Managing Director | JJ Rhatigan

Tom Neylon is the Managing Director of JJ Rhatigan UK, responsible for the strategic growth, operational performance, and successful delivery of the company’s construction portfolio across London and the South East. Having joined the business in 2015 as a Senior Quantity Surveyor, Tom has progressed through a number of leadership roles, reflecting his commitment to excellence and deep understanding of the construction industry.

With over 20 years of experience, Tom has delivered complex projects valued up to £160 million across the residential, student accommodation, mixed-use, commercial, education, hotel, and leisure sectors. His expertise spans quantity surveying, project management, commercial leadership, and operational management.

Tom is recognised for his collaborative leadership style, championing early contractor involvement, innovation, and value-led delivery. Passionate about developing people and building strong client relationships, he remains actively involved in project delivery, ensuring quality, safety, and client satisfaction remain at the forefront of every project.

Operations Director | JJ Rhatigan

Kevin Larkin is Operations Director at JJ Rhatigan UK, overseeing the successful delivery of construction projects across London and the South East. Since joining the business in 2019 as a Project Manager, Kevin has played a key role in delivering major residential and mixed-use developments, progressing through the business into senior operational leadership.

With over 18 years of industry experience, Kevin has worked across both developer and principal contractor environments, delivering complex, high-value projects from luxury residential schemes to large-scale regeneration developments. His expertise includes project management, programme delivery, design coordination, procurement, and commercial management.

Kevin was promoted to Project Director following the successful completion of the award-winning Lu2on Phase 1 development and now works closely with project teams, clients, and supply chain partners to ensure projects are delivered safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards. He achieved Chartered Membership of the CIOB and was awarded Silver in the Construction Manager of the Year Awards.

Bid & Marketing Manager |            JJ Rhatigan

Anna Nolan has been a valued member of JJ Rhatigan UK for over 11 years, progressing through the company to her current role as Bid & Marketing Manager. Throughout her career, Anna has played a key role in supporting the company’s growth across the UK through strategic bid management, marketing initiatives, and client engagement.

Recognised for her passion and dedication to the construction industry, Anna was awarded the Women in Construction Award at the National Building & Construction Awards 2024. A previous gold award winner, this achievement reflects her commitment to innovation, collaboration, and promoting greater diversity and inclusion within the industry.

With extensive experience across business development and marketing, Anna is committed to showcasing JJ Rhatigan UK’s values, people, and projects while supporting the successful delivery of future opportunities and continued growth across the business.

Director | Frank Rogers

Dave Bracegirdle is a respected construction professional with extensive experience leading the delivery of complex projects across education, housing and commercial sectors. With a career grounded in site and operational leadership, he brings a strong focus on quality, safety and compliance, particularly within live environments. Recognised for his professionalism and collaborative approach, Dave offers valuable industry insight and a commitment to driving high standards across every stage of project delivery.

President | British and Irish Trading Alliance – BITA

Paul Whitnell has a background the varied arenas of politics, business and the music industry, and is well placed to spot trends and needs in the current diverse and rapidly changing economic environment. After arriving in the UK looking for work in 2008 during the economic crash, Paul realised that there was a need for a different kind of networking group to fill the gap. He founded BITA in response to this need, creating a friendly, relaxed networking community that is focused on creating business opportunities for UK and Irish businesses and offering advice. A pre-requisite of membership is that connections and knowledge are shared, so all have the opportunity to forge successful and profitable networking relationships.

In 2018 Paul signed an agreement with similar networking organisations in Scotland and America – Causeway and IN USA, and has recently expanded the organisation into South Africa, Dubai and Mexico. “We enjoy working with businesses in the UK and Ireland but recognise we need to expand our gaze and look to further afield. We are looking forward to working with Causeway, IN USA, and our global Ambassadors, and providing these exciting opportunities for our members to grow their businesses.”

BITA is a not-for-profit membership organisation that adheres to their motto of being the ‘People who Know People that Help People’. Aside from business and events, they value their communities and look for chances to give something back, supporting various charities through fundraising and promotion.

Consultant | CMS

James is a consultant in the Scottish Shipping and Banking teams at international law firm CMS, the 5th largest law firm in the UK by revenue and 5th largest globally by headcount. The firm has global reach with over 10,000 members of staff including more than 7,000 lawyers in 90 offices across 50 countries.

James has worked in the legal sector for nearly 25 years with the majority of this time as part of the banking team at CMS working from its Edinburgh and Glasgow offices.

