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constructing excellence north conference
17th September 2026
Aspire, Leeds
sponsorship package
Event Partner
£1,500
3 Tickets included
We can only run this conference with the support of our event partners, with your help we can put on more top-quality conferences like this :)
If interested in sponsoring future events please get in touch with us at admin@ceyhclub.co.uk
speakers
Alison Nicholl - Head of Constructing Excellence
Alison has a background in knowledge transfer, driving innovation and change into the construction sector both in the UK and overseas. Alison is currently Head of Constructing Excellence, where she works with its members and wider movement to drive positive change in the built environment. Alison has a passion for transforming the construction sector into a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable industry.
Lucy Howard - UK Major Bids Lead at Turner & Townsend
Lucy has 25 years experience from construction to work winning to driving industry change.
Since 2013 Lucy’s focus is programme and project management consultancy with Turner & Townsend to maximise outcomes delivered from clients’ assets; including London Overground, Network Rail, Heathrow Express and Heathrow Airport. Progressing from Senior PM to Operations lead for the southern region to UK Head of Infrastructure Markets to UK Major Bids Lead. She works with sector, service, and regional experts to arm our team with the best of industry innovation for clients across Infrastructure, Real Estate, Energy & Natural Resources and Defence.
As a new co-chair of Constructing Excellence she is passionate about working with all stakeholders to transform our industry for the better. Lucy's industry activity includes since 2017 with Project 13 with the Infrastructure Client’s Group as Development Board member and co-chair of the Capable Owner workstream. She contributes to the Institution of Civil Engineers on Productivity and produced the Programmes with Purpose report with CBI. Lucy regularly contributes to debates on infrastructure; diverse thinking (particularly neurodiversity); and mental resilience.
Originally from the North-East of England, in her early career she studied Civil Engineering at Imperial with experiences in nuclear, residential and upgrading the Albert Hall. Graduating to the Kings Cross redevelopment and East London Line Viaduct reinstatement, she was NCE Graduate Civil Engineer of the year and quickly chartered. By 26 she was leading South Quay DLR station construction, chairing Constructing Excellence’s G4C, moving on to improving her division’s work winning rate for major projects.
Professor David Glew - Director Leeds Sustainability Institute at Leeds Beckett University
David manages and oversees interdisciplinary projects and supervises doctoral students, across the institute's three research themes of Sustainable Behaviour, Sustainable Buildings and Sustainable Urban Environments. David has led major Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) research projects for the UK Government to investigate performance gaps and unintended consequences of new low carbon buildings and retrofits, including his most research project, the Demonstration of Energy Efficiency Potential or DEEP retrofit research project, which was the largest project of its kind looking at how to make retrofits in solid walled homes effective and safe.
David's team are specialists in BPE field testing of products and processes, and undertake a range of methods including the coheating test, QUB tests, air leakage detection, air tightness assessments, in use monitoring of energy and smart meter data and indoor air quality, modelling to assess energy use in buildings (including Energy Performance Certificates), and to perform damp and mould risk assessments. His team also explore the potential of behaviour change techniques to encourage healthier or more sustainable choices and understand occupant experiences in homes.
David is an established expert in retrofit evaluation and holds various positions at academic, industry and policy organisations, he is on the Board of the Good Homes Alliance and the Installation Assurance Authority, and member of the Building Performance Network, he sits on OFGEM's Technical Advisory Panel for innovation in ECO, and he is Associate Editor for the Journal Buildings and Cities.
Rob Auld - Construction Director at McLaren Property
Rob Auld is the Construction Director for McLaren Property and is responsible for the delivery of the fantastic York Central development.
His remit covers the coordination of design, procurement of the projects, delivery of the construction phases and the establishment of the operational elements of this market leading regeneration of such an important area of a great historic city.
Jane Turner - Construction Lead at NEPO
Jane Turner is Construction Lead at NEPO, leading the development of procurement solutions for construction, infrastructure and professional services across the public sector.
