Enriching Buildings, People & Communities
Leadership
& Management
Our greatest asset is our people and we are proud to have exceptional leadership and management throughout the business. From our Directors who have significant experience in leading property maintenance business to our operational leadership teams and department heads who are best in class, we believe we are able to deliver exceptional service to our clients.
Our values are a golden thread throughout everything we do and lead us in our everyday activities.
Our entire team are focussed on providing the highest levels of quality and service throughout all of our operations, and the key success factor in this pursuit is value driven, highly trained and motivated employees.
Our investment in creating sustainable, well-paid jobs means that learning and development are core to the company growth and success, and personal development is encouraged and supported; our excellent staff retention is a testament to this.
Board of Directors
Sam brings over 20 years of experience in the construction industry, with a specialisation in property maintenance and is a qualified Quantity Surveyor.
Managing Director
Sam Frame
Gordon, a Chartered Accountant (ICAS) since 2004, has over 20 years of experience in practice and industry, including senior finance roles in SMEs across various sectors.
As Finance Director, he oversees financial governance, strategic planning, and team leadership.
Finance Director
Gordon Spence
Parent Company Director & CEO
Ben Russell
Parent Company Director & Chairman
Chris Williams
Meet Our Support Services Team
Responsibilities
Phil heads up the business sales and client engagement function. His role is to identify regional strengths, new clients, and key sectors within property maintenance. He identifies the key decision-makers in existing clients, key budget holders, and key procurement personnel, ensuring that the entire Hankinson Whittle offer is rolled out to future-proof the business. He works collectively with colleagues in the supply chain to deliver and implement an expanded, targeted proposal and delivery awareness to clients.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Phil is a season ticket holder on the Stretford End at Manchester United FC, which leads to interesting banter with his Liverpool and Everton supporting colleagues at Head Office. He is a big Rugby League fan and supports his local team, Rochdale Hornets RLFC. Living at the foot of the Pennines allows him to enjoy walking on various moorland paths around his home village. Phil has been fortunate to travel extensively, with the Caribbean and Thailand being his favourites. Lastly, Phil loves music and enjoys access to great venues and artists in Manchester City Centre, preferring smaller intimate shows over larger stadium events. His musical tastes range from Rock & Blues to Latin, Rap, and Indie.
National Business Development Manager
Phil Bull
Previous Experience
Phil has been working within client engagement and business revenue management in the property, new build, contracting, and materials supplies sectors for over 20 years. He collaborates closely with senior teams within client organisations to develop and deliver refurbishment, facilities management, and property maintenance opportunities across various sectors including social housing, healthcare, public buildings, education, commercial property, and specialist heritage works.
Responsibilities
As the HSQE Manager at Hankinson Whittle Ltd, Gary collaborates across the business to develop and execute comprehensive HSQE strategies. He works to integrate and align the HSQE management system with the company’s strategic objectives, overseeing risk management, incident investigation, training programs, stakeholder consultation, and supporting project delivery. Gary drives continuous improvement initiatives, ensuring continued certification to our chosen ISO frameworks. His role is pivotal in fostering a culture of safety and operational excellence through effective stakeholder engagement and robust management systems, leveraging the collective expertise and commitment of the entire organisation.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Outside of work, Gary is kept on his toes by his three young children – often dressing up as superheroes and participating in nail art sessions (thanks to his little girl’s creative touch). When he manages to sneak in some spare time, you’ll find him swinging at golf balls or obsessively following Formula 1.
HSQ Manager
Gary Minshull
Previous Experience
Gary is a British Army Veteran and following his military service has gained experience in a variety of sectors including aerospace, rail, engineering and construction supporting small family run businesses as well as multinational corporations. He has designed and implemented ISO certified management systems in varying sized businesses and complex mobilisation projects up to £300million.