The Scottish Banking Team at CMS is the largest within the legal sector in Scotland. James, whose work includes supporting and advising numerous specialist clients in the direct / alternative lending market across the UK, has a strong focus on business development across Scotland, Ireland and England.  Over the years James has developed a number of very strong strategic relationships across different sectors of the UK and Irish markets.

Beyond his role at CMS, James holds leadership positions at a number of organisations including as Chair of BITA / Causeway, Non-Exec at BITA and Past President and Charity Trustee of the SSBA Scottish Shipping Charity.

CEO | Pocketbox

Jim Finnegan is the founder and CEO of Pocket Box, a smart SaaS platform helping construction and Mobile workforce sector firms stay compliant, reduce downtime, and take control of their fleets, assets, and workforce. With a background in building and scaling technology businesses—including several successful exits—Jim bridges the gap between legacy slow manual operations and innovative digital transformation solutions. He’s passionate about making compliance simpler, safety stronger, and margins healthier for businesses that lead innovative construction projects.

Strategist | Futurist in Ai

A visionary leader in AI and technology, dedicated to creating global impact through innovative ventures. His expertise spans technology, finance, regulation, and societal impact, driving positive change in every area. He is passionate about democratizing access to advanced tools and knowledge, fostering human potential, and shaping legislation for a brighter future.

Business Development Manager | K&T Electromech Services

Chief Executive Officer | iTrust

A retired police sergeant, Nick spent nearly 20 years successfully recruiting informants. He is now the owner of a software feedback business called iTrust and the co-founder of Worldly Wise whose volunteers provide inspiration to young people. He has appeared on TV and radio to discuss issues that relate to speaking up in the workplace and has written two books, the first a guide to speaking up and the second a novel about police corruption.

Senior Director | CSS Recruitment & Training

Colin also has an integral part to play on the vision and growth of our Training & PPE/workwear departments.

Managing Director | Ultimo Safety

Founder & CEO | The Social Construct

Director | Crannull

James was brought up within the construction industry and prior to graduating from university, James spent many summers working on site with Byrne Bros, giving him a great understanding of how this sector operated.

With a Degree in Business Studies, James was originally going to pursue a career in accountancy, however, taking a temporary sales job highlighted a natural ability in corporate sales, which later turned into a permanent role.

James spent many years in the Corporate Finance Market where he realised that the more sales opportunities you have, the more you can pick and choose which ones to focus your time on. James progressed up the Corporate ladder, leading sales teams with the philosophy being built into his teams of having more choice!

After 10 successful years in this arena, James set up Crannull with his Business Partner Tom Fitzgerald, to provide companies within the construction sector and whole built environment more sales opportunities and more choice. 14 years on and servicing over 80 different clients weekly, Crannull are still providing new sales opportunities to their clients, with many having secured several £m’s worth of business through their efforts.

Head of Sales | Crannull

Bernard graduated from university in 2011, and shortly after leaving joined Crannull as their first employee. Over the years Bernard has worked with clients of all different shapes, sizes and specialities within construction and the built environment, initially responsible for generating opportunities for clients. Bernard showed a natural ability in communicating and understanding client requirements, coupled with excellent construction knowledge he quickly became a central figure in the company’s growth, from being a team leader to managing old and obtaining new clients. He now sits as Head of Sales for the business.

Bernard is passionate about the industry and will use his extensive knowledge of different clients and projects within the sector to recognise outstanding achievement.

Senior Marketing Executive | Construction EXPO North

Group Event Manager | Construction EXPO North

Managing Director | Gemini Contract Cleaning Services

COO | Alliance Intelligent Scaffolding Ltd

Rebecca is COO of Hertfordshire based multi-award winning Alliance Intelligent Scaffolding. Our previous GOLD winner of the coveted title of ‘Southern England Business Woman of the Year’ at The National Business Women’s Awards (Wembley 2020/2021), Rebecca is also a former Hertfordshire Business Person of the Year and has a wealth of experience in start-ups and SMEs, ranging from Professional Beauty and Spa to Construction. Rebecca strives to be an ambassador for business excellence and has extensive judging experience at both national and international business awards

Chief Executive Officer | BCM Agency

Miriam has 30 years’ international B2B marketing experience, and has worked in multiple sectors including finance, where she began her career working for Schroder Investment Management in Luxembourg, and building materials, working for Altro Floors for a number of years, responsible for northern Europe. Miriam founded marcomm agency, BCM, in 2016 which specialises in the construction and building materials sector, helping companies to grow by engaging their audiences with compelling brand storytelling – and this year celebrates its 10th anniversary. Working with clients across the supply chain, the agency helps clients build their brands, taking an approach rooted in research, strategy and really understanding the customer.