Our People

Chris has worked in the construction industry since 2014, beginning his career as a Quantity Surveyor for an architectural firm in Kettering, Northamptonshire, before relocating to Newcastle to join a family-run practice as a Building Surveyor. In 2017, he completed an RICS-accredited Building Surveying course while working part-time.

Over the years, Chris has worked with organisations including UK Land Estates (Partnership) Limited, Newcastle City Council, and Morrison Data Services. His experience spans a wide range of responsibilities, including residential surveys, condition surveys, planned maintenance schedules, schedules of dilapidations, and computer-aided design.

Since joining Stace, Chris has been actively involved in projects for The Arch Company, gaining valuable exposure and contributing to the delivery of high-quality work. He thrives in collaborative environments and takes pride in completing tasks efficiently and effectively.

Outside of work, Chris enjoys spending time with friends and family, staying fit and healthy, and watching football on the weekends – especially supporting his favourite club, Arsenal.

After graduating with an Honours degree in Construction Management in 1995, Lee began his career with Mowlem, working on an RAF base in Bedfordshire.

Over the past 30 years, he has held a variety of roles across the industry, including Contractor, Construction Manager, Facilities Manager, and now Project Director. Lee has been fortunate to contribute to several prestigious projects, such as the rebuilding of the Royal Opera House, the refurbishment of The London Coliseum, the redevelopment of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and provision of 505 units at Hale Wharf over two separate phases.

Lee joined Stace in 2013 and has since worked across multiple sectors, including automotive, office, and residential developments.

Family plays a central role in Lee’s life. He and his wife take great pride in their two children and the fine young adults they’ve become.

Previously, Lee represented Cheshire County in both cricket and football. Today, he still enjoys playing cricket and remains a passionate supporter of Liverpool Football Club.

Chris graduated from the University of Greenwich with a BSc in Quantity Surveying and has since built a career spanning nearly 40 years in the construction industry. He achieved his APC 25 years ago and continues to bring a wealth of experience to every project.

Since joining Stace in 2013, Chris has delivered a wide range of projects across sectors including commercial, retail, residential, education, and infrastructure, working with both private and public sector clients.

Away from his desk, Chris is always on the move—whether travelling, attending sporting events, or enjoying live music. Never one to shy away from adventure, he once completed a skydive from 15,000 feet!

James began his career as a trainee at Stace in 1989, rising through the ranks to Partner in 2010. Achieving chartered status in 2003 and becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 2014.

Citing many milestones, he is particularly proud of the City of Westminter College’s new education campus at Paddington Basin (2005), his appointment as Framework Manager for the British Museum (2012), delivering key buildings at Cambridge Science Park (from 2016), and new film studios for Shinfield Studios (2021). 

James manages teams in London and Cambridge and sits on the Marketing & New Business Committee, driving the company’s rebrand and PR initiatives, and this new website (2025).

James values sharing his experience and learning from new generations, how they communicate, their expectations, and how they see work and life. 

A red wine enthusiast, he claims his piano skills are improved with a glass or two.

Karen has over 25 years’ experience in HR, having started out as a secretary before progressing into an HR Assistant role. Now a CIPD-qualified Partner at Stace, Karen is passionate about supporting colleagues with their own professional development and loves seeing them flourish. 

Promoting diversity and inclusivity is a big driver for Karen, who is committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to succeed.

Karen collaborates with all teams, managers, and key stakeholders to ensure Stace’s HR practices align with business goals, and her priority is to enhance employee engagement to ensure everyone feels valued and motivated.

Outside of work, she’s passionate about her family and cherishes the moments spent together. Her other great love is dogs – and she can often be found exploring new places with Scoobs and apologising to strangers for his misunderstood spaniel behaviour!

Tolu has three years of experience in the construction industry, having joined Stace in 2022 after graduating with a degree in Quantity Surveying the year prior.

Tolu is responsible for managing budgets, programmes, and stakeholder relationships. He has worked on a variety of retail, office, commercial, and heritage projects, working with clients including British Land, The City of London, Tesco, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

He successfully passed his APC in December 2025, subsequently qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor.

Outside of work, Tolu enjoys spending time with his family and watching sports with friends.

Colin is an experienced project manager with expertise in retail planning and project implementation. His career began with a 15 year tenure in retail management at Tesco. He then spent a further 12 years in specialist roles at the retail company, including Refit Manager and Retail Merchandising & Planning Manager.

Since joining Stace in 2017, Colin has played a pivotal role as Associate Project Manager on our Tesco account. To date, he has successfully led over 150 projects with Tesco, guiding them from initial scoping and retail planning through to design overlays and full implementation.

Beyond his project work, Colin is passionate about mentoring—supporting both external and internal property project managers in developing robust retail plans and design documentation.

Outside of work, Colin is a devoted supporter of his local football club, Watford. Most weekends, you’ll find him cheering them on from the stands.

Helen is the Marketing & Communications lead at Stace, where she shapes and delivers the marketing strategy while championing continuous improvement to support the company’s broader objectives.