Responsibilities
In her role, Clare is responsible for leading the people plan to enhance the workplace environment at HW, ensuring it becomes a better place for colleagues while simultaneously supporting the growth of the business. As a champion for employee welfare, Clare acts as the voice of the people, ensuring that their needs and concerns are prioritised within the organisation. She collaborates with line managers and leaders to guarantee that all colleagues are treated consistently and fairly, she is proactive in identifying and developing future talent, which is crucial for effective succession planning.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Clare enjoys travelling in her spare time and tries to visit as many countries as possible each time. She is also a big foodie, always on the lookout for great food and new dining experiences. Seafood linguine and paella are her favourite dishes.
Head of HR
Clare Walker
Previous Experience
Clare has over 20 years of HR experience who is CIPD Chartered and MHFA Certified professional. Clare has extensive experience delivering strategic and operational HR initiatives across the businesses.
Responsibilities
Matthew, as our Finance Manager, is responsible for all day-today finance activities, ensuring accuracy in financial reporting, and providing decision-making insights to the Directors and board members. Matthew also works to improve financial processes, ensuring that the business remains financially healthy and compliant.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Outside of work, Matthew is an avid golfer and enjoys spending time on the course. He is also a dedicated football fan and loyal supporter of Liverpool FC.
Finance Manager
Matthew Doyle
Previous Experience
Matthew is a Fellow Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and a part-qualified Chartered Accountant with almost a decade of experience within practice. From working in practice, Matthew gained a strong background in accounts and audit for SMEs across a wide range of sectors before he transitioned into a Finance Manager role in early 2023, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to Hankinson.
Responsibilities
Marianne’s role as a Finance Manager involves ensuring all our records are kept current and compliant for both Customers and Suppliers. She has over 20 years’ experience working within Finance in various sectors, ranging from legal to canal boat building.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
One of Marianne’s passions is to help others, whether that is supporting her Team to follow their Career goals or fund raising within her local community. She recently was involved in a project with Liverpool City Council. She led a community group which raised over £13,000 to have a memorial play area. Her other hobbies include baking and campervan trips with her family, touring round the UK.
Finance Manager
Marianne Tennant
Previous Experience
Within her career, she has been involved in procurement and client onboarding which supports her current role and has also run Finance Departments. With Teams ranging from 4 – 10 people.
Responsibilities
Julie heads up the national bids and marketing effort, responsible for the coordination, management and motivation of the bid and marketing department, with the primary goal of providing realistic, competitive and robust tenders. Julie plays a critical part of the strategic development and winning work to align with the long-term business objectives. Julie was brought in to the sales team in early 2024 when a significant investment in sales team was made to support the growth of the business.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Julie enjoys spending time with her family and any spare time is spent keeping active and setting herself personal challenges such as mountain walks, with some of these being to help raise money for charities close to her heart.
Bid Manager
Julie Jones
Previous Experience
Julie joined Hankinson with over a decade of management experience within the construction and maintenance industry. Julie built her career in a prominent Mechanical and Electrical firm, quickly working her way up and specialising in account management, sales and marketing, then working for a multinational business as lead public sector bid manager. Her track record has included notable projects such as £24 million, 25-year private sector contract.
Senior Operations Manager
Keith Dowling
Previous Experience
Keith is a professional and dedicated Senior Operations Manager with extensive construction experience, having been with Hankinson Whittle since 1994. Over the years, he’s worked his way up through roles like Estimating Surveyor and Contracts Manager, and now manages a diverse range of projects, across the Northwest, from specialist decorations to planned maintenance.
Responsibilities
As Senior Operations Manager, Keith oversees a diverse range of projects, from specialist decorations to planned maintenance to industrial coatings, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. His extensive industry knowledge, leadership, and strategic vision has made him a highly respected members of the team.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Outside of work, Keith’s life is just as busy. He’s a family man who loves spending time with his loved ones. A fan of staying active, you’ll find him in the gym, going for walks in the great outdoors, or taking on a new fitness challenge. When it’s time to unwind, you’ll find him enjoying drinks with friends and discussing the latest football results.
