Meet the 2025 Regional and Home Nation judges
Alan McAulay
Alan McAulay
Alan McAulay is a Director of the Scottish Building Standards Hub (SBSH). The role of the SBSH is to support Local Authority verifiers and wider industry stakeholders to strengthen the building standards system in Scotland. Alan is a chartered building surveyor with 35 years’ experience within the building standards system in Scotland having previously worked for Glasgow City Council and South Lanarkshire Council. He has also participated on numerous Scottish Government working groups covering a range of topics. Alan is a former Chair and Technical Director of Local Authority Building Standards Scotland.
Aled Rees
Aled Rees
With over 20 years of extensive experience in the construction industry as a Chartered Architectural Technologist, Aled Rees has successfully contributed to a wide array of sectors, including residential, commercial, social care, and infrastructure projects. This breadth of expertise has equipped him with a deep understanding of diverse project requirements and the ability to deliver innovative and practical solutions.
Aled is also a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), an honour that reflects his exceptional contributions to the profession. He has been actively involved with CIAT for nearly a decade, serving as a local Regional Chair and currently as a Councillor. This commitment underscores his passion for advancing architectural technology and fostering professional development within the industry.
Aled is honoured to have been invited to serve as a judge this year and looks forward to the privilege of reviewing the exceptional nominees put forward for consideration.
Astrid Arnold
Astrid Arnold
Astrid Arnold is a carpenter with 25 years of experience in the trade and runs TouchWood South West, a female-led carpentry and joinery company. As well as providing carpentry services, her company teaches carpentry and DIY courses for women, including working with schools and the community, supporting vulnerable women through teaching practical construction skills.
Astrid was the first female tradesperson to win the Screwfix Top Tradesperson Award in 2023.
She is an advocate for addressing the gender imbalance in the industry and her vision is a world where it is the norm and not the exception for women to be working in construction. It is on Astrid's bucket list to set up a building college for women to work towards that vision.
Christine Thornley
Christine Thornley
Christine is a Chartered Architect with her own practice Grove Studio Architecture based in Teesside. In her career she has worked and led commercial, domestic and infrastructure projects in the UK and abroad although her own practice now focuses on the domestic market.
She is currently in her second term as Chair for the Royal Institute of British Architects - Teesside and is an active member of the RIBA NE regional council. As Chair she has championed better regional connections within the industry & education, providing support, information and events for members, students, other professionals and the public. Christine has a reputation for focussing on better communication within the industry and as a disabled architect has a personal interest in improved accessibility.
David Smith
David Smith
David Smith leads South East Consortium (SECs) partnership, marketing & training arms. SEC serves a network of over 100 Housing Associations connecting them with supply chain and delivery partners. David and his team drives forward a range of initiatives on influencing solutions for the sector’s future and shortening the skills gap. Before his time at SEC, David served just over 10 years in the construction sector in both SME and Tier 1 Contractors. He values innovation and progressive thinking and is proud to support the Master Builder Awards.
Fiona Hodgson
Fiona Hodgson
Fiona Hodgson is Chief Executive of the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF), bringing nearly 30 years of experience to the plumbing and heating profession. A Chartered Accountant, Fiona graduated with an accountancy degree from the University of Dundee and began her career with Deloitte in Edinburgh. She joined SNIPEF in 1995 and was appointed Chief Executive in 2016.
In her role, Fiona oversees public affairs, governance, apprentice training and advocacy, representing members’ interests with policymakers across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Westminster. She also leads SNIPEF’s 2023-2026 strategy, aimed at growing membership and enhancing the profile of the plumbing profession among the public, policymakers and media.
Fiona is a Director of WaterSafe, which champions safe plumbing standards, and BSE Skills, which develops qualifications and apprenticeships. She also serves as Deputy Chair of the Construction Industry Collective Voice (CICV) and co-leads its Net Zero initiatives.