A former local authority procurement professional, Jane brings extensive experience from both client and procurement leadership roles. Throughout her career, she has supported the delivery of major capital programmes, including education, housing, regeneration, infrastructure and decarbonisation projects.
Jane works closely with local authorities, contractors and consultants to develop collaborative procurement approaches that deliver value for money, social value and sustainable outcomes. She is particularly passionate about improving project delivery through early market engagement, strong contract management and effective implementation of the Procurement Act 2023.
Stuart Young - Head of Stakeholder Engagement, Department for Business and Trade
Stuart’s key areas of responsibilities include:
- Working in partnership with companies and Trade Associations across the sector to understand their operational and strategic challenges, issues and risks, engaging with relevant Departments across Government, ensuring market intel is fed through to Ministers and senior officials.
- Leading on, and management of, the relationship between DBT and the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), including supporting the Industry Co-Chair and oversight of all CLC communications.
- Communications Director and Co-Lead for the CLC’s Construct Zero Programme (the sector’s industry-change programme accelerating its transition to Net Zero), working closely with key Departments including DESNZ, and MHCLG, together with CZ’s cohort of 300 supporting companies.
- Part of the leadership team for the CLC’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing workstream, including the Mental Health project.
Kieron McGaughey - Consultant Solicitor and Procurement Law Trainer
Kieran McGaughey is a consultant solicitor and legal trainer, specialising in public procurement law. He sits on the Executive Committee of the Procurement Lawyers' Association (PLA) and contributes as a public procurement expert for LexisNexis. As a solicitor, Kieran has advised various contracting authorities on successfully navigating the procurement rules. As a legal trainer, he has delivered training to thousands of public procurers, in particular on the new Procurement Act.
Stephanie Parker - Senior Advisor at The Energy Systems Catapult
Stephanie Parker is a Senior Advisor at the Energy Systems Catapult. She works in the Sites team helping predominantly public sector organisations deliver energy, carbon and cost savings. Most recently, Stephanie’s work has focused on the Public Sector Decarbonisation Guidance, a free to access suite of guidance, tools and checklists that makes it simpler and quicker for the public sector to decarbonise their buildings and estates. She also leads areas of the UKRI funded SENSE which brings together smart energy data to enable researchers and policy makers to tackle difficult social problems including ensuring equitable EV charging infrastructure. Stephanie’s background is in the Civil Service, where she worked on policy and strategy across a number of departments over ten plus years.
Kathryn Gardner - Director, Avison Young
Kathryn is a Chartered QS and PM with over 30 years of project delivery across infrastructure and real estate. She is a Board Member of Constructing Excellence North East and chairs their Value Theme Group.
Andrea Leigh - Senior Associate, Trowers & Hamlin LLP
Andrea specialises in public procurement and construction projects, advising both public and private sector clients on a wide range of procurements and construction projects. Recently, she has been working with clients to enable a smooth transition to the Procurement Act 2023 and has advised many clients on their first procurements under the new regime. As a member of the Manchester Constructing Excellence Committee, she also takes a keen interest in how the construction industry can work better, particularly for SMEs.
Liam Colebrook - Cover3
Liam has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry. He started his career in the sector on the tools as a Plasterer and has worked across the industry in all parts of the supply chain initially for a Contractor, then later a manufacturer and most recently Distributor where he was a Business Development Director. Following some challenges with mental health and addiction, in the summer of 2024 Liam stepped away from the corporate world to work for himself and share his story to raise awareness and reduce stigma of the challenges he faced.
He has a passion for mental health and its impact on those affected with a specific interest in mental health within the construction industry. He is involved with a number of charities in this sector sharing his lived experience to both industry and the charity space.
Mike Raven - Client Engagement Lead at YORhub
Mike is an award-winning chartered construction manager with over two decades of experience in the construction sector, particularly in procurement, project management, sustainability, and contract administration.