With over 15 years’ experience crafting and executing campaigns across the full marketing mix, Helen has worked within the Built Environment sector since 2013. One of her proudest career moments was securing national media coverage for The Shard’s Christmas lights campaign — including a full feature on Blue Peter.

Since returning from maternity leave in 2022, Helen has worked a four-day week, yet continues to actively support our Responsible Business initiatives and is a committed member of the ED&I committee.

Whether deadheading roses, planting new bulbs or running races and finding “Stick Man” with her sons, Helen loves spending time in her garden at the weekend.

Jack’s introduction to the industry, and Stace, came in 2018 when he spent a year with us as a placement student. Having obtained his first-class degree in Property Development and Town Planning, and a Rolls Royce award for excellence, he returned in 2020 as a graduate. 

Achieving his RICS Chartership in 2023, he has enjoyed working across numerous sectors including residential, retail, R&D, manufacturing, and public realm, for clients such as Quintain, British Land, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren, ASDA, M&S and Homes England. 

As Senior Project Manager and an APC Supervisor, Jack enjoys helping younger team members along their own APC journeys, and organising The Great Stace Bake-Off (though he’s yet to win).

In his downtime, Jack can either be found at the BBQ, hurling down a mountain on his mountain bike, or kickboxing. 

Having worked for Tesco until 2015, Les set up his own project management business, where he worked with Dominos, Novotel in Canary Wharf, and student accommodation for Oxford University, as well as Tesco, which brought him into contact with the Stace team, which he joined on a permanent basis in 2019. 

Today, he is Senior Project Manager on the Tesco account, focussing on new store spaces, refurbishments, and maintenance projects.

Over the past two years, Les has particularly enjoyed supporting Co-op —covering long-term construction manager absence and contributing to a pre-construction project. He’s also been involved with projects for Asda, site monitoring tasks, and Tesco Development..

Passionate about delivering excellence in construction, Les thrives on getting work done right the first time.

Away from the office, Les is a devoted Formula 1 and a big Lewis Hamilton fan, and enjoys spending weekends with his family.

Having completed a BSC in Construction Management and an MSc in Management and Engineering, Liz joined Stace in 2024 as a Graduate Project Manager.

She has since gained experience across education, residential, and commercial sectors, working closely with senior teams on project planning, reporting, and supporting project delivery through the different RIBA stages. 

Liz gets a kick out of seeing a project come together, especially as a result of strong collaboration and teamwork. She’s passionate about her personal development and likes to support others through mentorship, encouraging teamwork, and sharing her learnings. 

Outside of work Liz enjoys reading, going to the gym, or catching up on Korean dramas – she’s currently learning Korean. She’s also very creative and enjoys design and making clothes.

Mani brings over 14 years of experience in the construction industry. He began his career as an Assistant Project Manager, spending four years working on small residential projects. He later undertook apprenticeships with architectural practices and collaborated with principal contractors on large-scale commercial and residential developments. During this time, he also completed a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Architecture.

Mani went on to pursue a degree in Architectural Technology, taking on the role of Design Manager. After graduating, his interest in health and safety led him to transition into the CDM field, where he has worked for almost seven years.

In 2024, Mani joined the Health & Safety team at Stace as a Senior Building Safety Consultant. His day to day responsibilities include overseeing safety plans and ensuring compliance with building regulations.

Outside of work, Mani is a passionate DJ, creating house and techno sets – and has even supported a world-famous DJ.

Having obtained his undergraduate degree in Building Surveying at Kingston University, Jack continued his education by undertaking a master’s degree in Real Estate.

Following this, he began his career as an Assistant Building Surveyor before moving into a Consultant Building Surveyor role for a few years. He then transitioned to a client-side Project Manager role, where he spent several years before returning to the consultancy side as a Project Manager.

Jack later joined Stace in 2024, where he works as a Senior Project Manager at the British Museum. He is currently working full-time on the Energy Centre Programme of works, delivering a new energy centre and site-wide infrastructure upgrades to the Grade I listed museum. He also works closely with Client Project Managers, internal departments, and collection teams to ensure the project progresses and develops in line with programme and cost.

Jack enjoys travelling and exploring, especially while eating authentic local cuisine with his wife, friends, and family. He is also very active and enjoys playing football, tennis, and exercising regularly to stay fit and healthy.

Neil brings over 30 years of experience as a Project Manager within the hospitality and retail sectors. He has previously worked with well-known brands including Bass Taverns, Mitchells & Butlers, All Bar One, and Ember Inns. He later transitioned to Tesco, where he has spent more than two decades delivering projects across their extensive estate.

Neil joined Stace in June 2022, continuing his work on the Tesco account. He has successfully delivered a wide range of projects across the full portfolio of approximately 2,900 stores. He thrives on the fast-paced nature of the retail sector and finds it an exciting environment to work in.

Neil takes great pride in his family. Both of his daughters were active Girl Guides, and in recognition of his support and fundraising efforts (enabling them to travel across the UK and Europe)—he was presented as an ambassador for Girlguiding.

He is also passionate about caravanning, regularly towing his caravan across the UK and Europe, and he loves spending time outdoors, whether relaxing on a beach or walking through the countryside.