Harvey Fremlin
Harvey Fremlin
Harvey joined the National Self Build & Renovation Centre (NSBRC) in 2008 and has led a team of employee-owners, as managing director, since 2014. The NSBRC’s mission is to help people build better, sustainable homes and aside from being open six days a week, it offers a comprehensive calendar of Shows, Workshops, Courses and Clinics covering a huge range of homebuilding topics. The unique visitor centre has welcomed over a quarter of a million visitors since first opening its doors in 2007. The award-winning NSBRC celebrated a decade of employee-ownership in 2024 and Harvey champions placing employee ownership at the heart of business activities, and believes in empowering colleagues to cultivate an open, caring culture.
Joanne Ridout
Joanne Ridout
Some people say Joanne has a passion for homes but she says it’s more than that; it’s her life. While other children were nagging to go to the park, she was demanding to be taken to the newest show home. If people left their curtains open, Joanne was looking in, fascinated to see their choice of interior design. From renovating dated homes to professionally home staging for clients to advising on interior design to writing her blog, when her passion became her profession at WalesOnline she was completely overjoyed.
Every day she appreciates writing about property, renovations, interiors, historic buildings, planning, and property stories for WalesOnline and the Media Wales print titles and building a property and homes audience that she can share her passion with. Love of property is a worldwide family with no barriers to entry; she feels blessed to be a member of that family.
Kieran Findlay
Kieran Findlay
Kieran Findlay has been the Editor of social housing publication Scottish Housing News for more than 13 years, providing a major daily resource for housing associations, local authorities and third-sector organisations.
He is also co-host of the Scottish Housing News Podcast, which offers further insight from senior professionals in the sector, and presented this live on stage at the TPAS Annual Conference. Kieran is also the Editor of Scottish Construction Now, delivering comprehensive coverage of Scotland’s building sector.
Having joined a local news agency after graduating from the University of Dundee, Kieran has reported on stories for local and national press on a freelance basis, helped deliver corporate communications for a large Scottish housing association and covered Scottish and UK elections.
Laurence Stone
Laurence Stone
Having worked for CITB for over 6 years Laurence Stone is committed to supporting the construction industry to develop a skilled, competent and inclusive workforce, now and in the future. He possess extensive knowledge of both the construction and education sectors and is experienced in implementing strategic plans to tackle the industry’s changing skills needs.
As the CITB Senior Customer Engagement Manager for the South West, Laurence is responsible for influencing and enabling effective national and regionally senior level relationships with key decision makers to ensure the industry has the skills it needs. He leads a regionally based team tasked with supporting employers with their skills and recruitment needs. Employers are at the heart of everything CITB do and the team is committed to supporting every construction company across the region and ensuring the voice of the South West Construction industry is heard.
Michael Huth
Michael Huth
Nathan Oliver
Nathan Oliver
Nathan Oliver is a Chartered Architectural Technologist, Chartered Environmentalist, and director of a small architectural practice called Ikonografik Design, based in Sheffield. With nearly 30 years’ experience, Nathan has worked at a number of large and small practices up and down the country, most notably Building Design Partnership / BDP, where he was one of the senior designers on the c£550m Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Nathan has also project managed complex projects of up to c£5m construction value. Other projects worked on range from other multi-million pound schemes to much smaller jobs. These include healthcare, education, domestic, funeral, medical research, leisure, retail, offices, industrial, agricultural, equestrian, student accommodation, churches and heritage properties.
Every now and then, Nathan also helps out at nationwide trade shows such as Build It Live, Grand Designs Live and the Ideal Home Show as one of the experts providing free architectural design advice to members of the public.
Nathan Wilkins
Nathan Wilkins
Nathan Wilkins is a highly accomplished professional with extensive experience in construction skills development, strategic partnerships, and workforce growth. Currently a Customer Engagement Manager at CITB, Nathan works across the East Midlands and East of England, collaborating with industry leaders to tackle skills shortages and drive innovation in the construction sector.