He is the national sustainability lead for the National Association of Construction Frameworks, setting strategy for frameworks across the country on the implementation of sustainability and carbon reduction within their procurements, and as YORhub's Client Engagement Lead he specialises in working with public sector organisations on their procurement of construction works and services, advising on procurement solutions and the administration of NEC contracts.
Mike is proud to be co-chair of the Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber Club, working alongside with fellow co-chair Caroline Key.
Peter Dodd - Project Director at VINCI Building
Merseyside resident and LJM alumnus, Peter has extensive
experience in the delivery of complex laboratory and research
facility projects with a proven ability to deliver challenging
schemes on complex sites using advanced construction
methods to meet demanding technical and programme
requirements.
He consistently manages projects to
completion within tight schedules whilst exceeding quality
expectations.
Ed Besford - Regional Director at Bowmer & Kirkland
Ed Besford is a respected leader in the construction industry, known for his strategic thinking and commitment to high standards. With over 35 years of experience, he has played a key role at Bowmer & Kirkland, one of the UK’s top construction companies. He started as a trainee with Bowmer & Kirkland in 1992 and was crucial in the company’s first big project in the Northeast. His hard work led him to become a Director in 2007, where he now manages operations in the Northeast and Scotland.
One of Ed's recent achievements is his work on the completed Pilgrim Quarter development in Newcastle, which is now in the fit-out stage. This project aims to revitalise a historic area by blending modern design with its cultural heritage. Under Ed's guidance, the Pilgrim Quarter development is set to become a vibrant hub for business, living, and leisure, enhancing community involvement and economic growth.
Ed has a strong history of completing complex projects on time and within budget. He is dedicated to sustainable practices and improving community wellbeing. His commitment to excellence and teamwork continues to drive Bowmer & Kirkland's success in shaping future developments.
Ian Crow - Principal at Ryder Architecture
Ian joined Ryder in 2004 and is responsible for some of the practice’s most significant projects across commercial and health sectors. He has particular expertise in place led regeneration and urban design and has led various masterplanning, public realm and urban renewal projects, including the £500m regeneration of Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street. The project delivers almost 1 million square feet of commercial office, retail, hotel and leisure space in a key quarter of Newcastle’s city centre and is supported by substantial infrastructure, public realm and active travel upgrades within the city centre.
As project director, Ian has overseen the Pilgrim Street project from its inception in 2014 through to the completion of the final phase of construction work in summer 2027. His role has included establishing the wider placemaking vision for the project, engaging with public and private sector partners and securing the wider social and economic benefits related to the development. During the construction phases, Ian has worked closely with Bowmer and Kirkland to ensure that each phase is delivered on time, and within budget.
Ian studied at Northumbria University and Edinburgh College of Art and now provides undergraduate studio tutoring. Ian is passionate in promoting placemaking and people centred design solutions. He works closely with town planners, urban designers through the evolution of a project, to ensure that it delivers the best results for all stakeholders. Ian is a RIBA regional council member, a board member of literature charity New Writing North, and represents Ryder across the construction industry, in forums focusing on education, health and planning.
Mark Boothby - Joint Managing Director, Illingworth & Gregory and Sewell Construction
Mark is Joint Managing Director of construction companies I&G, based in West Yorkshire, and Sewell Construction, headquartered in Hull. Both companies are part of the wider Sewell Group, which Mark joined in 1996 as a management trainee. He’s jointly headed up the team who’ve successfully achieved a number of high-profile builds in Yorkshire, recently including the construction of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in Leeds, numerous campus improvement projects for the University of Leeds, and the refurbishment of a new Community Diagnostic Centre at Seacroft Hospital.
Mark is passionate about making meaningful impact in the industry, and has founded Sewell Group’s Digital Construction Academy, a place where young people from all backgrounds can get an engaging, hands-on insight into future skills, and careers in the construction sector.
