Meet the Carillion Communications Team of AV Experts

Aaron - also known as ‘Coxy’ - is a great addition to the team. He served 9 years in the household cavalry and worked his way up to Lance Corporal. Aaron decided to make a career change and has stepped into the trainee installation role at Carillion and has slotted into the team nicely. This may be helped by the fact he is an Arsenal fan or the fact he loves food.

Adrian’s our Kiwi. He’s very active and into martial arts, which seems to result in regular injuries, as I see him limp into the office regularly. Adrian is based in our Manchester office but he works all around the UK with end users, and customers appreciate his open approach to business. He’s a good example of the Carillion ethos in practice. He brings skills from his background in conference rooms and presentation, as well as in the public sector, that expand our knowledge base. He’s got real knowledge founded in experience as opposed to being someone who reads off a product sheet. Adrian understands integration and how things work together, which means he has a lot of personal credibility and adds to the company’s credibility too.

Alex is an Site Engineer who has more than ten years of experience and who fit straight into the Carillion team. with the perfect “can do” attitude. For Alex, nothing is ever too much and he is always happy to help and, as a result, he always receives glowing feedback from all our clients. He is always enthusiastic to learn and is always the first to put up his hand put for training as he is passionate about technology.

Andy has a lot of technical and customer knowledge. He works with large enterprises in specialist sectors such as aviation and medicine. As some projects are confidential, Andy can be a bit of a man of mystery at times.

He has strong principles about putting the customer first. Andy always goes on site to check every last detail of projects, from technical performance to Health and Safety compliance.

Andy’s an easy person to talk to and he’s always smiling.

Barrie is a character. When he walks into a room it immediately feels more chirpy.

Barrie’s responsible for a lot of our collaborative technology. He has a big role in marketing and training on products like Surface Hub. I have spent time with Barrie on technology training days out of the office and he’s always very supportive.

I see him with customers and he always gets along with people. They also value him for his knowledge.

You can find his ‘out-take’ videos on YouTube, which prove how determined he is and also that he does not take himself too seriously.

Chris is good with customers. He’s experienced and knowledgeable. He’s got a technical background so he knows how systems are meant to be set up. I worked with him on a national roll out of video conferencing across a large medical support organisation and the projects went well. He likes his food and he also gets involved in some strenuous cycling with Carillion’s fundraisers.

Chris has joined Carillion as a Lead Engineer with a vast amount of AV experience under his belt. Starting his career as an Electrician he moved into the world of audio visual installation and 12 years later he still holds a great passion for the job and the way the technology continues to evolve. He is always trying to improve himself and help the others around him which fits perfectly into our team ethos of continuous learning. Chris has a wealth of knowledge that comes from leading AV installs across the world, from Europe to Israel and Dubai and America to name but a few. This experience will help him when we are servicing our global customer base. Luckily, he is not shy when it comes to a challenge onsite and always produces results.

In his spare time, he enjoys riding his motorbike, watching the F1 (along with most of the team at Carillion) and MotoGP. He also like to travel and combines his work globetrotting with visits to many new far flung parts of the world.

Cass has become a valued member of the Help Desk Team. She has a wealth of experience in varying customer focused positions. She is a well-organised, methodical and adaptable individual and anticipates the needs of her coworkers to make office life run as smoothly as possible. Cass has a positive can do, get the job done attitude and is an effective listener which ensures swift responses for problem solving. Cass always takes great pride in helping each and every customer with care and calminess”

With a background in hospitality and charity fundraising sales, Chhya is brand new to AV and technology but has a huge interest in learning all she can about the industry. Chhya has previously enjoyed extensive travelling prior to joining the team, seeing new cultures, historical sights and of course experiencing the food. She hopes to visit her current favourite Italy again soon (controversial choice after this year’s Euro 2020 result)!

