Meet the CROSS-UK team

Prior to his current role he was Technical Director at several leading civil and structural engineering consultancies with responsibility for technical excellence and project delivery from conceptual design through to construction. He has an in-depth knowledge of design and delivery within programme and budget constraints demonstrated through the successful completion of numerous building structures across multiple sectors.

Paul’s experience also includes the management of multi-disciplinary design teams, due-diligence surveys, advisor to party wall surveyors, defect investigation, ground engineering, basement design, conservation engineering, temporary works, and façade retention.

Neil’s career commenced as an operational firefighter in the late 1970’s, initially serving as a firefighter in Derbyshire he progressed through the ranks to become Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, following the successful merger of the two services.

Neil was lead officer for fire protection within the UK Chief Fire Officers Association (now NFCC) from 2007 to 2013, chairing the group that managed the implementation of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order. Since moving on from the fire and rescue service Neil has been President and CEO of the Institution of Fire Engineers.

He was chair of a national working group set up to improve product safety recalls, appointed by the then BEIS  Minister Margot James. The working group’s report lead directly to the creation of the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). He supported the post Grenfell industry led work, as a member of the Competency Steering Group and secretary of the fire engineers group as well as assisting Structural-Safety with the expansion of CROSS to incorporate fire safety.

Neil has been awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal and is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers.

Alastair was a founding member and Director of CROSS, and then Structural-Safety, from 2005 to 2021. In 2021, he became a Consultant and a member of the CROSS Technical Board. 

Previously CEO of a consulting firm, he has extensive experience in the design and constuction of major building and structural projects in the UK and internationally. He has had a long interest in safety and forensic engineering, and has a Sir Arnold Walters Medal, a Lewis Kent Award and a President’s Award from the Institution of Structural Engineers. The American Society of Civil Engineers presented him with their Forensic Engineering Award for 2021 and, in the same year, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers. 

Author of numerous publications, for many years he was visiting professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Liverpool, and is a Past President of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.

Peter is founder and Director of Pyrology Limited, providing a wide range of safety, fire and risk engineering services to both established buildings and new-build projects. As well as being a Designated Person for CROSS, he is a Trustee and Technical Director at the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE), the international organisation for fire professionals, helping to promote the profession and register professional engineers with the Engineering Council. Peter also chairs the British Standards Technical Committee FSH/24, developing and codifying fire safety engineering practices, such as the BS7974 suite.

Peter is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Scientist and a Registered Fire Risk Assessor, and holds an Engineering Doctorate where he investigated resilient fire engineering building design. Prior to his current roles, Peter was an Associate Director at the Fire Protection Association, overseeing the activities of the Fire and Risk Services group, and prior to that, an Associate Director with a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy, leading a team of fire engineering consultants and fire risk assessors.

As Group Engineer at Cornwall Council, he led the structural design of all Council buildings. He later took on responsibility for the entirety of the Council’s capital and revenue building programmes, including oversight and asset management for 500 properties including some 400 schools. As Technical Director, David took responsibility for PFI schemes including the rebuilding or refurbishment of schools where his passion for design quality significantly influenced outcomes. 

David then took on a new challenge within the NHS when he was appointed as the Estates Director for the acute Trust in Cornwall. David very successfully led the Trust as Health and Safety Director engaging with the HSE and other health safety agencies. David established his own consultancy in 2010 and provided interim Director roles to a number of organisations, serving as a Board Director overseeing estates and construction services including the closing out of significant engineering, fire and legionella risks at multiple sites. David joined CROSS in 2021 using his experience in public and private sectors to contribute to structural safety from a broad perspective.

Aidan graduated from University College Cork in 2010. Following graduation, he moved to Australia where he worked with The Reinforced Earth Company and Freyssinet Australia (both a subsidiary of VINCI Construction) on a wide range of civil and structural projects throughout Australia and SE Asia over a 5 year period.

In 2016, Aidan moved to Scotland where he joined Blyth & Blyth Consulting Engineers where he worked as design engineer on a number of commercial and industrial projects including The Event Centre Aberdeen. He now provides consultancy services to CROSS.