Dean Gainford - Commercial Leader, Laing O'Rourke
Dean Gainford is a Commercial Leader at Laing O'Rourke with over 18 years of experience delivering major construction and infrastructure projects across the UK and Australia. Dean has held senior commercial leadership roles on landmark projects including Everton Stadium, Royal Liverpool Hospital, Oxford Westgate redevelopment, and major rail infrastructure programmes across Australia. With expertise spanning pre-construction, procurement, project delivery and commercial strategy, Dean is passionate about driving excellence, developing high-performing teams and delivering projects that create lasting value for clients, and the communities they serve.
Gayle Morgan - Commercial Leader, Laing O'Rourke
Gayle Morgan is a Commercial Leader at Laing O'Rourke with over 22 years of experience delivering major construction and infrastructure projects across the UK. Her portfolio includes landmark schemes such as Aviva Studios, more than twenty education projects, Birmingham Airport, Robin Hood Airport, Meadowhall Shopping Centre, and most recently the delivery of Calderdale Royal Hospital.
With extensive experience across both Pre-Construction Services Agreements (PCSA) and project delivery, Gayle is passionate about creating positive client experiences, developing high-performing teams, and supporting the next generation of construction professionals through mentoring and training.
Alongside her project role, Gayle is Chair of Laing O'Rourke's Diverse Abilities Network, championing inclusion and awareness for colleagues with neurodiverse conditions, disabilities, and long-term health conditions. She is a strong advocate for creating workplaces where everyone can thrive and achieve their full potential.
Toby Ingle - Sector Director - Healthcare, Corstorphine & Wright
Toby is an experienced architect specialising in the healthcare and science sectors, with a track record spanning primary, acute and mental healthcare environments. He has led the delivery of projects ranging from individual clinical departments to major hospital developments, masterplans and estate strategies. He has also supported NHS England in the development of national healthcare guidance.
Most recently, Toby was the Project Lead for the award-winning Rob Burrow Centre for MND, delivering a pioneering specialist care facility that has set a new benchmark for patient-centred design.
Event partners
YORhub - LEAD EVENT PARTNER
YORhub is the regions collaborative public-sector construction procurement hub, providing a comprehensive suite of building, civil engineering and consultancy frameworks across Yorkshire & the Humber, the North East, and the East Midlands.
Established and managed by local authority officers to deliver better-value construction procurement, YORhub helps public-sector organisations access high-quality contractors and consultants while driving social, economic and environmental benefits for communities across the region. Its experienced team works closely with clients and suppliers to ensure projects achieve positive outcomes for both stakeholders and local communities.
YORhub is widely recognised for its award-winning commitment to social value, championing employment and skills initiatives, supply-chain engagement, community investment and sustainable construction practices. Through programmes such as YOR4Good and its extensive SME engagement activities, YORhub continues to support economic growth and create lasting benefits.
YORhub’s support for the Constructing Excellence North Conference reflects its ongoing commitment to collaboration, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement across the built environment sector. We look forward to exploring how we can collectively deliver better outcomes for the North.
Blaze Trap Innovations
Blaze Trap Innovations is the innovation and development arm of the Blaze Trap group, focused on next generation passive fire protection systems for modern construction, infrastructure, and high performance environments. Working alongside Blaze Trap Ltd, which manufactures the company’s systems, the business brings together design, testing, certification, and production to deliver practical, compliant fire protection solutions.
Focused on compliance, durability, and real world installation, Blaze Trap supports safer buildings through intelligent fire protection engineered for the evolving demands of the construction industry. Blazetrap® Rapid Outlet Box System ROBS was the Innovation Category Winner at the Constructing Excellence National Awards 2024, awarded to Blaze Trap Ltd. Blazetrap® Rapid Outlet Box System ROBS is a fire rated electrical back box system, tested as a complete installed assembly, designed to support compliance, traceability, installation speed, and consistency. Tested up to 120 minutes fire resistance, Blazetrap® Rapid Outlet Box System ROBS is suited to refurbishment projects, modular construction, and modern 1st and 2nd fix applications. The system has been developed to simplify installation while improving reliability and reducing variability associated with traditional firestopping methods. BlazeTrap® Rapid Protect is an A2-s1,d0 reaction to fire coating engineered for long term durability in demanding architectural and infrastructure environments.