In 2017 she was lucky enough to be in the Caribbean on what was initially an exciting work adventure. The excitement however came thick and fast when Hurricane Irma hit and sadly devasted the Virgin Islands. Chhya, fortunately managed to escape shortly after the hurricane and returned home safely despite being registered as missing for a brief period due to the lack of communications and power.

Chhya like many of the team is keen on sport and is typically found on a golf course or running around a softball diamond when not working with the sales team.

Carol-Anne was brought up in a big family, being the oldest of 6 siblings so she knows how to have fun but also when to put her foot down, all key skills for our Internal Sales Support team.

Known for her outgoing personality, positive can-do attitude, honesty, high work ethic and determination she will find herself surrounded by many likeminded souls in the Maidenhead office.

Another of our team with a background in media, Carol-Anne is a Film and Television Graduate who learnt her passion was providing people with great material.

Since leaving university, she has always been in customer services which will be invaluable working with our internal teams and suppliers alike.

When not in the office, she loves to stay active and is a regular gym user, adventures, cheeky glass of wine, trying new foods and is looking forward to our charity food events.

Always a keen bean when it comes to learning new things she has thrown herself into learning our systems with great enthusiasm.

Daryl is experienced and has a lot of industry knowledge. He works with customers to find the right solutions for what they want to achieve.

Daryl is especially knowledgeable in video conferencing and systems integration. He’s easy to work with and a good person to bounce ideas off.

He’s Irish and I’m from New Zealand, so we’re occasionally stumped by each other’s accents.

Dave’s one of the owners who’s been here from the early days of Carillion. He’s got a lot of technical knowledge. He focuses on growing the business and has some big accounts under his name. I work with him on some accounts, helping with site surveys, meetings and project management. He takes customer relationships very seriously, has a positive attitude and works very hard. I enjoy working with him; he sets high standards, but he’s very approachable and people can have a laugh with him.

David is a member of the Design team who brings a wealth of practical knowledge from his background in audio visual installation and rack building. He started his career in the broadcast industry, which was followed by time in the installation and build environments of the Commercial AV world. This wide experience means he’s seen most areas of our industry and helps with the decision to follow into the design side of the business. It’s not all been work as he also spends time restoring a classic VW beetle, which we hope to see one day.

Denise is Carillion’s Resource Planner. She books Engineers, Design Architects and Project Managers. She’s central to the business and works across all of Operations. She’s responsible for bookings - hotels, flights, vans – so she really has a huge amount to juggle, with frequent last minute schedule changes.

Yet, even with everything on her plate, Denise is always calm and positive.

Away from work she is very family oriented. She’s a devoted mum and a great cook. She also belongs to a jogging group and mentors new members about stamina. She’s very nurturing.

At work Denise has taken it upon herself to run the Grand National sweepstake, which is something she loves. She’s very strict about it, and funny too.

Dee, our MD, is hands on in all aspects. She looks after all the staff and oversees their roles. She sets performance expectations and is supportive in the way she encourages people to take professional exams and be the best they can be. Dee’s experienced in the industry and very well connected. She has expanded the company and grown revenues significantly in her time as MD. One of her missions is to make Carillion a fun company, which translates into some of our nutty fundraising, endurance cycling, barbecues, dance nights, seasonal costumes, and the like. Dee is a strong believer in teamwork and promotes the idea that personality is as important as professionalism. Even though staff numbers have doubled, Carillion remains a very friendly place to work.

Elaine is Carilion’s Finance Manager. She is a confident, multi-skilled and capable accountant with excellent knowledge of finance and accounting procedures. She has exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills but pays attention to the little details. Wading through a mountain of data she has the flair to be able to communicate with colleagues and clients alike, providing financial information to all areas of the business while ensuring that all management information is accurate.

She has a heart of gold and is very proud of her lovely sons.

Heidi has the envious challenge of keeping the company on top of all things HSE and facilities related. With four buildings of differing ages in Maidenhead there is always something requiring a test, inspection or refresh and she ensures it is seamless and doesn’t impact the day to day operation of the business. All the engineers are very polite to Heidi as she manages all the work wear and protective clothing the team use, as well as their IT.

