Testimonials

"Mark was appointed as interim Head of Capital Delivery at Croydon Council between 1 March 2012 until 29 October 2012 on a 6 month contract extendable for three months. Mark provided a good solid service as an interim manager and I would have no hesitation recommending him for future interim assignments."

Mark had responsibility for the following staff:

  • Programme and project managers
  • Client and operations management
  • Council officers and consultants

  • Mark was responsible for four capital delivery programmes:

    • Education buildings
    • Public Realm
    • New build Housing
    • Fairfield Halls Theatre

    • The work Mark undertook in this role included:

      • Lead on capital delivery staff recruitment
      • Management of over 30 staff who had recently been reorganised into new teams
      • Contract management and resourcing

      • Mark had a calm approach and was able to deal with difficult situations as they arose. Mark 's personal qualities include:

        • Approachable
        • Efficient
        • Personable and pleasant to work with
        • Can-do attitude
        • Team builder
        • Stakeholder relations
        • Conscientious

        • Tony Antoniou Director of Regeneration & Economy, Croydon Council (line manager) - October 2012


          "Mark was the interim Head of Croydon's newly formed 'capital delivery hub'. This was a crucial post for the Council in that it was forging the way for the delivery of a capital programme across the public realm and education estate that went to millions of investment. Mark was instrumental in putting the building blocks in place, managing the new team of project managers and working with me in my role as sponsor and client. I was impressed by his knowledge and professionalism and assisted me greatly in my role."

          Tony Brooks Director Public Safety & Public Realm, Croydon Council (colleague) - October 2012


          "Mark and I worked on a number of joint initiatives between our organisations during his time at LB Croydon. He proved to be a reliable, hard working and valuable part of a multi-party team that succeeded in delivering despite external constraints."

          Colin Mann Head of Borough Coordination, Transport for London (business partner) - September 2012


          "I worked with Mark whilst he was going through the final stages of setting up the Capital Delivery Hub. Mark supported staff and consultants through a difficult time and was instrumental in developing the relationship with my team."

          Fiona Belton, Head of Strategy, Commissioning, Procurement and Performance for Planning and Environment, Croydon Council - September 2012


          "Mark brought his 'can-do' attitude to the role of Head of the Capital Delivery Hub and rapidly resolved a number of knotty issues that had hampered high performance. In addition to improving the operational efficacy of the group, he also worked hard to build a team culture. He has been a great and supportive colleague who has consistently worked to enable others to deliver their objectives."

          Eleanor Purser, Head of Regeneration and Investment - Croydon & South London, GLA - August 2012


          "I'm proud to have been on the interview panel that recruited Mark for an exceptionally demanding, and rewarding task at Croydon Council. We needed someone to show leadership, and help a newly-formed team to establish itself, whilst delivering key public realm and education estate projects in our Capital Programme. Mark has performed superbly at the helm of the capital programme delivery team, showing strong programme management skills, but also improving morale, relationships with stakeholders and helping a new team develop its service offering. Whilst strong on governance, Mark is also pragmatic and effective in supporting delivery and his team. He has been a pleasure to work with, and has done Croydon the Council - and Croydon the place - proud."

          Top qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity

          Anthony Snook of London Borough of Croydon - July 2012


          "I have worked with Mark in the past and recently crossed paths again. Mark was and still is a professional with a firm but reasonable approach to doing business. He is personable, hard working and shows a good logic when approaching different situations. His management style is varied dependent on the situation and is always striving to better stakeholders expectations. Mark is someone I would do business with."

          James Buratti of Faithful & Gould - July 2012


          "Mark is a pleasure to work with and a good team player. He is conscientious and he showed professional skills at all times, and covered the ground necessary to complete the work to a high standard.""

          Graham Preston of Gleeds Management Services - 2012


          "Mark and I jointly studied on the MBA programme at the University of Hertfordshire, completing several group assignments and activities together. Mark is a highly skilled and dedicated worker with a great ethic and can do mentality. I would happily work with Mark on any team in the future."