With a background in project management, business leadership, and stakeholder engagement, Nathan has a proven track record of delivering impactful initiatives that create lasting value. As a passionate advocate for excellence, he is proud to serve as a judge for the Federation of Master Builders Awards 2025, celebrating the industry’s outstanding talent.
Nikki Davis
Nikki Davis
Nikki Davis took up post as Principal and Chief Executive Officer at Leeds College of Building in August 2022 – the first female to be appointed to the role since the College was formed in 1960.
Her previous role was as Vice Principal Teaching, Learning and Quality at the College, which Nikki joined in 2019. Before that, Nikki worked at York College for four years as Vice Principal for Technical and Professional Education, leading on Apprenticeship delivery.
Nikki has worked in a variety of Further Education providers across West and North Yorkshire, with experience across a range of subject areas but a particular focus on vocational and technical provision.
Peter Baum
Peter Baum
Peter Baum began his career in construction as a plasterer, where he developed a deep understanding of the trade and the industry. He later transitioned to the Skills Partnership team at British Gypsum, where he now focuses on supporting new entrants into the construction sector. Peter works closely with industry partners, training providers, and educational institutions to deliver tailored training programs, apprenticeships, and hands-on learning opportunities. His efforts aim to address skills gaps in the industry and ensure that the next generation of construction professionals is well-equipped to succeed in their careers.
Philippa Lurcock
Philippa Lurcock
Richard Hibbert
Richard Hibbert
Richard Hibbert is the current Managing Director of KSL Kitchens, Bedrooms and Bathrooms in Sudbury, Suffolk and KBSA National chair with 21 years industry experience. Richard is a trained chef and uses this experience in his designs today. A regular writer for trade and retail KBB magazines, national design awards judge, as well as a business consultant for the KBB industry.
Richie West
Richie West
Richie West is the Industry Manager for Construction at City & Guilds, bringing over 30 years of experience in the construction sector. Since joining City & Guilds two years ago,he has worked closely with the construction industry to gather insights into it’s evolving needs and challenges. This collaboration ensures that City & Guilds remains aligned with industry developments, delivering qualifications that are both relevant and fit for purpose.
As a qualified Carpenter & Joiner, Richie brings a wide range of experience across the construction industry, from new housing and commercial projects to exhibition work. Prior to joining City & Guilds, he spent 22 years in further education at one of the UK’s largest further and higher education colleges. Richie started as a Carpentry & Joinery tutor, progressing to the Head of Apprenticeships across multiple sectors and campuses. Richie's extensive background allows him to connect industry knowledge with educational initiatives; playing a key role in developing the next generation of skilled professionals in construction.
Shula Granville
Shula Granville
Shula Granville is the South Regional Director in the Membership Experience team at RIBA. In this role she plays a pivotal role in advancing the architectural profession across the South, from the Kent Coast, up to Buckinghamshire and down to Cornwall. Her work involves supporting over 10,000 RIBA Chartered Members, Practices and Student members in the region, promoting professional development, and fostering connections between architects, communities, and stakeholders.
The RIBA South manages initiatives such as the RIBA Awards in the region, professional mentoring programs for architecture students, and events aimed at continuing professional development (CPD). Shula also champions networking and collaboration through local RIBA branches and groups, including initiatives for women in architecture and small practices.
Tim Phillips
Tim Phillips
Tim Phillips is a Quantity Surveyor with over 30 years of experience in commercial and residential construction and has managed a diverse range of projects including multi-million-pound budgets. For the past 17 years, he has worked as a freelance consultant through his company, www.quantiv.uk, combining his professional acumen with hands-on experience gained through managing his own full-scale renovations.
Tim writes a monthly ‘Build Cost Clinic’ for Homebuilding & Renovating magazine and frequently delivers seminars at their live events across the UK. He is a familiar voice on Fix Radio and contributes to The Times, The Telegraph, and other leading publications.