Heidi is always on top of the suppliers and is a great advocate for the business. Her cheerful, informed manner when negotiating has brought savings across much of the estate and fleet operations.

Luke is our first engineer born and raised in Essex and has been working on the front line in AV now for about 11 years. During this time he has earned his stripes working in service as well as going on to learn and develop his skill set in commissioning and has even dabbled in Crestron programming. Luke claims having a son is harder work than AV, so the challenge of being a lead engineer should be a walk in the park for him. Full of ideas and always ready to jump in and help others he has fitted straight in with the team. His background in service will be a real asset to the business as more clients look to repurpose existing rooms, spaces and technology for the new hybrid world people are returning to.

John manages the Northern Sales office based in Manchester. He’s got many years’ experience in the AV industry and he leads by example.

John’s very focused and is a good sounding board for me personally. He doesn’t shy away from challenging a manufacturer during a demo. He’s very deep into products and solutions to make sure they are just right for customers.

John’s honest, open and friendly, and always happy to help others. He fits the Carillion mould; he’s customer-focused and solution-centric.

Matt is a great asset to the business, as the Southern Regional Sales Manager. He has a vast amount of AV and VC knowledge at his fingertips. He directs the sales team's focus, sets goals, proactively manages the team’s pipeline and provides excellent technical help to motivate the team to increase sales and maintenance revenues. He always impresses customers with his product knowledge and demonstrates professional good practice on every project undertaken, many of which are with large, high-profile customers.  Matt appreciates that maintaining an impeccable relationship with the client is paramount, which he manages to do with a great sense of humour.

Mark has joined us with a full set of skills in video and audio conferencing which have enabled him to hit the ground running with the team. Working on customer sites he is used to the myriad of short time scale requests and needs of client VIP suites. His skills are not limited just to AV however, but also film, Mark is an award-winning writer-director and has previously worked for Twentieth Century Fox.

His friendly and proactive approach make him a perfect fit for our important client facing work.

His passion for quality service delivery and going above and beyond to make sure our clients receive a positive result from any request no matter how complex.

Mo joins the team as a Technical Sales Consultant with over 10 years’ experience in the Audio Visual industry in multi-disciplined roles including solution sales, consultancy, design and management. Very much a team player and possessing extensive product knowledge coupled with a creative mind in product application, has given Mo a history of sales successes. His strong belief that lifelong learning and development are key to both individual and company success, give balance and focus to his work. Having travelled extensively and lived in 5 countries, he will no doubt bring new ideas and solutions to the business. 

Outside of work, like many of the team at Carillion he is keen on sport, both watching and participating in rugby, boxing and football. He also volunteers as a tutor raising funds for Diabetes UK

Phil brings over 15 years of AV experience from Installation to Project Management in a number of very glamourous sectors including night clubs and hospitals! His understanding of the complexities involved in multi-trade on site relationships is a great asset to customers.

Despite being a keen hockey player, Phil has thrown himself literally into the deep end, by joining our charity team and is already signed up for a 2.5km swim in aid of the Maidenhead Foodshare, our chosen charity for 2020.

For the last 15 years Pete has been working freelance and on contracts in the AV Industry. Originally he was part of the high end domestic installation sector, providing home cinema rooms and control systems in houses all over the UK. 6 years ago he took the leap and came into the commercial sector bringing with him a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge especially with end user relationships and how to work with customers and their expectations. The change from domestic and the great attention to detail it required have helped him fit right into the team quickly. Pete has already completed projects for us all over Europe Africa. 

 When not working Pete is a keen golfer and describes himself as a ‘very keen’ rugby, football and cricket fan which stems back to his South African roots. 

Ross has an important role as Warehouse Team Leader. It’s critical that equipment goes out on time and that everything runs smoothly.

