Category: Corporate
Complete construction partner Stepnell has expanded its regional presence with two senior hires – appointing Tania Knowles as Business Development Manager for the North West and David Hughes as Pre-Construction Manager for the East Midlands.
Strengthening Stepnell’s North West presence
Tania Knowles brings 38 years of experience in construction and consultancy with expertise in business development, education, healthcare, commercial and decarbonisation projects.
Well-connected across Liverpool, Manchester and the wider North West, Tania has a strong track record of building client relationships and driving strategic growth. She is also chair of the Save Construction Initiative in North Wales, which focuses on tackling the construction skills gap.
Tania said:
“Stepnell’s culture and values built on integrity, collaboration and being progressive resonated with me and it’s an exciting time to be joining Stepnell to grow its presence in the North West. My market knowledge and innovative engagement strategies will help to strengthen Stepnell’s network, and build meaningful, long-term relationships across this crucial new growth area for the business.”
Tom Sewell, Director at Stepnell, added:
“Tania’s deep understanding of the North West construction landscape, in particular the education sector, makes her a valuable addition to lead our business development strategy. Her approach to building relationships aligns perfectly with Stepnell’s ambitions for growth and she will be a key figure as we become a more active presence, including membership organisations and events.”
Expanding pre-construction expertise in the East Midlands
Stepnell has also appointed David Hughes as Pre-Construction Manager, bringing more than 27 years’ experience in senior pre-construction roles, most recently at Kier.
David has managed projects across multiple public sector frameworks, ranging from £500k to £50m, covering health, education, defence, custodial and decarbonisation sectors. In his new role, he will focus on strengthening Stepnell’s pre-construction offering, developing client relationships and supporting framework opportunities.
David said:
“Stepnell strikes an appealing balance between governance and agility that enables its team to focus on delivering value for its clients, which really attracted me to the opportunity. I’m looking forward to building on our strong foundations through expanding framework opportunities in the East Midlands while supporting wider growth including in the North West.”
Tom Sewell concluded:
“David brings a wealth of technical expertise and leadership experience on projects of varying scale and requirements. His experience across design, commercial and operational provides the multiple perspectives that are instrumental to drive forward our pipelines of direct award and framework projects as a complete construction partner.”
