, joining Hedley Incorporated. After around 6 years of working on various corporate premises I was asked move into the office as a Project Manager which is a role I still hold and enjoy today. I was fortunate to be involved with IBM type 1 in the very early stages of structured cabling, through to the latest category of copper and fibre standards with periodic training being undertaken as new standards are ratified. I feel this gives me a lot to offer our client base. I’m still heavily involved with electrical and am currently an NICEIC qualifying supervisor for Playfords.

I have been working in the Electrical contracting industry since 1988, working my way on site from apprentice to site Manager. I have been lucky enough over the years to have worked on a variety of different projects from all areas of domestic, commercial, and industrial works. This includes a large role in new build and re-development of all Centerparcs sites, also working on a large number of projects converging three tier schooling into two tier. I started a new journey 3 years ago after completing all three Prince2 courses in project management taking on a more office-based role and have since been working on several large projects including hospitals, care homes and hotels. In June 2023 I took on the role here at Playfords as one of their Electrical Project Managers, looking forward to working with the team here, delivering projects on time, within budget and to a high standard. At the same time gaining more knowledge and becoming an integral part of the management team.

I joined the company in April 2007 as an electrician and was afforded the opportunity to advance my skills and knowledge working on a variety of commercial, renewable and industrial installations. In the years since, I progressed to Approved Electrician and Site Supervisor, becoming more involved with complex and challenging projects. Recently I have been working on the delivery of a cinema and leisure extension on a shopping mall, and London hospital infrastructure projects. The experience I have gained at Playfords has given me the opportunity to progress to Project Manager. I look forward to working with our team and clients, striving to deliver projects to the highest standards.

I joined Playfords in September 2012 as an approved electrician and worked across a number of different sites throughout the UK from which I gained a lot of experience. Since then I have worked as a site supervisor gaining further experience across all British Sugar sites. In 2021 I was promoted to a role as a Project Engineer, which I really enjoyed. From the start of 2023, the experience and knowledge I have gained has enabled my progression within the company to Project Manager. I am now looking forward to the new challenges in this new role and achieving the best results possible whilst delivering all projects to the highest standard and encouraging all colleagues to be the best they can possibly be.

I joined Playfords in June 2001 as a Trainee Data Engineer and was afforded the opportunity to advance my skill and knowledge of all electrical, fibre and data installation works. Since then, I have progressed to an Advanced Data Engineer and then Site Supervisor, becoming more involved in running sites and sub-contractors. The next step in my career progression saw me overseeing and assisting with the delivery of the M&E package at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane London. The experience I gained then allowed me to progress further gaining a Project Engineer role looking after small works and projects. This work stream has grown very quickly and recently I was promoted to Project Manager following some successful delivery. I look forward to working in this role with our team and clients whilst delivering the projects to the highest standards.

After leaving school in 1978 I joined Eastern Electricity as an apprentice craftsman electrician. I attended Eastern Electricity’s apprentice training school in the first year and then completed my apprenticeship from the Peterborough depot. I transferred to the Huntingdon depot in 1982 and worked as an electrician until 1991. After 9 years working as an electrician it was time for a change, I was accepted into Eastern’s design & estimating department as a trainee estimator and was appointed to the position of Design & Estimating Engineer 12 months later. After the privatisation of Eastern Electricity and much company reorganisation I was transferred to the Milton major projects division and then later on to Eastern Contracting’s offices in Bury St Edmunds. In June 2000 I accepted a position of electrical estimator with TClarke at their Peterborough office. In June 2007 I moved into a contracts engineer’s role then back to Senior Estimator in 2018, this being my preferred role. In January 2021 I joined Kershaw’s Mechanical Services as electrical estimator, unfortunately Kershaw’s did not survive the economic climate of the time and I was made redundant along with everyone else in 2022. Shortly after Kershaw’s demise I was given the opportunity to join Playfords as senior estimator. Over the years I have been involved in many different projects ranging from industrial, commercial, education and retail. I look forward to utilising my experiences and skills learnt in playing a part in the development of opportunities into profitable projects.

I started my electrical apprenticeship in 2004, starting in the new build sector then expanding into the commercial side within the company. Since then, I had a long spell as self-employed taking on big contracts from new build sites to a brand-new primary school. Always striving to push myself and learn in different aspects of the electrical industry, once obtaining my site management qualifications I moved to a permanent position as senior site manager within a small electrical company. In July 2023 I joined Playfords as a Project Manager, a new aspect of the electrical industry for me to learn and further my career. The whole team have been very welcoming and supportive in all aspects and in every way, I’m looking forward to the journey within in the company.

I joined the company in October 2019 as a Trainee Estimator and was given the opportunity to gain an understanding of electrical estimating on a variety of projects in Health, Education, Retail, Commercial and Industrial. I have estimated projects ranging from £500 to £5 million. I hold a Degree in Economics, with a background in Finance and Sales. With the vast experience gained at Playfords and having great success at securing projects, I progressed to the role of Estimator in January 2022. My goal is to continue being a great asset to the company and a valued member of the team.

I joined Playfords in March 2013 as Design Procurement Assistant. The role required me to attend site as the admin support for the onsite team that were working on the City of Peterborough Academy new build and refurbishment project in Peterborough for the main contractor Carillion. This project was the start of many schools which I supported for the next few years, requiring me to assist in gathering any relevant paperwork to ensure the engineers and managers onsite had everything they needed, on a daily basis, to carry out their work. I also raised orders for the relevant Project Manager for materials, plant, etc, and would liaise with suppliers to ensure these materials were delivered to site as the project progressed, as well as creating and delivering the O&Ms for the clients. In September 2017, due to the amount of ongoing works across the business I was placed into the head office in Huntingdon, where I was asked to support further sites across the business, and in January 2018 my job titled changed to Project Co-Ordinator. With this change I was then asked to support more sites, including The Royal Opera House and Theatre Royal (both London based), as well as supporting the British Sugar Sites and Small Works Projects. This role has since progressed into being the main support for all of the projects that are completed via the Huntingdon Office, while also covering/supporting the London Office when required. My role is very reactive, and each day is slightly different.

I joined Playfords in 2015, when they took over the Barclays data cabling contract for the South where our main works involved responding to callouts and completing data project rollouts across the region. As the new southern office grew my role progressed to being involved with the administration for the wider scope of M&E projects by offering full support to both the project managers and engineers. My role as project-coordinator enables me to use several areas of our project management system and assist the team effectively. Now being based in London, I get to work more closely with the Project Team to ensure the necessary requirements are met. I am happy to assist with the varied tasks required, whether that be obtaining quotes and placing orders, relaying information to engineers and clients, liaising with subcontractors, all to make sure things are in place and organised when needed.