Operations Manager
Sean Briggs
Previous Experience
Sean has over 34 years’ experience working in the Maintenance, Construction, and high end fit-out industry for clients across a wide range of public and business sectors. He has a strong understanding of client requirements and the need for optimal value from any capital or revenue investment in maintenance programmes.
Responsibilities
In his role Sean focuses on understanding Clients’ individual service needs and shaping a project plan to provide the best outcomes in terms of quality, cost, affordability, Health & Safety and customer satisfaction for each project.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Sean enjoys playing guitar in his spare time and enjoys a wide variety of music genres. He also enjoys taking part in local amateur dramatics and set building along with visiting the gym.
Operations Manager
Ray Fielder
Previous Experience
Ray is an experienced and driven Senior Operations Manager with a strong background in the construction industry. He joined Hankinson in April 2024, following a 16-year tenure at Novus Property Solutions. Starting his career as a Carpenter, he has steadily progressed through site-based roles into senior management, bringing hands-on knowledge and strategic insight to every project.
Responsibilities
Ray leads a growing team delivering a wide range of workstreams, including external and internal decorations, student accommodation refurbishments, roofing and roofline projects, kitchens, bathrooms, wet rooms, and one-off refurbishments. He plays a key role in expanding the region through strategic growth, diverse project delivery, and successful tendering for frameworks and partnerships, working closely with the bid team.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Away from work, Ray is a passionate Southampton FC season ticket holder and enjoys pub walks and quality time with family. His love for football and the outdoors keeps him balanced and energised outside the demands of his professional role.
Operations Manager
Neil Kershaw
Previous Experience
Over 40 years’ experience within the Corrosion protection industry, undertaking surface preparation and application of specialist coating protection to steel & concretestructures, namely bridges, fuel storage tanks, pipelines, vessels and ships throughout the United Kingdom and Internationally. Previous and current Clients include National Highways, Network Rail, Oil and Gas Industry and MOD to name a few. Neil is a qualified ICORR Level 3 coatings inspector and an existing member of the institute of corrosion.
Responsibilities
Neil is the Operations Manager for the Protective Coatings Division at Hankinson Whittle Limited and heads the overseeing of day-to-day operations, planning,programming and logistics of secured and upcoming works. Neil also provides and arranges appropriate training for the workforce within the PC Division to ensure all works are undertaken by approved, qualified personnel and the expected quality standards of workmanship are achieved and maintained. From the knowledge Neil has gained through his experience and reputation within the industry, he is very often called upon by clients at ECI Stage to offer advice on appropriate specifications and access solutions for upcoming schemes. Neil also ensures that all operations undertaken by the Protective Coatings Division are to the highest standards of Health and Safety and Environmentally friendly.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Neil enjoys time with his Family, grandchildren (Theo & Phoebe), travelling abroad, socialising and supporting Everton FC.
Operations Manager
Paul Bossons
Previous Experience
With over 26 years’ experience in the construction industry, Paul brings a wealth of technical and operational knowledge to the team. He began his career as an apprentice painter before progressing through qualifications in Quantity Surveying (ONC, HNC, and HND). In the early part of his career, he worked as a Managing QS, overseeing commercial operations and office turnovers of £7–10 million. He later transitioned into Contracts Management, delivering painting, refurbishment, responsive, and void works on projects valued up to £10 million. Paul joined Hankinson as a Key Account Manager on the Platform Contract and was promoted to Operations Manager in October 2024.
Responsibilities
As Operations Manager, Paul is currently focused on restructuring and strengthening the office team, expanding client relationships, and securing new work to increase turnover and raise Hankinson’s profile across the region. His combined commercial and site-based experience positions him as a valuable asset in both strategic growth and day-to-day delivery.
Interests Outside of Hankinson
Outside of work, Paul enjoys spending time with his children, coaching his son’s under-12s football team, and socialising with friends and family. His strong sense of community and commitment extends beyond his professional life.