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BESA hires first chief operating officer

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has appointed Tony Gilbert as its first chief operating officer as part of a major strategic transformation.

Gilbert joined the organisation full-time at the start of 2025 having worked as a consultant to the Association since last year. He was previously with the management consultancy illumini consulting for 15 years where he specialised in helping organisations manage change and position themselves for increased growth. Clients included the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), the Ministry of Justice, RedRock Consulting, France Telecom, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, BAE, and the SThree group.

Prior to that he spent 10 years as Group Technology Director for France Telecom – Orange after founding his own management consultancy in 1993. He has worked with senior leadership teams in the US, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

BESA’s CEO, David Frise said of the appointment: “Tony brings enormous experience and vision to the Association and has already played a key role in our strategic review and reorganisation.

“We are delighted that he has now agreed to join us full-time to guide us through the next vital stage as we put our plans into action and refocus our products and services in line with this incredible time of change across the building engineering sector.”

Described by previous colleagues as an “inspiring and visionary leader with a broad range of skills and experience”, Gilbert said: “It has been a real privilege to work closely with the staff and membership of this historic and forward-looking trade body as it re-sets for an exciting and challenging new era in building services technology and practices.

“Our members and their clients are facing an unprecedented range of challenges, including very tough trading conditions and skills shortages, alongside significant business opportunities such as the rapid deployment of digital technology and an urgent drive towards decarbonisation of the built environment.

“The Association’s leadership has been working flat out to ensure members have the information, tools and support they need to, not just survive, but thrive in this new environment.”

Webinar: Staying on Top of Safety

FMJ has partnered with Watco to deliver a webinar on Thursday 30th January where we will be grilling a panel of experts on how facilities managers can maintain a safe workplace while balancing shrinking budgets.

The webinar follows the Lifting the Lid report series that the industrial paint and repair products specialist has been developing over the past few years based on research conducted with FMs across the UK. The research explored core responsibilities of the FM role, including how they have evolved in the past decade, and the associated challenges to manage.

Watco’s Sales Director and key contributor to the reports, Chris Budd, will be joined by a panel of experts including Phil Pinnington, Head of Audit & Consultancy at the British Safety Council, Nick Bray, Head of HSEQ, ISS UK and Ireland and Jenni Gallop, Director of Estates and Facilities at Provide Community.

With decades of combined experience in the introduction and management of health and safety in complex, demanding environments, the panel will provide the audience with recommendations broken down into steps that can be introduced immediately.

The panel will discuss the research data from FMs across the UK, the evidence they have seen of those experiences across industries and their first-hand recommendations on how to manage those challenges and ease the pressure.

Click here to sign up for the webinar.

 

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