          Andy Mason of CDG, a Boeing Company - Studied with Mark at University of Hertfordshire - November 2011


          "I worked with Mark on the London Borough of Camden BSF bid and found him to be a strong and attentive Programme Manager. Mark worked well across a multi-disciplinary team, pulling together various tasks and projects in order to achieve the successful completion of the programme, ensuring key milestones were met."

          Satpal Biant of RM Education - 2011


          "I have been involved with two projects in which Mark has had a significant input, Kent BSF and most recently a Community Centre in Faversham. I have found the approach to be extremely professional, proactive and client focused. I have no hesitation in recommending."

          Matt Hayes of Lee Evans Partnership LLP - 2011


          "It was a pleasure to work with Mark. He embraced the things that were going well and tackled problems without hesitation to get timely resolution. I would very much welcome the opportunity to work with Mark again."

          Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert

          Steve Coles of Woodley Coles Partnership - 2011


          "...Clients and peers found him to be full of energy, well organised, technically astute, proactive and very professional in carrying out duties. I would have no hesitation in recommending in the future."

          Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Expert

          Carl Rigby of Randstad Education - 2010


          "As the Bid Manager he co-ordinated a multitude of tasks efficiently, compiling a comprehensive successful tender bid for BSF Hertfordshire. With my dealings I found him to be very professional and competent in very stressful situations endeavouring to meet stringent deadlines."

          Rob Grady of Balfour Beatty Construction - 2009


          "...from the outset he demonstrated commitment by fulfilling an immediate design management need whilst still developing an overall programme of activities in his role as Bid Manager."

          Ian Carr of Balfour Beatty Construction Scottish & Southern Ltd - 2009


          "...has excellent stakeholder management skills and like all good project managers delivers regardless of the circumstances. Was put into a very difficult tranche of work and impressed all round. Decent, Trustworthy as well."

          Top qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity

          Matt Harding of Expand, 2008


          "...provided exceptional project management services on Haringey BSF, including extensive stakeholder engagement with the Local Authority, school SMT and constructors. The handling of some highly politicized issues was professional and efficient as I had come to expect."

          Rik Kew of RM Education - 2009


          "...one of the most disciplined and punctual people I’ve ever known. His ability to work efficiently under stressful conditions and nerve-wrecking deadlines speaks volumes about his hard work, determination and his composed demeanour. During the BSF project he has worked as a project manager and has demonstrated excellent leadership skills and team spirit while working with a team of 9 employees. In general he is a compassionate and hardworking human being with perseverance and ambition. I strongly recommend Mark and am available for any further details you wish to know about him."

          Henry Ibi of Gleeds PFI/ PPP - 2008


          "I worked with Mark on the ground-breaking JCoSS school. I found Mark to be personable and highly experienced in his field, and particularly in the education sector. Mark was passionate about the project, and he was collaborative as well. His great commitment helped to create a successful team and to ultimately deliver an excellent building."

          Top qualities: Personable, Expert, High Integrity

          Jennifer Singer of RHWL Architects - 2006


          "...very sound technically with experience in managing large scale PPP/PFI construction projects. While at Mace his project management skills resulted in the delivery of a multimillion pound project on time and within budget."

          Clement Okwuegbuna of MACE Ltd - 2005


          "...was a well thought-of project manager within the team and had the ability to work efficiently and well under pressure to difficult timescales. Has since specialised in the education sector and I believe his range of experience in this area puts him in a strong position to understand and balance the needs of the various stakeholders which will undoubtedly lead to strong project delivery."

          Steve Eccles of Bucknall Austin - 2004


          * Note: experience of Achondrite Group and the founder.

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Registered address: 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU, United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)845 1162741

E: info@achondritegroup.com

© 2012 Achondrite Ltd trading as Achondrite Group ®. All rights reserved.

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