PEOPLE 10 MINUTES WITH:
What is your current role and how long have you been doing it?
I’m Knauf Insulation’s regional marketing director for Northern Europe. I’ve been in the role since January, though it’s not my first time in Knauf Group as I was previously with the Knauf drywall business a few years ago. It’s great to be back at such a pivotal moment for the construction industry.
What does your role entail?
I oversee the marketing activity for Northern Europe – communications, digital and product. I’m interested in how we most effectively support our customers today whilst continually building the brand and product portfolio for the future.
The impact of the projects we deliver drives Knauf Insulation’s strategic priorities, so it’s important we are laser-focused on how we prioritise our work.
More broadly, our job as insulation marketers is to give merchants the information they need to best advise customers. With an increasingly complex regulatory landscape and the push for sustainability, it’s crucial that merchants have transparent data on the environmental impact of our products, how they perform in the real world and what their safety credentials are. We also want to promote new additions to our product range, so that our customers can use these innovations to meet today’s building fabric requirements.
Unilin has appointed Aidan Doyle as its general manager at Unilin Insulation UK and Ireland.
His focus will be on continuing the growth
trajectory for the company. Doyle’s background is in general management; he was previously the MD for SIG in Ireland.
Acoustic, fire and thermal insulation product manufacturer AIM has appointed Chris Dale as its business development manager – north. He will liaise with
insulation distributers, builders’ merchants and installer customers. Dale will be responsible for customer relationships in the Midlands, Northern England and Scotland. His previous experience includes managing specification sales in the Middle East.
PAUL CHANDLER Knauf Insulation’s regional marketing director for Northern Europe
How did you get started in this industry? I spent the first part of my career in consumer products, principally toys. l joined Knauf and the construction industry in 2015 from Disney, which was a bold leap at the time, but the mission at Knauf was so compelling I couldn’t resist the challenge.
Since my time at Knauf, I have worked as a consultant for several big brands in the construction industry, in addition to leading the marketing team at Marshalls Plc for the last three years.
What would you like to achieve in your role?
If I were to sum up my focus in two words, it would be ‘shared value’.
As our industry adapts to seismic shifts, supply chain collaboration will be more important than ever. I’m keen to ensure that the work we do at Knauf Insulation – the products and services we develop, and the way we market them – delivers value for all our partners, merchants, installers and specifiers.
What do you see as the main issues for builders’ merchants and for the construction industry now? I see three major challenges affecting construction. Firstly, regulations are becoming increasingly complex. The industry is still getting to grips with the Building Safety Act,
The Builders
Merchants Federation (BMF) has further enhanced its training and development team with two key
appointments. Jason Huddlestone has joined as training, learning and development manager and Marianna Peet is the BMF’s new apprenticeship manager. Huddlestone has over 20 years’ experience in Learning and Development having worked in a range of sectors from building supply and housebuilding to financial services and retail for companies including SIG, NHBC and the Vistry Goup. Peet joins from LEAP Apprenticeships and Early Careers, where she was its early careers lead, focused on empowering young people, sharing opportunities with disadvantaged groups, promoting apprenticeships and networking.
April 2024
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
and further change is on the horizon in the form of the Future Homes Standard. Second, performance scrutiny. These regulations, plus new technology, mean that products and systems will need to perform as well in the real world as they do theoretically. Finally, net zero. To create genuinely sustainable buildings, we need to increasingly understand and manage embodied carbon in the supply chain. It’s no longer enough to focus solely on operational carbon.
If you could go back to the start of your career, what piece of advice would you give yourself? 1. Embrace change. Not everything can be planned or should be. 2. Trust your instincts. Do the right thing, even if it’s the difficult thing.
What keeps you busy at the weekends? I work away from home in the week, so I simply look forward to being with my family (especially my dog!). I try to keep as active as possible, but most weekends I am rather guilty of watching a lot of sport!
What book, film and album are you taking on your desert island USB stick? Album: Grace, Jeff Buckley Film: Step Brothers
Book: “Surviving on a Desert Island. A Guide for Dummies” BMJ
ON THE MOVE
Ian Stokes, managing director of Knauf UK and Ireland, has been elected to the Board of the Builders Merchants Federation to serve as the Elected Director- Suppliers with effect from 1
April 2024. Stokes replaces Mike Ward of Wavin, who stepped down earlier this year.
UK and Ireland specialist paving and building products company, AG, has appointed James Jack as its first sales director specifically for GB. Jack has just been promoted from his
previous position as head of sales for Scotland and, with over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry, has held previously senior sales positions at Tobermore, Jewson and Keyline. Jack aims to help solidify AG’s position in paving and building products.
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