Lots of people in the company rely on him, and everyone knows they can trust his work.

Ross has created processes to ensure that everything is checked properly. It’s easy to focus on big items, such as screens. However, Ross will be as focused on details like consumables. It’s so easy for someone to overlook humble cables, but Ross won’t let that happen.

At Carillion, when it comes to projects, we’re all in it together, and Ross is an important link in the delivery chain.

Ross is experienced and very committed to his job. At the same time, he’s very human. He’s got an infectious laugh and when you hear it you just know that it’s Ross.

Rhys has been an engineer and a valued member of the installation team who is always willing to learn and help out whenever he can. He’s liked by colleagues and is popular with clients.

In his spare time, when not helping out with weekend work, he enjoys watching his favourite football team, Arsenal, sometimes at the Emirates, He is also an active member of a gym, which keeps him in shape to keep up with his two young daughters

Brand new to the AV industry. Sam joined having gained vital  experience in Sales Support and as a Greenskeeper for 5 years at a local Golf club.

Outside of work, like many of the team at Carillion he is keen on sport, In his spare time, he enjoys watching his favourite football team Nottingham Forest and playing for a number of local teams including the famous Carillion 5-a-side team along with Maidenhead Town FC. 

A keen family man he has fitted into the team with ease and despite not always liking the office music choices, he regularly joins in with the singing. 

Sam has been keen to learn all he can in a short period and it is great to see him question how and why various systems go together whilst supporting the sales team. 

Thomas joined Carillion as a Senior Engineer and is now Engineering Manager. He’s got a lot of experience and knowledge, and an outgoing personality. What stands out about Thomas is his passion for continuous improvement. He is all about teams and how each department can work better together.

He asks his team to get to know us in Finance over a coffee so that we understand how each other works. He always sees the positives, even if it’s in finding new ways to encourage people to get their expenses in on time!

From Day One at Carillion Thomas’ attitude has been ‘how can we make this work, how can we improve it?’ It’s a valuable attribute that is reflected in the way his team operates.

Thomas is sociable too. We get invited for team pizza and to the Engineering breakfast.

Tom works in Accounts. He’s experienced, with a strong background in finance. He’s quiet and unassuming, which doesn’t mean he does not take part or contribute to the team. He sits on the Carillion fundraising team and is part of our charity drive, which continues outside work.

Tom deals well with customers and has a feel for the business. He’s quick and accurate with reports and helps with our forecasting. He contributes to the business intelligence that is important for us to develop the business.

As the Accounts and Sales Support teams are closely linked, Tracey and I often work together.

She’s always been involved in finance and has always been hungry to learn. She’s not someone who’s content to rest. She loves working at Carillion and likes the people in her team because they are good company and good professionals. Her manager sees her talent and encourages her.

I’ve known Tracey a while; we’re friends outside work.

She has a dry sense of humour and is very quick witted. She can also be very direct. I have to thank her for snapping me out of some funks … she won’t allow me to be down.

She’s a keen baker and does a great Victoria sponge. She’s part of the Carillion fundraising team and brings in her baking for the cake sales.

Basically, Tracey is one of life’s loveliest people.

Vince is our Technical Systems Architect. He’s responsible for technical drawings, which may be customer facing or internal engineering drawings. He’s important throughout the life cycle of a project, from pre-sales to support. His role links Sales with the company’s responsibility to deliver technically.

Vince has a solid background in engineering and IT and is a CAD expert. He is also the longest serving person at Carillion, having been with company for more than twenty years.

If you need someone to make you smile when the pressure is on Walter is the man. As an engineer his skillset is very broad from traditional install to AV networking. When prepping on projects he is known for having a great attention to detail and works closely with the Team Leaders to ensure everyone is on the same page prior to arriving at site. Walter is also one of our keen learners and when not on site, he will be found in the workshop or demo room taking equipment apart or testing new set ups, control functions or programming ideas.