Suitable for:
Escape corridors
Stairwells
Balcony soffits
Public transport infrastructure
Marine and industrial environments
The coating is designed to withstand:
Weathering
Industrial cleaning
Graffiti removal
Impact and mechanical wear
Corrosive environments
The BlazeTrap® product range is developed through an integrated approach
combining innovation, testing, certification, and manufacturing, supporting modern building safety requirements through performance, durability, reliability, and compliance by design.
TYR Law
Tyr is a full-service commercial law firm which redefines the lawyer and client relationship.
Tyr is recognised for prioritising clients’ goals and offering support beyond purely legal advice. With a commercially minded and pragmatic approach, the firm builds rapport and relationships with clients. The legal advice provided is always of a high technical standard.
Tyr has an extremely strong client base including PLCs and other major corporates and advises on high-profile and complex matters.
Bradley O'Mahoney
Established in 1991, Bradley O’Mahoney is a branding and communications specialist whose primary focus is to make clients category famous.
Our core services include brand and marketing strategy, media relations, PR, social, video and graphic design.
We are focused heavily in construction, regeneration and the built environment.
Some of the organisations we have supported include Arup, Constructing Excellence North East, Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Northern Counties Builders Federation, Construction Alliance North East, Sir Robert McAlpine, Turner & Townsend, Silverstone Building Consultancy, Carney Consultancy, Hodgson Sayers, John N Dunn Group, Castle, Compass Developments, Classic Masonry, Greener Solutions Group and True North Construction.
Efficiency North
Efficiency North is a membership-owned and led, not-for-profit consortium of social housing providers, one of the first trailblazing procurement consortia established in 2006. We provide a comprehensive range of procurement solutions that save time and money for social housing providers, covering every aspect of new build, repairs, refurbishment, installation, improvement, compliance and retrofit. These are underpinned by a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits to support local socio-economic regeneration, social mobility and accelerate the journey to net zero, alongside investment in communities through Efficiency North’s charity EN:Communities CIO.
More on our website
Cidori
Cidori helps construction employers build stronger, more sustainable talent pipelines - bringing new people into the industry and developing the workforce they already have.
Through our Into Work programmes, delivered in partnership with colleges in the North, we help unemployed and economically inactive people take their first steps into construction. Candidates gain essential industry skills and qualifications, including CSCS cards, before being connected with employers and real job opportunities through our national employer network.
Our support doesn’t stop at getting people into work. Through employer-led apprenticeships, we help organisations develop existing employees, build capability, improve productivity and create clear progression pathways.
By connecting colleges, employers and communities, Cidori helps turn skills investment into employment, progression and tangible workforce outcomes - creating accessible routes into construction while helping the industry develop the people it needs for the future.
Igniting careers. Transforming workplaces.
Devonshires
Devonshires is a leading law firm with a large, highly regarded construction team, operating from Leeds, Birmingham and London. Recognised by the major legal directories, our lawyers are known for their responsive, pragmatic and hands-on approach.
We advise across the construction and engineering sectors, acting for developers, contractors, housing associations, local authorities and construction professionals. Our work spans the full project lifecycle, from procurement and the drafting and negotiation of construction documentation through to dispute resolution, including adjudication, arbitration and litigation in the Technology and Construction Court.
Our construction lawyers combine deep sector knowledge with technical expertise and a clear focus on practical, commercially driven outcomes. We are particularly recognised for our expertise in building safety, helping clients navigate complex and evolving regulatory requirements alongside the wider commercial challenges facing the sector.
Whether supporting a project from the outset or helping resolve a dispute when things go wrong, we provide clear, decisive and commercially focused advice designed to help clients protect their position, manage risk and keep projects moving.